She closed the door behind her carefully, lest it made some noise; lest the wood of the door got hurt, lest it disturbed the inmates, of her empty house. She turned around to face the world, outside her house, but with her eyes closed. Face, with eyes closed? How is that – you ask? The reasoning she gave for this was that she wanted to savor each of her senses slowly, one by one. So she faced the world, with her eyes closed.
It had, after all, just rained. She knew that her senses would feast. They always did, after a heavy downpour.
The first to catch her was the sense of smell; the smell of wet earth; up her nostrils, warm and sweet.
She slowly moved forward in her porch; she felt the breeze; her sense of touch; chilly breeze carrying the warm smell of wet earth.
It was time for the next sense. As if on cue, the breeze gently pushed her hair off her shoulders; off her ears; and she heard them; the trees. They seemed to welcome her; they had sent the wind in her direction; the chilly breeze that carried the warm smell of the earth and the sound of the trees’ murmur.
She heard them; she acknowledged them; with her smile. She opened her eyes and she saw them.
The clouds above, were just parting, letting in the rays of sun, lighting up the world; the world in front of her.
The trees communicating with each other through their leaves, and passing on their message to her, through the wind.
The flowers, atop smaller shrubs; they seemed to be beaming at her; they seemed to move closer to each other, talking and giggling among themselves, while openly inviting her to join them; the way old students in a class welcome the new one.
She looked further downwards, she saw the earth; humble as ever, waiting for her to go aboard.
They were all fresh, and clean from the recent rains. Fresh. Fresh as new. It was a whole new world in her eyes. Leaves sparkling, flowers bright, and the earth soft. They were all clean, fresh, and new. And now she was a part of them. They had included her with them. She had joined them.
She got down her porch, walked up her clean driveway, step by step, with each step admiring the effects of water, of the downpour. She turned around again, to look at her house, before she left. She heaved a sigh, of relief; of happiness; or maybe she was thinking about all the things she had to do, now that she was out of house and sighed that she had to do them. But she was happy, and relieved, even if she was worried about the tasks she was yet to take up.
For she knew that no matter what she did, or how much of it she did,
if she were to wear out at the end of doing them all; or she never got to complete them, and had to drop them midway;
if she came out on top of the world for having done something right; or the whole world shattered around the her because of some minor fault of hers;
if she was happy with the outcome; or was deeply troubled by it;
no matter what happened, she could come back to the safety of this house, her house which she just stepped out of.
She had bought a new house. Her own house. Not an apartment, but an individual house in itself. It was hers, just as she was, and nobody could throw her out of it. She loved the security it provided. It seemed to motivate her to plunge into the world, and grab its opportunities. And now as she stood looking at it, it seemed to nudge her forward; it seemed to ask her ‘Why are you still waiting?’
Individual house. It stood alone. It had stood alone all these days, until she moved in. In the midst of nature's gifts excluding mankind. Now she was there. And it seemed to like that; appreciate her presence; as though it had been alone all these days waiting for her to find it out.
She knew not if she owned it, or it owned her. It was her ally, she thought. There's no ownership in that; it is mutual understanding; it is mutual assistance; neither had to answer the other; and yet they were together. And in this, was the supreme and purest form of ownership, something that was beyond her understanding. The whole building could collapse the next day, subject to nature's forces. She may have to look for a different place later. But it was there now, a house that she had for her own self and that is all that mattered to her.
She made some noise which came out to be somewhere in between a sniffle and a chuckle. She still had her fears of what may happen. But right now, a fresh new world was waiting for her outside. She had to be quick. She started walking, embracing the new world, the one that had just welcomed her. She would make her own way through it.
Everything in the new world glistened; so did her eyes.
At last, she tasted; the bitter sweet taste of hope..
It had, after all, just rained. She knew that her senses would feast. They always did, after a heavy downpour.
The first to catch her was the sense of smell; the smell of wet earth; up her nostrils, warm and sweet.
She slowly moved forward in her porch; she felt the breeze; her sense of touch; chilly breeze carrying the warm smell of wet earth.
It was time for the next sense. As if on cue, the breeze gently pushed her hair off her shoulders; off her ears; and she heard them; the trees. They seemed to welcome her; they had sent the wind in her direction; the chilly breeze that carried the warm smell of the earth and the sound of the trees’ murmur.
She heard them; she acknowledged them; with her smile. She opened her eyes and she saw them.
The clouds above, were just parting, letting in the rays of sun, lighting up the world; the world in front of her.
The trees communicating with each other through their leaves, and passing on their message to her, through the wind.
The flowers, atop smaller shrubs; they seemed to be beaming at her; they seemed to move closer to each other, talking and giggling among themselves, while openly inviting her to join them; the way old students in a class welcome the new one.
She looked further downwards, she saw the earth; humble as ever, waiting for her to go aboard.
They were all fresh, and clean from the recent rains. Fresh. Fresh as new. It was a whole new world in her eyes. Leaves sparkling, flowers bright, and the earth soft. They were all clean, fresh, and new. And now she was a part of them. They had included her with them. She had joined them.
She got down her porch, walked up her clean driveway, step by step, with each step admiring the effects of water, of the downpour. She turned around again, to look at her house, before she left. She heaved a sigh, of relief; of happiness; or maybe she was thinking about all the things she had to do, now that she was out of house and sighed that she had to do them. But she was happy, and relieved, even if she was worried about the tasks she was yet to take up.
For she knew that no matter what she did, or how much of it she did,
if she were to wear out at the end of doing them all; or she never got to complete them, and had to drop them midway;
if she came out on top of the world for having done something right; or the whole world shattered around the her because of some minor fault of hers;
if she was happy with the outcome; or was deeply troubled by it;
no matter what happened, she could come back to the safety of this house, her house which she just stepped out of.
She had bought a new house. Her own house. Not an apartment, but an individual house in itself. It was hers, just as she was, and nobody could throw her out of it. She loved the security it provided. It seemed to motivate her to plunge into the world, and grab its opportunities. And now as she stood looking at it, it seemed to nudge her forward; it seemed to ask her ‘Why are you still waiting?’
Individual house. It stood alone. It had stood alone all these days, until she moved in. In the midst of nature's gifts excluding mankind. Now she was there. And it seemed to like that; appreciate her presence; as though it had been alone all these days waiting for her to find it out.
She knew not if she owned it, or it owned her. It was her ally, she thought. There's no ownership in that; it is mutual understanding; it is mutual assistance; neither had to answer the other; and yet they were together. And in this, was the supreme and purest form of ownership, something that was beyond her understanding. The whole building could collapse the next day, subject to nature's forces. She may have to look for a different place later. But it was there now, a house that she had for her own self and that is all that mattered to her.
She made some noise which came out to be somewhere in between a sniffle and a chuckle. She still had her fears of what may happen. But right now, a fresh new world was waiting for her outside. She had to be quick. She started walking, embracing the new world, the one that had just welcomed her. She would make her own way through it.
Everything in the new world glistened; so did her eyes.
At last, she tasted; the bitter sweet taste of hope..
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