Castles of Sand
It’s been a long day today. The streetlights shine brightly as the sky starts showing the first signs of dawn.
My feet are aching from the adventures of the day. The little sore on the soft skin near the toes is becoming a blister and each step is becoming more painful with every passing moment. But I walk on. On the sand with my bare feet.
The feel of sand between my toes, the feeling that I love so much is somehow not pleasing me today. There is a mound of sand at a side and I walk over to inspect it.
Castles. Two of them. Sand. Dissolving back into the water. The tide washing away the hard labour of some hands. I think of those hands that must have shaped those castles. I can almost hear giggles and feel sweat. Suddenly I feel terribly alone. And sad.
I move on. In my life I have learnt to do just that. Moving on without stopping to brood. But I break my rules every now and then.
My feet are going numb with pain and I feel acutely lonesome. But I will keep walking to feel the pain and relish it.
I see the face of my brother. The skin taut over his bony structure, He is young but his handsome face is cut here and there with lines of self reproach. His slender body stooped by the crushing weight of reality. He is lonesome too. Just like me. Only he is too young. We count our years on our fingers and after a while we both have the same number of fingers raised. Same count. And yet I’m a hundred years old and he is only twenty two.
Sitting on the coast, I wish I had not cast away all the faces to the crowds. I wish I had made at least one fixture. One familiar face to bring warmth to this cold cold heart.
The sand on the floor reminds me of my day’s expeditions. I want to pack all my dreams. So insignificant on this moonlit night. I want to run away. Catch a train to nowhere and reach a place where I can start afresh.
Neverland, he reads my thoughts. It’s neverland. Some day I might reach there in quest of peace that always eludes me. He is smiling and for a fleeting moment, we are the same age again. Twenty Two.
We laugh like school children and I forget the leaden heart of mine. The smile accentuates the tears. These eyes shine brilliantly for a flash of a second. And then the mirth dies. All is quiet. Like the lull before a storm.
Another stab of pain and a familiar sting. An insignificant one. I breathe in the sea and watch the skyline. Studded with the life of Mumbai. Beating. Throbbing. Like my cold flesh. The pain of insignificance… Washing over all my senses…
- Neha
Tags: Mumbai, Marine Drive, Churchgate, Kunal Kumaria
madhavi says:
tht was intimately put….!=)
May 15th, 2006 at 10:46 am
Dolphin says:
And u say I write sad stuff.
Now I wonder who is more sick, u or me.
May 15th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
Munish says:
good one…..I appreciate the writing
May 15th, 2006 at 02:14 pm