Dude Where is My Coffee?
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Picture: Supreet Chahal
11.55 pm 31 Dec 2009
The mad crowd was rushing in and out of the subway station. Nobody wanted to be inside a train at 12 while the whole city was getting ready for the ball to be dropped. The crowd in the city seemed like rats scurrying all over in search of alcohol and food. Those drunken rats! She sat there hugging herself leaning over a pillar. Her layered winter clothing hid most of her except for those moist eyes. If those tears had lingered a little longer, it would have frozen. She pulled out her mobile and read the text for one more time that night. “I know this is not the right day to breakup, but I’m sorry. It is over…”. She wondered why there were three dots after the last word, in spite of a relationship of three years ended through a text message.
11.56 pm 31 Dec 2009
“Why would dad go away on his business trip when the whole world is celebrating. I miss him.” he said as his mother tucked him in bed. He will call you tomorrow morning when you wake up to a new year. “But he has always been with us for New Year’s no matter what” he said. She kissed him on his forehead and said, “Happy new year my prince.” “You too mom. I love you”. She closed the door behind him. He looked out of the window staring at the snowfall. She sat down on the floor leaning over the closed door and stared into the emptiness ahead of her. Her 7 years of marriage was over and a new year was to begin with her new status – single mom.
11.57 pm 31 Dec 2009
“Maybe it wasn’t for real. Maybe nothing ever was”, he read her status message on facebook. Things began to churn within and he closed the facebook app on his iphone. It was already a new year in London where she was celebrating it with her family. He wanted to get into her mind and understand what was going on as if the status message would deceive him of his reality and steal away the moment when the ball drops. He pulled out his phone again and updated his status message, “sometimes the dream is what keeps us going than reality. Don’t ever destroy it”. Instantly he had a personal message from her. It was over between them. She had confirmed it and his bubble burst just before the ball was dropped.
11.58 pm 31 Dec 2009
The candle burned out and he scrambled for the lighter. She got off the bed, walked to the kitchen and lit her cigarette. He looked at her face as she walked back to the bed. “What would you have done if there were no takers for you tonight?” he asked her. She wasn’t used to a lot of conversation in her job. “I don’t know. I don’t remember being alone on a New Year’s eve. This is one of the most busiest season of the year.” “But what would you have liked to do if you had no clients for the night?” She was silent for a while. “I don’t know. I have never given it a thought.” “Maybe we should go out now and get into one of those parties. Is there something I can do to make your night special?” he asked as he ran his finger over her neck. “If I pay you back the money you gave tonight, will you hold me close to you all night until I wake up to a new year?” her voice crackled.
A minute before midnight. Jan 2010.
“Feels weird to be walking down this crowded bridge with a stranger.” She said. “Stranger? I thought we have known each other for two days now!” he said. “Sure, that makes you family already.” They laughed as they stopped by a less crowded spot in the middle of the Brooklyn bridge. “What brings us here?” she asked as she stared into the East river. “Destiny?” he said. “Cheesy!” she laughed. “Sometimes you shouldn’t be finding reasons for what is happening around. Just live the moment.” he said. “True. I have no reason to be standing beside you on this special night while I could have still been with my family and friends but I enjoy this strangeness in me. Something new. Something that I probably need to get used to.” she held his hand. Fireworks broke loose in the winter sky. It was as if the diamonds fell off a closed string bag. “Happy New Year!” she said. He grabbed her by her hips and kissed her. They kissed until the sky was clear again and the cheerful mob had settled down to a less chaotic noise level. “What was that about?” she asked. I had always wanted my midnight kiss on this bridge for New Year’s and here I am. “So I’m your muse for the night.” she threw a sarcastic smile. “You are going to be my muse every new year. You are my new beginning.” They walked back hand in hand flaunting their engagement rings.
P.S :2010 looks so bright that it could blind one’s eyes. So bring on those shades! Here is wishing you all a great start to 2010 and a wonderful journey ahead! – DreamVendor
Dude, Where is my Coffee?
“Sometimes I wake up not knowing if I’m in my apartment or hers. I see her face only in the morning. Sometimes I stay longer, sometimes I leave without a word. No numbers exchanged. No strings attached,”
D said as I was digging my spoon into the clam chowder in a breadbasket. I looked up at him.
“Is it worth it?” I asked.
He smiled. His lips had a different story than his eyes.
(some serious writing) You kiss a thousand frogs, hoping one day, one of those ugly frogs will turn into a prince. You swim along a thousand ducks, hoping one day, you will have your swan (technically, a pen) by your side to see the world with. But is it worth going through those thousand frogs and ducks who croak and quack their way in and out of your life or the night? On a rainy evening, you sit by the window all alone watching the rain, with hot chocolate in one hand and drawing figures on the window with the other. Your favorite music keeps you good company. Not bad an evening at all, huh? But the mind thinks that this is a sad life and you need to get out and get some. Not withstanding the voices in your head, you head to a club, drink like you were a fish and dance like you were a diva. Next morning you wake up and see the frog or the duck, your catch for that night, beside you. Either you don’t know the name to wake him/her up or you don’t know why he/she was beside you. You close your eyes momentarily and open it gradually hoping you would see the prince/swan. The alcohol has done its trick as usual and all that remains that morning is a hangover and a stranger by your side.
(strangers, yay! strange!) Why is that you always feel excited talking to strangers at a social event or a place? You hang out with friends and have a great time. But when some stranger stops by and gives you all the attention you were hoping to get or weren’t expecting at all, why is that new wings stretch out of your body and take flight to Maui? It is the excitement of the frog/duck that you just met. Some freshness in the air. You know it is just a frog/duck, but you are excited and determined to find out if that stranger is your prince/swan. You persuade. You act pricey. You give in. You give up. Time is spent. Money follows. More time is spent. Finally you wake up to a startling revelation (definitely not for your friends, who sometimes know more about the person you are dating than you know yourself!) that you have been with a frog/duck and it is time to move on – to the next frog/duck? When does this search end? And how does it end? The answer lies with you and not the frogs/ducks. In their eyes and space, you are a frog/duck too! Are you ready to be his/her prince/swan? If yes, do what it takes to be one and see if it works. If it doesn’t, at least you know you tried and you are better than the other.
(Pulling myself back to where I started) Is it worth it? My answer would be ‘Yes’. If you think otherwise and want to throw something at me, please throw your credit card, or at least your Starbucks card. I haven’t had a coffee in their seasonal red coffee cup yet. Christmas is here! (Note to self: Don’t digress). It is worth it to meet a lot of frogs/ducks. Sometimes you take with you a piece of them when you move on. It could be something good or something nasty, but it all ends (or so you would hope) in learning how to handle your next frog/duck in life. Or you could argue that you won’t meet them and waste your time. You would rather wait with your ironed hair and pretty pink gown or spiked up hair and blazer for that flash of lightening. Sure, but just make sure you wear goggles, or at least save your ironed/spiked hair. You don’t want to look like you were electrocuted (and you even tweeted about it instantly) and all cute and funny when your prince/swan jumps off the sky.
(ouch!) I’m running out of space for this column and the year is running out of days. Damn, what a coincidence. As you approach the end of 2009 and embrace 2010 with all its surprises, I hope you meet your prince/swan. Until then, happy croaking and quacking! But keep the volume down, your neighbors might not like it, or you might have to answer to the Blue Cross.
Wish you a fun-packed 2010!
DreamVendor
Note:Picture Credit :http://natashawilson.files.wordpress.com
