She rolled lazily on her bed…..It had been a long day and a tiring one too. She thought, maybe writing about it will make her feel better. She opened her diary. She couldn’t remember the last time, she had had time to write something in it. She remembered the times when she used to write pages and pages of feelings in her diary. Gone were those days. These days she hardly had time to interact with others, let alone interacting with herself….
But today was different. She needed an outlet to give her frustration a release. She found a blank page and began writing……
FIRST SUMMER SHOWERS – 2011
“I rush through the already drenched streets… the people, the shops, the surroundings appear blurry. I can hardly make out the shapes and colors. I have only been out on the streets for 5 minutes and I am already soaking wet!
This damn rain, I exclaim. It came a week earlier than predicted. I still haven’t extracted my umbrella/raincoat from wherever it is gathering dust from past one year. I might even need some new rain-gear, I think. I bet, it will rain for a few days and stop. Then it will get more hot than usual. It has been a lousy summer. I don’t want more soaring temperatures.
How abominable! Trust, public transport to breakdown right now! Naahh….doesn’t disappoint me. Waiting for some mode of transport to reach home….Oh shucks, I will have to walk home in this downpour! Chaotic streets, water everywhere, mud puddles…ewwww.!! Oh my brand new Levis’. And hell, I paid a fortune for those shoes. My gucci bag!!!! I hope my wallet’s okay. My phone!!!! My iPod!!! Oh god, all my stuff is in mortal danger…..
Rains are such a pain in the neck!!!! Ahhh…finally I see home….Climbing the stairs ….@@@**$%…WTF…..Plunged into darkness! What the hell is this? Power-cut!!! Again??? Haven’t there been enough in the last 2 weeks???
It has already been an hectic day at the office…..I am soaked to skin…..I am shivering like crazy….My shoes are caked in mud AND NOW, a POWER-CUT!!! Disgusting!
Oh thank god, I could atleast save my phone, my iPod, my money from this mayhem. Phheww! A sigh of relief…I need to take care of those shoes though.
I hate rains! They spell nothing but trouble! Filthy! Dirty! I could even sue them, if that were possible.
I hope I don’t get sick. I cannot afford to miss office. Way too much work, deadlines to meet, peer pressure. How will I bear the huge burden if I lose any more days??? I think I might have a nervous breakdown because of these rains.
God! How much I hate them. RAINS, GET OUT OF MY LIFE!!!!!”
She closed the diary, still frustrated. It was such a bleak day, so damn irritating because of the rains. She had showered with hot water, put on clean clothes and lay on her bed writing this out. She neither had the energy nor the wish to talk with her family or anyone else. It was past 23:00 hours and she has a long day ahead tomorrow. Gotta sleep now….
But, sleep was eluding her. She rummaged through her cupboard and found her old diaries. These should be fun to read, she thought. She picked an old one and started flipping through the pages….
Suddenly, a vaguely familiar entry caught her eye. Hmmm…..2006…5 years ago…..Interesting…..It had the same tittle as of her entry today….amused, she began reading…..
FIRST SUMMER SHOWERS – 2006
“I giggled as I sprinted across the streets. All seemed blurry as if my eyes exuded water. Yet, all was colorful. I could make out shapes of people & brightly lit shops. And sooooooooo much green. It seemed like paradise. I glanced at the people rushing around me….eager to get away from the rains…cursing it, fleeing away from it. No way, I could EVER do that! Ha! My laughter, mocked at their stupidity. Oh come on, how can you be so stupid to run away from rains??? The weather’s so cool. Yippee.
I jumped from one puddle to another. This was so much fun.
Trains late? No problem….I get more time to spend with these first showers of the month!
No transport to get home? No problem….Good excuse to give to Mom if she asks why am I so wet!
I don’t care. These are the first showers! For 3 long months, the heat has taunted us, teased us, made us go crazy, kept us sweltering and TODAY, finally, it’s giving us the much needed relief.
I reach home jumping with enthusiasm. Power-cut, Mom says. Oh boy, this will be fun. Fun to eat dinner in candle light. My clothes are so wet, they are sticking to my body. My bag’s a mess. My phone’s working atleast. And the money? Well, I have hardly more than 100 bucks. These will dry out in the sun tomorrow. No harm done.
Happily, I eat my dinner. I go in my room and sit near the window staring out. I have a book in my lap and a flashlight in one hand. Mom will kill me if she sees me reading like this. But, this is so cool. I sit by the open window….listening to the soft sound of the rain…..it has become a light drizzle now….I smell the pleasant fragrance of the wet mud…wow…I just love rains….”
She let the diary fall from her hands. It was getting wet. Wet with the tears that cascaded down her cheeks. The sheer joy and innocence of a time not so long ago was being washed away by the tears of frustration that had accumulated in the last few years. She buried her face in her hands and wept. She couldn’t believe that once, she was this innocent girl. A girl who found joy in all little things in life. A girl who “lived” and not just “existed”. A girl who cared more about feelings and emotions rather than gadgets and clothes and money and all material things. She didn’t seem to understand as to how she had come to this point her life.
Dhhhhadammmm…..It thundered. Startled she peered through the window. It was still raining heavily. Probably more heavily than before. She reached out to see, whether the window was securely locked and then suddenly thought….what if…? What if, were this window open? It would flood the room. It would douche my stuff. It would make a mess. Should I (open it), she thought. I am wearing fresh clothes now and how can I afford to get sick, she reasoned. There is so much to do tomorrow, I should probably sleep, she concluded.
As she turned around, she once again caught sight of the diary still laying on the floor….displaying that old slightly smudged from the tears, entry, made 5 years ago.
Laughing knowingly, she threw the window open and stretched out her arms in a welcoming gesture. As the pure rain drops splashed across her face drenching her, you could see the slight smile forming on her lips.
As the rain seeped through her clothes into her heart, she felt a genuine calm spreading through her entire body. An eternal bliss embracing her…..peace…..tranquil peace…..Her smile widened as she softly muttered to herself…”I love you Rains…Welcome Back….”
Sonalism- It's different 