Social Short Story – New Roots
Photo credit: anitapeppers from morguefile.com
It was yet another typical summer afternooon. In the cold hills of Shimla where people craved for sunlight, I was lying on the grass, glancing at the sky with my eyes half closed to avoid the glare of the sun waiting for snow. There were still four to five months left for my favourite season to arrive.
Adapting to the coldest hill stations from the hot and dry deserts of Thar was not an easy task. This sudden transition had a great effect on my day to day activities. I missed the sand, the camels, not to forget my closest of friends but I had to admit this place for better for my future. I was sent here at my uncle’s so as to start a good career but the only reason I agreed to it was to enjoy the weather.
My life in Rajasthan was just as good minus the torture of the scorching sun. It made me drowsy, reduced my enthusiasm to work productively and most of all, it made me want to build a castle underwater just for me, which even was not possible as we barely had any rivers around and I wasn’t allowed to waste water as we faced an acute shortage of it.
I reached by train which was indeed a tiring journey. We had an hour of delay due to some minor problem in the system, I had to deal with a coach of talkative ladies and it seemed as if they owned the train. I brought with me a journal so as to jot down any beautiful experiences that came my way but unfortunately nothing interesting occurred and I had nothing to do other than chanting mantras to myself hoping to reach my destination sooner or later.We were just about to reach the station when the train broke down yet again. I could hold it on no longer and jumped off the train promising to myself, never again to board the same. It would have only taken 10 more minutes by train to reach the station but I knew it would take the train double the time to repair itself.
I raced along the the grassy side with my heavy luggage and I was happy enough to reach the town before the train. I took a pathway which was supposed to be a shortcut and luckily, it was. Happy enough to find a payphone across the street I dragged my luggage to the other side trying so hard to run before a vehicle came my way. As I pushed the door so as to get in to the booth, I realised it was locked. Angry with myself, I set down my baggage to breathe in some oxygen and calm down myself.
I found a stationary store round the corner where there seemed to be a telephone. This time, I promised myself not to get over excited or else I would yet again be let down, but fortunately this telephone was in a pretty good condition waiting for me to use it. I called my uncle and requested him to pick me up where I was. I still cannot remember the complicated name of the street and am just happy enough to get out of that situation. After half a day of relaxation, the night came when I just couldn’t sleep thinking about what I needed to do next. Another half day passed by I am still here, lying on the lawn, staring at the sky, clueless.
–END–
