Lovers in Rome

"May be, we should have gone to Rio", She said.

"What?"

"Instead of Rome, We should have gone to Rio. You know how much I hate the cold. It makes me bad tempered and irritable. My feet were cold the whole time. Rome was a bad idea in December, what were we thinking?"

"Why does it matter now?"

"Life is made of memories, and we would have made great ones in Rio. Better than the ones we made in Rome"

"Life is made of feelings too and back then, I loved you too much to care if your feet were cold all the time, All I wanted to do was look deep into your eyes and tell you how much I loved you"

"You said -  'back then' "

"Yes, I said 'back then' "

"hmm"

"Sill girl! I mean - now,  there are other things that  I want to do besides just declare my affections for you"

she chuckled, "You have the heart of a wanderer.You always had lists - places to go , things to do, people to meet, stories to make."

"Yes,this story will be the best of all"

She had that hard look in her eyes, the one he hated. He knew then , that she had made up her mind.

She said, "Stories without me in them, places without me next to you."

"Life is also made of hard decisions. This is one such for me, I hope you know that"

She looked up, deep into his eyes. "Life is made of sacrifices too, besides, there is the whole love thing."

"Yes, there is the love thing. And the sacrifice thing. For 20 years I sacrificed everything else for love, maybe it's time to sacrifice love for everything else."

"Okay."

"I'll see you later, maybe?"

"Maybe."

She walked away.

Zola

She came to me in the middle of winter at beginning of a white weekend. I remember the warmth of my morning coffee on that Saturday. I remember looking out the window and thinking how the world had turned white and black generously sprinkled with shades of grey. I remember looking towards the east, at the ominously grey skies and trying to find the sun hoping it would warm my cheeks. It took me a while, but when I did find it, the sun was hardly more than a gentle lamp in the sky.

She came unexpectedly. I remember the pounding in my ears and the sound of my breath. Was that really my heart?  Most of all, I remember her eyes. They were a deep green , like a tiny bit of spring in the middle of winter. Sometimes, when I looked closely enough, I thought I saw specks of gold in them. She was my own little bundle of warmth. And joy, oh-so-much-joy!

The doctors said that there was something wrong with her. She did not respond fast enough, but I knew that there was something special about her and that they didn't understand. She didn't think like everyone else. She was a child of spring born in the middle of winter, her mind belonged with colours and music.Her thought did not follow linear steps of logic but followed her own inner rhythm. She needed her own special world, where spring lasted for ever. I knew it before they said it, of course, she did not belong here, with us. She had to go, I knew.

But I had endless days of spring while I had her.

Together we discovered that the world was made of interesting patterns and secret laws. There was an Underthing full of small thingammables which scurried all day and sometimes deep into the night to keep the middle stable. The middle was pushed into place by the beautiful blue Overthing that was filled with white fluff that attracted winged thwangs, which looked for hidden gold all the time. We had to eat apples to discover hidden wishes and drink our milk everyday because it filled up our bones. Sleep was good because, it helped the night fairies spread magic dust on the flowers.

Winter melted into spring with flowing colours and fresh blossoms everywhere. Soon summer followed with walks in the park and hot splashes in the pool. Autumn was a canvas of yellows and oranges which my Zola told me were because of the sun sending some of his warmth to the earth to prepare her for the upcoming winter. Soon all seasons blurred into long walks and laughter, hot cookies fresh from the oven,dips in the lake and made-up stories about numbers that just wouldn't stay put on paper! As is the nature of things, time did fly by, we must have had a lot of fun.

On another winter day, in another time, with another storm building up in the east and suffocating the early morning sun, I look out the window again and wait for spring. For, in spring, I remember my Zola best.

20

20 minutes. To build it up, to grind it to dust. To make it up, to break it down. To run up and reach, to crash and burn. Weave a wreath of magical words, shatter a cherished dream with harsh reality. Make or break.  

blank

I believe that all moments in a desert are the same. The light tricks you into thinking that time has passed. A breath, a blink,all tricks of your mind. Everything stops. The dunes shift,your soul withers. The sand flows over your body endlessly. You almost don't notice that it scorches. It burns. The desert is a dangerous place. It is because all moments are the same in a desert.

A Message

As I looked out the car window from the back seat of the Audi on my drive back home at the dreary gray winter landscape, I noticed all the trees and wooded areas that dominated the view. There were no leaves, not a sign of green anywhere. They were bare with no sign of life; they were brown the colour of the earth. The only signs of life were on the road - in the cars all around. Red, blue, green- every colour and shape available.Winter does strange things to colour, it's almost as if someone turned down the contrast in the view or dipped it in gray.

