THE DREAMER
In the relentless and torrential downpour, the two souls
stood under a broken wooden shade which was shakily supported by four decaying
logs. Prying on them were the thick greens which veiled them from the world.
His constant gaze piercing through the smoke of his cigarette did not affect
her indifference; instead her resigned persona challenged all the treacheries
of the earth.
She had been a prisoner of life and its adversity. The
relics of her failed relationship and the lifeless furniture of her house were
the constant reminder of her loneliness which was devouring her brutally every
day. Each dawn took away a slice of her vigor. On a voyage of losing herself,
she no more feared the calamitous earth that day as she had nothing more left to
be robbed.
She became aware of
the spine chilling wet breeze around her when he offered her a cigarette standing
at a foot’s distance with an outstretched hand holding a pack. Grabbing one she
retreated to a heap of hay and amid the torrential rain watched the smoke puffs
escaping her pale pink lips. Thereafter, a little time elapsed in their
introduction which revealed that she lost her way while tracing the path to the
jeep and her friends after a casual stroll around; while his purpose of a photographic
project brought him there.
The rainwater was brimming up and was about to reach the
rocky platform where they had taken refuge. Noticing her lack of enthusiasm to talk, he soon
engaged himself in capturing the forest rain with his professional
camera.
“What makes you this delightful in life? You may be stuck
here for hours till the rain, hunger or some wild beasts suck the life out of
you” she called out.
A little taken aback he examined her for a moment and then
responded “I would be delightful that my life ended while I was cherishing it instead of making depressing remarks”
With a mischievous smile he added “Well instead of warning me you must be
worrying about your life. I may be a rapist or a dangerous criminal on a
breakout.”
“A rapist with a DSLR camera?” she raised an eyebrow.
“You never know. I may use it for making your MMS” he
winked.
A genuine laugh escaped her and marked the beginning of an amicable
conversation between them. In a quick succession of words the stranger
unshackled her heart. Her desires, sorrows and longings found expression and he
became her confiding friend. She confessed how the excruciating pain of being ditched
in a relationship still stabbed her everyday and how the words of masked acquaintances
around suffocated her. She expressed her deepest desires to explore the world and
how the loneliness fed on her making her weak. She admitted how difficult it became for her to move on after her dreams came down thrashing on the floor leaving behind
a scar as a constant reminder to her failure. She narrated how much monotonous
her posh life was and how she wished to flee. Throughout, he was just a calm and understanding listener to whom she poured her heart out.
It was only when she finished they both realized that the
rain had finally stopped and the most enchanting hue that existed on earth that moment was green that encased them in its riveting innocence. The raindrops lay
pearled on the leaves, some dropping off them. Twittering birds and some
scattered silver clouds completed the sketch of a paradise. When they both set
off together to find their way back to the world, she wished to stay behind for
a few more hours or perhaps days.
On the way back she discovered his profound love for
photography. Throughout the way he was engrossed in clicking pictures and
explaining her random things about it. Sometimes she was amused by his gestures
while at others she envied him for being so pleased with life. When she saw the earth through his frames it looked resplendent.
“What do you love the most to capture?” She asked.
“Ummm...mountain peaks, snow capped, against the gliding silver
clouds. Sometimes veiled by mist and sometimes towering high overlooking every creation
of the earth” he replied imaginatively.
“How far do you wish to go with photography in life?” she questioned him.
“Surely to the zenith where I’ll have a famed studio, perhaps a training center too and….let’s see” he concluded with a smile.
“And what if someday you lose your way to reach your dream…like
forever?” she inquired.
“Life has numerous ways ma'm….and if you are planning to
block them all for me in your next question then I’ll find another dream for life.
While you desire to explore world…I desire to explore life” he said with a triumphant smile.
She expressed her wish to be clicked by the "world’s-would-be-greatest-photographer", as she had tagged him, and handed him a card with her the address for mailing the same. A few more hours
of walk, laughter and sharing anecdotes of life brought them to the highway which, although earlier threatened her to engulf in a saddening monotony, unfolded a mystic contentment. Before parting ways and bidding
adieu the two strangers only wished each other good luck.
Her anxiety ended within a fortnight when finally after returning
home she received an envelope which she instantaneously guessed contained her picture
clicked by the "world’s-would-be-greatest-photographer". Her smile widened when
her guess turned out to be appropriate and her own snap transported her to the magical
day which had strangely unburdened her heart, in ways inexplicable to her. The envelope also enclosed a note within which read:
‘That day when you reached the edge of life to fearlessly embrace your destiny, whatsoever it be, life catered a new spirit to you which sparkled through your eyes
just as I have captured in this picture. When you lose a dream life serves you
many more to pick up and cherish so much that the world around you blurs. Let go of the scars, pains and words of the masked acquaintances and pick up a new dream to live. A few years back I was a professional trekker, in love with snow capped mountains. But I lost that dream to a bike accident after which one of my legs had to be
amputated. It became impossible for me to climb up with a wooden leg so I
picked up a new dream, photography, and loved it ardently and honestly. I rented
camera for projects that paid me little in terms of money and huge in terms of
joy. You know the masked acquaintances around me used to say that my life needs
stability first as dreams won’t appease my starved nights for long. Little
they knew about what fed my soul. Yesterday, I finally managed to buy an SLR camera and felt a little closer to the zenith I told
you about. Today I am heading towards another deep wood for a new project with
another rented DSLR camera. But this time I am even more exhilarated as I will bring
home some of the frames of my dreams with me, captured in my own camera.’
