The Breeze Across My Face

I press my shoes hard against the concrete floor, part of which have crossed the edge of a silvery strip. Widen my arms, sliding my fingers under the rugged crimson handle of the heavy gate. Adjust my position in an attempt to sway my brows past the rusted metallic azure pole outside, and feel that early morning dew brushing my lash. An ephemeral moment. I pull myself back an inch realizing how far outside my shoes are from the edge. It makes me see the sheet of ballast, colors of which remind me of the vibrant pebbles I saw a day back as the train whistles past. I lift my vision to see an infinite unimaginable vastness. A river passes by. I hear the whispering choir of waving trees. Right before the sky is to get colored with a subfusc yellow and blue, juxtaposed with the reflection of the soft lavender sailing clouds in the crystalline drops, the quietude of the misty dawn exonerates my essence of being. I rotate my eyelid to the right. A gust of wind blows past. I step in breeze realm, close my eyes and fly with the wind back to that rear seat of his bike which drove us to Mussoorie- To feel that breeze which caressed my face then.

The evening of 4th September. Ayush riding it past the tortuous roads with an abyss on one of the sides, the depth of which was growing as we moved ahead. We could picture Dehradun nestled amidst the mountains that rose expansively as the wheels kept strolling forward. We rode into the clouds trimming the picturesque blanket of fog and mist. The deluge from the greyish blue sky washing the curvy thin roads, added to the beauty of the moment. The view from the top, almost 6km height, could galvanize the most enervated creature too.  We sat ourselves down at the best coffee shop in the state & the best omelet shop in the country sipping in life and remembering the old times with each bite. As we moved back to where we started from, against the light of the stars, the burgeoning hills seemed to have a veracious story to tell. We discussed our dreams, and filled each other with the motivation to go all the way to achieve them. Coming back, I met his amazing friends who were all living in the same flat. We sat, laughed, stuffed, drank, puffed and finally slept red-eyed with me having a presentation to give the next day.

Ayush studied in UPES, the college where the Conference was scheduled. I got an opportunity to interact with some keynote speakers that had flown in from Dubai, Germany, and different parts of India discussing with them my dreams and ambition.  Also, I met this girl. Thin red nerves running amidst the glowy big white eyes covered by glasses framed black in color. She had a tinge of Kerela, Kolkata, and Hyderabad in her. We parted ways wishing each other luck.  And again, I was back to that rear seat of his bike, with the wind gushing past my face ameliorating the smell of my breath as we scorched the streets of Dehradun- a city that housed the most important educational bodies of the nation like Indian Military Academy, FRI and much more. For me, it was time to leave the city that had brought with itself the smell of roses, chandler, and chocolate. The weather, that splash of chilled dew drops, and that breeze swathing my soul like the first kiss on a starry night.

The whistle blows again. I look down to see that same sheet of ballast passing away at a greater speed. I get reminded of the amazing conversations I had during my journey meeting people from different backgrounds. A girl whose brother had been kidnapped and murdered, who so dearly wanted to get into IAS and tear apart the mafia; a man who had been working for the past 7 years, full time with an NGO, serving humanity, and according to him doing what God intended him to do; a Cabinet Secretariat who served at the border of our country, for whom India was always at the first place; a research student who was working in Agriculture Department, who wanted to end the worries of farmers forever with her research. All these people and the time spent with them make me ask some existential questions, bringing me to ground realities., inspiring each single thread of my spirit.

I lift my forehead to see the dawn turn into dusk with a rustic charm created by the terrain in the open background outside the boundaries of that gate. I let the breeze blow across my face, for it had all the answers, for this was a moment to seize, for this moment was life!!

"Sometimes I don't know, which moment,
which cool gust of wind will come,
and enchant me,
tousling my hair,
and my heart.."

                                                     - Sanober Khan