Longing Space Lines

Prologue

The moon was ablaze on the translucent grey curtain, the bluish-orange wall behind it wasn't quite visible. The stars bid adieu and faded like the kids hiding while playing hide and seek. "Eight.... nine... ten... eleven. Ready or not, here I come" the Sun said.

Hrishi was staring at the crescent green moon that was in the company of green stars on his ceiling, perhaps it was finally fitting in. He was listening to the SILENCE, the silence before the early birds started to chirp and the night birds said 'good morning' and went to sleep. After staring for a couple more minutes which seemed like seconds, he took his phone, the brightness of the screen was on 10% but the light made his iris constrict the pupil and he closed his eyes. He opened them slowly and the light reflected from his brown iris.

"Oh shit it's already 06:22, It's always 6:22." He mumbled to himself. He kept his phone and his ipad on charging, he took a deep breath and resolved to push himself to do a little exercise. He had been trying to push himself for the last 22 minutes (like every other morning). He did one and a half jumping jacks, stretched for less than 5 seconds, joined his palms above his head and placed right leg on the side of his left knee and held that position of vrikshasana for 2 seconds and then collapsed on the couch. How do you get ready for the day when every cell in your body wants to give up even though you are chasing your dreams? You seduce yourself with a hot shower on a frigid December morning and it takes lots of mettle to give in.

Hrishi was already late so he gargled with a colossal amount of mouthwash and stepped into the shower. There he spent a generous amount of time perfecting to hold his breath with his eyes wide open for more than two minutes. Time usually runs faster in the shower. As he stepped out and laid his eyes on the clock it was almost 7 am. He began to haste and was out of the house before 07:10am.

The Sun was out looking for the stars. The zephyr was cold enough to make him smile and pull his fingers inside the sleeves of his sap green sweatshirt. He was holding his white lab coat in one hand and a hot thermos of black coffee in another, a backpack hung on his back and his shoulders hunched under the weight of his books and his head.

"This too shall pass." Read the quote outside St. John church. He began to run towards the train station, the train ran into the station as well and he was teleported to his college. "Toxicology by Irani - 3rd floor" notified his calendar and he pressed the elevator button.

The seeker was still seeking for the stars and in that endeavour he climbed up. When he couldn't find them there, the sun began to sail downhill. The Sun knew that it's pragmatically not possible to find the stars in broad daylight. It's like looking for a shadow with a luminous torch. However, it kept on looking, was it the result of boredom or an attempt to escape solitude? For, no matter what it indulged in it didn't really matter. So it engaged itself with absolutely everything that came its way.

Hrishi kicked the footfall in an attempt to pass it to his teammate but failed. The game went on for fifteen minutes before his phone rang. "Please tell me that you have already packed your bags and are ready to leave?" The girl said in a commanding voice.

"I have packed my packs and I am ready to leave." Hrishi said with a firm voice and smile on his face.

"I don't believe that. Are you still in college?"

"Sahi jawab (correct answer) and you have won one crore rupees." He walked out of the field and waved goodbye to his teammates.

"It's not even six o'clock man." One of his teammates said loudly.

"I gotta go dude, see you guys on Monday." Hrishi said and began to walk towards the train station.

"Shove that money up your ass, asshole." Vani said angrily.

"I know you haven't seen it but I don't really have that huge of an asshole."

"Dude, stop fucking around. You have to be at the station at nineteen hundred hours."

"I don't think I'll be able to walk with that amount of cash up my butthole." Hrishi laughed.

"Dude .."

"Vani yaar don't worry, I have packed my bags already and I'll be on time."

"Okay. Carry some extra clothes, more of your sweatshirts and jackets."

"Why? I can survive for eternity in one pair of jeans and a sweatshirt."

"Just keep some extra man, it's going to get very chilly."

"Fine. MA'AM. I'm not giving you any of my clothes though."

"We'll see about that, Hrishi boi." She laughed.

"Don't boi me Vani"

"Okay, see you at the station, boi. Boye boye."

"Bye." Hrishi hung up the call.

The faded image of the moon was now visible in the sky, it was as if the moon was prompting the sun where the stars had hidden. The Sun began to think of a ruse and hid itself behind the ocean and was peeking, kinly tip-toeing in the direction of the stars. The sky began to choose new clothes for its date with the night, obviously something sidereal, from blue to Turkish blue to tangerine and purple and violet before finally settling on grey. The stars came out to see what took the Sun so long and the Sun said, "gotcha, now it's my turn to hide." And the sun disappeared behind the ocean before stars could start counting. They knew lots of numbers, they could count for the whole night.

Hrishi was morose and silent when reached home, he tucked some clothes in his bag and changed his shoes. He knocked on his neighbour's door and apprised them that he was going out for two days and wanted the milkman to know the same. He wanted to tell them to water the plants but the plants were already dead.

It was almost seven, he was in no mood to go but he knew that it would be his last day on earth if he said that to Vani and Parth.

"This too shall pass" shone brightly under the lights outside the church.

"Yeah but not before two days" he mumbled to himself and headed towards the station.

In the train he found himself standing in front of a broken toilet mirror. There were shards of glasses scattered on the floor and a little piece lodged between his bloodied knuckles.

He looked at himself in the mirror now with a sinuous pattern and said, "oh shit."

"It's all fake, it's all fake, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." He began to bay.

The train was moving.

The moon was ablaze on the translucent black curtain, the sky was cladded in grey waiting for its date who would never show up. The stars were looking for the sun, who was hiding in plain sight among them. Sometimes all we have is a night to find the path that would lead towards light.

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Sahi jawab - (hindi) correct answer
Yaar - (hindi) slang for a friend or a close friend.