I closed my eyes and thought of the time before all the iPads and the iPhones. Of the time before super computers and men on the moon.The time before the talkies and Alice in Wonderland. Before the Lord of the Rings and Columbus, before Industrialization and Renaissance, wooden tools and even the first wheel. The time before the first man. The time of the Trees. Great trees that ruled the world. They were the source and the center of life. Entire ecosystems sprang to life and lived in their nourishing shadow.

Of all the Great Trees there was one who was the Greatest - The Eldar. All the Great trees whispered about his wisdom and kindness. It was said that The Eldar was the first Breather, some even said that The Eldar was of the Earth herself, her expression of life. They all believed that every Breather that followed the Eldar, was his expression and carried a part of his being. The Eldar, of course, never spoke of his beginnings, but just of the future. He spoke of a great many things, but most of all he spoke of two things. The Earth, he said needed to be protected from the Breathers and also that the Breathers needed to be protected from the Earth.The other Great Trees listened and believed but could never really comprehend this logic.They did their best to protect the Breathers from the Earth and the Earth from the breathers. Thus arose all seasons- they nourished the breathers when the sun was warm and protected the Earth by turning brown when the sun grew cold. They did this every year and a pattern formed. All life followed the lead of the Great Trees and slept when it was cold and flourished under the warm sun.

The other thing that The Eldar spoke of was balance. The Great Trees listened , but again, could not comprehend.

Time moved along, faster during the warm season and slower when cold. Fact turned to hearsay and stories to legend. The Great Trees realized their strength and discovered their voice. The loudest among them was heard the most. He was a young oak, tough and strong. He spoke of the Greatness of the Trees, he said they were mighty and that they deserved to dominate the breathers because of their greatness and might. He said, leading the Breathers was necessary- a job for the wise. They were of the old world and controllers of the seasons. Leading the Breathers was a responsibility, he said, as the Great Trees were the only ones who knew about the power of the Earth. It was time to take up their responsibility and not shirk away. The Great Trees listened and this time, they comprehended. They knew what they had to do.

They turned towards The Eldar with belligerence in their hearts and defiance in their eyes, challenging him to disagree. The Eldar grew silent and withdrew within himself. He never spoke a word again, but seemed to shrink in size. The other Great Trees took this to mean that he was passing on, failing to notice that they too shrunk a little each day.

The best way, said the Oak , to care for the Breathers was to have maximum presence on the Earth. The others agreed and spread their roots far and wide. Many new Trees took root and grew. They took their lead from the Great ones, who didn't seem so Great anymore. In fact many times, a Great Tree was considered just a Tree because he did not remember the Oak's message.The wisdom and sayings of The Eldar slowly faded into history, forgotten and discarded. The Trees now believed that the world was theirs to own and the Breathers were to be pitied. They believed in their greatness and their march forward into the future was looked upon with eagerness and excitement.

Many new things happened one season-cycle. Strong winds blew away many Trees and Great Trees in many places. The golden warmth of the sun turned, blazing hot and burned down huge forests. The Trees looked to the Great ones for advice and direction, but it seemed that the Great Trees were passing on faster and faster. The warm season grew warmer and the cold season grew colder. It seemed as if the Earth grew in fury and unleashed her wrath in great force. During a very hot day in a harsh warm season the Oak grew silent and thus the last of the Great Trees passed on. With no one to guide them, the Trees grew into themselves and slowly lost their voices too. Thus, imbalance entered the world and all life forms began their various cycles of ultimate destruction.

.......I opened my eyes, with a feeling that you have when you dream something strange. I tried hard to grasp at tendrils of the dream but they were too fast and slipped away from me. I shrugged it off and switched on my iPad.

Dicing With The Gods

We dice.

Without a care, and just for fun, we dice.

"What about Human lives you say? What are humans, but pieces on a board, sources of entertainment on a lazy afternoon. What are their lives, but flickers in infinite time; their presence, insubstantial in the vastness of space. Mere trifles, not worth sparing a thought for! We are the Gods, we own their every breath, thought and action. "

"Our bailiwicks are five, one for each - Reason, Irony, Calamity, Chaos and oh yes, Love." , detailed the Lord of Reason.

"My turn", roared the Lord of Chaos and rolled the dice with glee. Randomness ensued, one strange move followed by another. Each move illogical and unreasonable but very portentous. Soon after, a black storm raged the seas and fire rained down on the lands - Calamity's influence shook the board and some pieces disappeared into the gloom.

"Lets turn this into a masterpiece" ,pronounced the Master of Irony.With a graceful touch here and a sudden move there, his deft hand transformed the board to one.

Everyone turned to the God of Love with challenge in their eyes.

He returned their stares, smiled and said, "Yes, lets dice!"

The Land of No Time

Goodbye.