Day 2 started off uneventful. Same usual cup of coffee and two bourbons. Trouble started when the mess sent in breakfast I hadn't ordered and the warden's eyes over the mask analysed me critically on whether I intended to actually eat it. I gave a tight lipped smile of dissaproval as she put down the food in two neat aluminium foils.
I eyed them with disdain and closed the door, frowning at my morning coffee. Breakfast depends on mood so it could wait. A brief thought of sitting with my textbook came to my mind, but it evaporated like camphor as soon as it had arrived.
The reasons were obvious, the weather. The light drizzle stopped after a while but the skies stayed gloomy and the airs breezy.
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And that is the perfect atmosphere to pick up a good romantic book.
POSTSCRIPT By Cecilia Ahern is the perfect sequel to P. S I love you. This book had been lying unread for days because I had been treasuring it, afraid of it getting over. This is my first book from my own stipend so I had developed an emotional attachment.
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And the morning turned to day.
Soon I was opening my food packet. One peek and I sat there stunned, almost as if I had seen a ghost.
Semiyan (vermicelli) ugh! With sambar (vegetable soup) so watery that I could use it to quench my thirst. I stared at it with revulsion and then realised I had eaten the same food for three years without complaint. Four months at home and I was being picky.
durriza piped in and suggested I should imagine it's noodles and eat with ketchup, reminding me of yesterday's disastrous dinner. I had a good laugh, inhaled the food somehow, washed the dishes and went back to my book.
jinnis appeared on Discord, chatting about this and that until I realised she loves photography like me. We exchanged photographs and she showed me her water adventures on sailboats. We talked of flowers, monsoons and practical everything till lunch arrived.
To my utter horror it was only chole (yellow grams) with daal and rice when I had clearly ordered non veg. Irritated beyond measure, I opened my kettle, poured in water and eggs, and set it to boil, praying that they don't end up like yesterday.
Thankfully the eggs were done well. I burnt my tongue trying to eat them hot but they were worth it.
Fun fact : I mastered the eggs finally
Some random person slipped in a news that college might not even reopen as we had expected as they were pissed at some students approaching the government. The news created a stir amoung the ones that arrived early. The indecisions were really worrying us all out. The feeling of dread was slowly creeping up on me so I decided to watch 2 more episodes of the cheesy series FLAMES.
I spent 2 hours in bed listening to sleep meditations that finally calmed my fraying nerves. Anxiety is a monster, isolation more so. But anxiety and isolation together is a nightmare. Thankfully it passed away though the uncertainty kept looming over our heads.
In the evening I had a sudden inspiration yo to draw and I needed a model. So I picked up the lovely durriza again and made a quick sketch of her.
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We had some fun conversing and praising each other sky high, after which I finally went downstairs and chatted with three others, all the while maintaining social distance. The conversation was damn funny partly because it was after a long time and mainly because we talked about how weird the Hindi dubbed movies and terms of Harry Potter are. Some girl in our group had made good use of lockdown to watch Harry Potter for the first time.
I and EverSinceNever glared at her so hard that she didn't utter one negative comment about HP. We, Potterheads can be pretty scary to new people entering the fandom.
The rains continued drumming incessantly on the sunroof, the pitter patter creating a musical rhythm that reverberated throughout the empty halls. I stood at the balcony, looking at the streetlight through the haze of the rain. I extended my hands out to the sky, the rains caressing my palms. It made me feel alive, it made fe feel needed, momentarily. I was one with the nature.
Today's song on repeat is
Yeh haseen wadiyan by A R Rahman
And today's weather was much like the song exceot there is no sajna or any companion to share the emotions with. Postscript, plus the weather, brought back the buried feelings of love, the romantic, blissful love and the unspoken emotions of the eyes.
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Life isn't always a struggle. People can frown on the rain causing inconvenience, lovers can encourage the rain in endearing terms, to let them enjoy one more moment in a romantic bliss. But though moments have both sides to them like the rains, yet moments itself are fleeting and we need to enjoy each of them, yet never cling to the old ones until they're all good memories.
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One more day over in Quarantine. 12 more to go! And I learnt to perfect the eggs, so that's a plus 😉
