The Moon

As he stepped out of his college building, something wonderful happened. The first image he received was that of the full moon. Round, clear and spotless. A Chinese poem states:

"The fresh and beautiful moon is traveling in the utmost empty 

sky. When the mind-rivers of living beings are free, that 

image of the beautiful moon will reflect in each of us." 

He set his eyes on the Moon. It reminded him of the past. The one he was trying hard to forget, the one he was trying to let go of. It reminded him of her. Her carefree laugh started to echo in his ears and their talks captured his mind. They would always fight over who had a better choice. Her choice was Moon, his was she herself. And this was the only thing where he didn't love to lose against her. He stood by his beliefs, she stood by hers. Never coming to an end. And then one day, a new chapter started. She had vowed to prove him wrong. He had always asked her to be strong, confident and fight till the end with a great willpower but he never knew these skills could also be used against him. He stood shocked as she went on to prove how bad a choice he had.

Tomorrow, she may not be with him. He may forget everything about her. But what about the moon? The moon would always be there. And remind him of his imperfect choice. Always.

Recognition

It was half past eight in the morning. The Delhi Metro was standing still midway with the notifications about the delay going on. A man in his sixties was sitting in front of me. He was well dressed and had a glowing face, beaming with joy. Looking at his watch again and again, counting the number of stations left and then eagerly looking outside to check if the train started moving, he was getting very impatient. With every passing moment, he was getting a bit disappointed. Observing him for the last five minutes, I decided to strike a conversation with him.

"You seem to be in a hurry. Have you got an appointment with some doctor?", I enquired noticing the envelope of a hospital in his hand. "No. I have to take breakfast with my wife. She is admitted to a nearby hospital.", he replied.

"Ah, I see. How is she now? What happened to her?" This came entirely out of excitement.
"She is suffering from Alzheimer and has been admitted to the hospital for a long time. We always take our breakfast together", he replied with the same calmness.
I asked again,"Would she get angry with you if you got a bit late?"
"No." He took a long breath and continued. "Due to the disease she has completely forgotten about me and has not even identified me for the last five years."
I got a bit surprised. "You go to have breakfast with her daily even though she cannot recognize your presence!!!"
This time he smiled and replied,"She might not remember who I am but I know who She is."

Surprise!!

Though they met almost daily, he was oddly excited today. Everything was perfect. The flowers, the chocolates and the gift. He had finally gathered the guts to tell her what he felt about her and wanted to surprise her. He had reached the venue ahead of time. The venue, as decided by her, was way too distant from his normal path but he didn't complain. As the time passed, his excitement level was rising exponentially. He had said the lines a million times in his mind. She could arrive there any moment, so, he didn't want to lose any time.

There was still some time left for the decided time. Suddenly, his mobile beeped. He checked. It was a message from her. "I won't be able to come."

He didn't utter a single word. He didn't know how to react. Maybe, he never expected that a surprise might be waiting for him also. He looked around himself. There was a small girl begging for food. He went to her and gave the flowers, chocolates and the gift to her. She jumped with joy and her face split into a wide smile. She ran away and gradually faded into the crowd. So did his ambitions. A smile crossed his face and he turned back to what seemed to be an endless journey.