Forgetting the Past, confused in the future

Sunday was sunny and a nice day to get my oversized body outside for a walk, it has been ages since I have taken a pleasure walk. Nowadays I walk purely for business, be it because of a flat tyre, buying goodies from a nearby shop or to reach office from the designated parking area, walking was for a reason. But Sunday I thought of testing my muscles and bones and decided to move around in between trees at a nearby park. It was refreshing for me at the park, to see so many kids running around and playing with their buddies, nostalgic moments I should say to think that once upon a time, I was a kid doing the same. Still refreshing and enjoying the scenic beauty I was tugged from back by a strange hand and I was forcibly turned and saw a grown up man in his late twenties, he was smiling at me at astonishment and moment later he started clapping overjoyed as if a boy’s wish of an ice cream has been fulfilled.

Well I was still confused and was staring at this act of joy but was not rude I was smiling at him too, well after a while he got hold of himself and said “Hey dude its surprise to see you here, that too after 10 years” . I was scratching my head couldn’t recollect this guy . He continued “man I saw you last at Neha’s party, you were drunk and was trying to unbutton your shirt stating it’s hot in there”. Okay who the hell is Neha and why should I be embarrassing myself by removing my shirt and show off my proud beer belly? Anyways I was frustrated like anything but had a grip on myself and was still looking at him without a clue.” Tell me how Neha is doing nowadays, heard you guys got married five years back. Got any kids? Ha? ha?” okay that was my clue to break the conversation and tell him I am not the man, you have misidentified the person. I raised my right hand ready to point my index finger and tell him looking right in his eye “Hey, you have the wrong person”. Before I could do that he snapped “Hey buddy you have lost weight… ” I have lost weight? That something new for me, haven’t heard that statement for…sayyy.. Never! Not once anybody admired me using those sentence because I never gave a chance, have been consistent.

Anyways the guy went on for fifteen minutes about his life and family and why he has moved back to the city I belong to after a gap of 10 years. I think he was in a hurry else he was willing to share more into his professional life too but he decided to end the conversation “Oh look at the time , I have to go, do one thing here is my card, lets meet up this Sunday and catch up with our old times” he handed over his card with smile and started walking away. I decided to walk away too in the opposite direction, with astonishment and confusion I turned to look at the guy walking away from me at the same moment he turned and waved at me and unknowingly I waved back too, that seals the deal he might have thought he has found his long lost best friend.

Walking away I was still in awe, why did he thought I am his friend, am I really a friend of his and I had a girl friend Neha , nah it couldn’t be ... could it?

Skills to Annotate

Good stories with intentions are hard to find sometimes if found it’s hard to interpret it. Nowadays I think people seldom like to read books which have more then one meaning in it and the amazing part is every individual would make out some meaning of those stories. Other day my brother’s father in law showed me a short story compiled by him. He said whenever I write I empathize or sympathize with the character or else it’s hard for him to imagine how the character behaves; now that’s what all writing is all about, you tell your story in a way the people would know it’s for real, at least for that moment. The story was of two pages and end of the last paragraph it did hit me like a big splash of emotional wave. The story was intense but yet subtle in a way conveying not a message but the state of mind of the character and we always wish we could know more of that person about whom the story is all about, his or her childhood who all were the friends and relatives etc. My brother happened to enter the room when I was discussing the story with his father in law the innocence and how deep emotions the story convey. My brother picked the pages, glanced through and once he was finished he announced the story is "wow" but I couldn’t understand the end. I think it is a habit for people to look for an outcome in a story like lord Voldemort is slain in the end of the Harry Potter saga or David Webb finds out his true identity in the Bourne series, but is it a rule that we need a decisive ending to a story. Look at Inception where in the end the top is still spinning keeping the audience in a mystery whether Leonardo has indeed back to reality.

I think the most important thing is interpreting what the writer has done, there is no good or bad or even right or wrong. It’s just an interpretation and the amazing thing is the writer has been inspired by some events in his or her life or maybe some other's lives and interpreting it into a story, now who is going to judge that interpretation?