Social Short Story – A Weekend Plan
Photo credit: earl53 from morguefile.com
Friday
The floor was empty. The only ceiling light that was glowing was one on top of cubicle on extreme corner of the floor. Ryan was still working! It was Friday and the desktop clock on the screen was shouting 10’o clock. As a new entrant into the team he had no option but to finish work given as it was required to be done by today. Everyone else senior to him had some or other important work that cropped up just in evening hours. Ryan understood all this because it used to happen very often. Important work would mostly be late night party or some movie or outing plan, for most of them. He would any way come to know by their facebook posts by end of day or next morning. Ryan was working hard to get the task done by 11 as he would leave by that time. As he was moving through the code he had written all day long to see why it was not working the way it should have been, his phone rings up. It was from his mother and he was already expecting it, like all other people around in the India expect a call from their mothers at least three to four times a day.
“You still in office?” asked his mother.
“Yes, will leave soon”, he confirmed.
“Did you have your dinner?” another question from his mother. Ryan smiled as he knew query list will be long and same like every day, and so the answers.
“No, will do once I reach my flat”, Ryan replied.
“When will you leave? You could have had dinner in office only!” said his mother.
“Will take care next time ma”, replied Ryan. He knew what was coming next.
“You always say same thing every time. You never take care of your health”, his mother was on a run. Ryan saw it coming and was quick enough to get a cover. He ended the conversation by replying “Ok mom, I am ending the call, go to do some work”.
The call ended and he thought of taking a round around and see the city how it looked in night from 16th floor of his office building. He went to window and his eyes filled with sleep was thinking how could people be out there at 10 losing their sleep and running behind chaos and be part of it, that too without awareness. The view and the unheard noise made him uneasy and his dizzy head was asking him go to bed. He went to his desk, completed his work, took his bag and started for lift area.
As he went for lift and pressed button to go to ground floor, the lift came without stopping anywhere indicating that not many people were left in the office building to use it. As lift opened, he went inside and waited to land on ground floor. He went to parking area, boarded his scooty and moved out of office building and started his most beautiful journey, from office to his flat. A journey he made every day but yet it felt special and a blessing every single day.
Fridays were always special in sense that it meant two holidays on weekend and a lot of time for oneself and also for many other things. As he moved from office area to city, the traffic slowly gathered pace and density. It seemed like a million people moving helter-skelter, going to places after losing sleep and with a flawed expectation of immense joy and happiness that they might achieve. With all chattering around, the condition inside his mind was also similar.
“I can never understand this phenomenon. Why people don’t love their sleep! It has crossed 11 and yet people are moving and running around. God help them set their sense and priorities right.”
A red light at signal made him stop his vehicle. In last half an hour ride from office to his flat, this was fourth stop he made. The unique thing was that amount of people waiting for signal to be green were same on all sides, irrespective of whether next turn was theirs or not. We it is not strange, we Indians we special in this. We always want things our way and also preferential treatment, if possible. Ryan looked around for some time and a smile came to his face.
“Not a single face around has a smile. Funny enough! All we do and want is to be happy and we forget to be happy and smile all the way. Not only on way to flat from office but in this journey called Life”.
But Ryan was happy at the fact that this observation brought a smile on his face. Light went green and all sad, unhappy faces went their way and Ryan continued. He reached his apartment and a glance around signified that almost everyone was home. All parking spaces were free except his. He got into lift, pressed button next to his floor number and prayed if his next hike is at least close the his floor number. He got out of lift at his floor, reached his flat and went inside.
Ryan threw the bag, got into shower, came back fresh and little rejuvenated and went to kitchen. With hope the something of his liking would be there in the utensil he opened the cover. Hopefully it was vegetable curry made of jackfruit and his favorite and a big smile from heart came to his face. He took it and went to balcony. A lot of city could be seen from there and was his favorite part of day and week. He loved seeing the city with all its forms and virtues and being a writer he used to then write the experiences he used to go through as a witness to happenings around and inside him.
He looked back at clock on wall in hall and it smiled 11:50 PM. Ryan smiled back with a glow on his face. The clock knew the reason and it was very simple. Ryan had two days to write and serve and do whatever he wanted to, something for which he waits for whole five days. And other thing is he meets his family around the city, which he had made in last two years. Having his dinner and witnessing the city at 12 midnight was a treat for him.
He finished his dinner, went to kitchen and then came back to balcony with his laptop and wrote started writing. He wrote for few minutes but thought of going to bed as he was dead sleepy. He saved his work as draft and went to sleep. Sleep was one of his favorite activities, like many of us. It was something which allowed him to escape from world at physical realm and go to his dream world with a hope that the world will be a better one than today. A world where he can just be the way he was before growing up to be an adult!
Saturday
The world was awake and running and jogging and smiling. Ryan was half-awake and the clock was sarcastically smiling 5 as it knew he won’t get up. Ryan felt it was two more hours before he would be able to get out of bed. Hoping this he slept again. He was used to take little more sleep on weekends as he had to make up for lost sleep on weekdays. A habit I am sure most of us have and it is good to have. The two hours were very quick and it was 7 soon.
Ryan finally had to move out of bed and get fresh and finally on yoga mat. A place which has become his favorite in a short span of time and something which made sure he is healthy and fit and strong. After a two hour long yoga, pranayama and meditation session, he took breakfast and took out diary to plan the precious, always-most-awaited weekends. Apart from writing he had lot to do and so many people to meet. An entire spectrum of holistic life awaited him in next two days.
Ryan said to himself “Let me begin by writing a little. A happy and joyful start to another amazing weekend. People are sometimes amazed by fact that my overall health is highly dependent on if I am writing much apart from having healthy food and doing yoga, pranayama and meditation. But I know it is there and I need it. After writing good enough I will drive down to nearby juice center and have at least two glass of fruit juice. Then will head towards nearby orphanage to meet my angelic friends and spend some time with them and give them some chocolates, sweets and crackers for Deepavali.
Then I need to go to an old age home and spend some time there and affirm them that someone is there to take care of everything. They need not worry and just relax. By that time it will be noon, I can have lunch somewhere and then get back here and write again. Rest will plan in evening”.
He continued on story he left few days back and wrote for quite a good amount of time. It was 10:30 when he thought of going out for some fun service activity and closed his diary. He took his bag and keys and wallet and went to lift. Got down at parking area and set out on his scooty out into the world. A world where he can be himself and just do what he feels like and be what he wants to be. Weekends were special for him not because it was a holiday but because he could be part-time writer, roam around with people with similar interest of serving and bringing smile on faces of other people and just enjoy the freedom and bliss of being natural.
For Ryan being natural meant to write, sing, dance, meditate, do yoga & pranayama and be of use to people and world around. This the only reason weekends were so special for him. He felt alive in those moments of being himself and an expression of that freedom and bliss was apparent on his face and in his body language as he drove off out into the city.
–END–
