When she walked away.

They both stood outside the front-yard of the huge sprawling bungalow that they lived in. The mid-July monsoon showers had begun to flow mercilessly. His face gave away his daunted feelings, fearful thoughts erupted his mind. His heart beat had caught an unnatural pace. Whereas she, she stood with a stoic posture, unnerved.

It seemed as if the throbbing heart of one was calling out to the other, to calm the storms. At times, you do wish that life wasn’t this difficult.
       She braced herself, tightly holding the bag’s handle, gearing herself to bear the parting talk.

       He gently took her soft hand in his and then it began:

Him : You can still turn back,you don’t have to do this.

Her: I don’t have an alternative! This is what I want.

Him: My dear, since the day I saw you, I promised myself that I won’t ever let anything or anyone harm you, come what may. We don’t know what kind of horrors you might have to face out there.

Her: But, I need to be out there, to seek what my heart desires. I can simply wait here all my life. But, how can you silence the horrors of my heart, then ? The regrets I’ll bear for the rest of my life.

Him: All my life, I’ve strived to give you everything you ever wanted and I still can!

Her: And there are things that I want for myself, from me. If I stop here, I’ll be only stranded.

Him: I want you to achieve all that you want. But, this fragile heart of mine, it doesn’t understand all of it. All it knows is to love you, to protect you and to never let that smile from your face fade away.

Tears start rolling down her face.I have loved this man all my life. I wish I could stay back and watch him smile with those glistening eyes.

Her: It is you who gave me the strength to take this decision, to keep my head held high and my spirit strong.
And how do you think I’ll forget that one person who made me who I am? You cannot take the stars away from the sky that holds them. And I’ll be your brightest star, Papa!
And they hugged each other for what seemed like eternity.

Epilogue:

Far often, we tend to forget appreciating the things people do for you. Especially your parents. The little things they have been doing for you, are what contribute to make you the person you are today. And when the whole wide world goes against you, they’ll be the ones to not only protect you, but give you the strength to fight back. This post is a dedication to every mother and father out there who does all possible things to never let their kid’s smile fade away. :’)

“Oh my dear, just come back here. You can sure let your heart sing, but first come here and take your wings.”

That one cab ride.

     “Job-life begins. College life is over. Life change ahead.” All these phrases are pretty scary for a 22-year old. The not-so morning people like me have to bear the added brunt of actually getting up when the Sun rises. You begin to genuinely miss the blissful 10-hour naps.
One such sleepy-eyed early morning, I happened to take a cab to work. The ride started like any other day, my eyelids trying to find closure. Then began one of the most inspiring conversations I’ve ever had.
The Cab-uncle asked me, “Beta kya karte ho?”
Me – “Engineering complete kiya hai, aaj job ka 2nd day hai.”
To which his first instinct was to say, “Engineer ho toh Bangalore mein kyu nahi ho.” It’s funny how stereotyped the society has become!

What he said after it, will always be a reminder to me.

“You’re getting into a 9-5 job. Almost everybody is able to do that. But the talent that you have, make sure you don’t let it get away with a busy life. Follow it, furnish it and strive for it; you will go places. Money will follow. You guys are young and you have time to go after your dreams. 
My friend’s kids earn 20 lac per year. I don’t even know what I’ll do with that kind of money. I never had any likes or tastes that would require much money.
I couldn’t complete my 10th grade. But,school days are the best part of your life. Enjoy the adolescent days.

These days, education is very important. I have two daughters- The elder one wants to become a CS and the younger one is into Commerce field. I want to see them both become successful in their lives. Agar bacche mehnat kar rahe hai na, toh paise toh kaise bhi jama kar lunga. When your children are striving to achieve greater heights, as parents you do anything that you possibly can to make it work.“


Epilogue:

Episodes like these make you realize how fortunate you are. You have crossed a certain milestone in education with minimal efforts because of your parents. Some parents couldn’t achieve their dreams, but they strive hard, so that their children can achieve what they want. Maybe the less fortunate ones have the ability to understand the worth of education in a much better sense. And the best quality they have is humility.
Also, some of us have certain passions that we dream to achieve one day. Time is such that along with dreaming, you have to act upon it every single day, every moment. To see the picture in your dreams become reality, now is the time to get worked up.
And yes, never ever stop believing in what lies in you heart. Realize it’s worth with every beat of your heart! DREAM BIG. :’)

“Fly just so high, amongst the birds in the sky. And soar upto the peaks, which your heart truly seeks!“