Prioritize

A long time ago there was an announcement which triggered a sense of urgency in him. He was waiting alone at the platform for the train to arrive but there was no sign of it. The storm has made everyone else to remain in the safety of their homes, but he has to go.

After an eternity the Train emerged out of cloud of white steam and halted in front of him.  This was a strange one with compartments reminding him of an era long gone. He checked again, the platform number 9 seemed to be correct but there was something unusual.

He took out his ticket and compared the name on the train, it was the same. Then without any pre-notions the train started moving. He stood for a moment and then rushed behind it to catch. He managed it just in the nick of time. He got into an empty compartment where there were no seats.

“I think this one is for dwarfs” he thought

“No it isn’t” a voice behind him said. He turned around to find a man with Black trouser and shirt with a white Jacket. The Hat on his head gave his identification.

“This compartment is for those who has just began their life”

Oh for kids, he thought. 

“Not necessarily you could be one of them, may I see your ticket please” the man said with authority. He took his ticket and handed over to him. The Ticket Checker held it and said “So you are also going to the same place where everyone else is”

“Off course yes” He replied to the awkward remark “This train is supposed to take everyone at the same place, isn’t it?”

“That depends, anyways we have a long list of no shows today” the ticket checker informed him.

“Yeah the weather is in the worst of moods”

“So there are no restrictions, make yourself comfortable in any of the compartments you like” saying that he left. This is bizarre, since when railways started allowing its passengers to takeover.

As he was already wasted, all he wanted was to get into a comfortable place where he can continue his journey without any hustles. He was able to place himself at ease in one of the cozy corners of the compartment but to continue here he must forget everything else.

He took his belongings and moved on to the next bogie. This looked to be spacious and with lots of seats. He kept his luggage under one of them. When he sat on it he observed that he was not able to place his foot on the ground, this one was too high. He left his luggage there itself and moved to the next seat but this time it was too low to be comfy. He then decided to get on the rack and lie down. When he attempted he found that his legs were falling off.

In next half an hour he had tried every single possibility to place him and find singularity but all he got was confusion and a sense of unease. Only thing good was his luggage was nicely placed. But to continue in a journey his comfort was more important.

“I think they built this bogie without any planning”

He picked up his luggage and got into another one. This one seemed to be perfect all seating arrangements were streamlined. He went and sat at the first one which made him relaxed. The restlessness he felt in previous two was gone.

He sat there for a moment and then observed that the seat do not have a cushion but the one just next to it has.

“Why spend my time here when I can be more comfortable.”

He took his luggage and went to the next one. This one was a lot better, he felt proud on his decision but when he placed his eyes on the next seat it was having bedding and a sheet.

“This will be very useful in the night” he thought and moved to the new one. He lay down and covered himself with the sheet. Then he saw that there was no fan here but there was one present over the next seat with same amenities. He wasted no time in making his move.

Now he had everything he wanted, comfort sense of ease and satisfaction. Just then another passenger passed by him to the next bogie. She was a lady in red, carrying a charisma. For a brief moment he was magnetized. After sometime few crew members passed with trolley of food.

He felt hungry and stopped one of them.

“I am sorry sir the Food service is only available in the next compartment”

Stanger than ever, it makes sense as there is virtually no one present in here. So he picked his stuff again and moved to the next bogie.

Here there was no place to sit every single seat was taken. He was standing there without any clue. For a moment he thought of going back but couldn’t as the door behind was closed and there was no way back.

He went to one of the fellow passenger who was busy reading the newspaper.  “Excuse me sir, would please allow me to keep my belongings under your seat?”

“Yes I do but what can I get in return”

The passenger’s response was a bit odd. “What do you want sir?” he responded politely.

“You see it is quite cold here but I have no jacket, Can I have the one you are wearing” He was blunt in his remark. No choice and there was no other place to keep his luggage. For once he thought of moving to other bogie but a glance of the lady in the red and the food getting served stopped him here. He made the exchange and got a little at ease. He then called one of the crew members and requested to serve him

“Sir I can serve you the food only once you have a seat” bluntness was in the air.

He spotted the Ticket Checker and went to him “Can I get a seat?”

“Where are you going sir? Ah! Same place where everyone else is” he greeted him with the same remark.

He had no time to indulge in the sarcasm.

“Off course yes, but I would like to do it comfortably”

“Were you not comfortable in any of the previous bogies?” the Ticket Checker asked

“I was at one place but I moved on and on for better options and ended up here” he replied

“Are you sure once you get a seat you will be comfortable – and satisfied?”

He wanted to say “Yes” but a voice stopped him “Are you sure”

I got on this train and since then nothing is making sense. The empty compartments the uneven arrangement of seating, always having better facilities when I move ahead and ultimately getting stuck at a place with no turning back option, this is a Train or My Life!

“Precisely Sir, you can get down here your station has arrived” The Ticket Checker said while opening the door.

Strangely this time at platform number 9 the storm was gone and there was a smell of a recent rain shower with sweet sun light.

“And here is your Jacket sir, don’t lose it too easily”

The vanished storm has made everyone to come out, but he wanted to go home this time.

And he left early that day

A year of research, over four months of preparations, uncountable hours of sweat and he was ready for the presentation, but he left early that day.

On a premature evening when flames from the sky were yet to extinguish he ignited the spark of engine and drove off from the premises. His passion was diluted in the mist of corporate anarchy; it took him a decade and innumerable achievements to understand how meaningless his world is.

That’s a wonderful picture! Who is the painter?

 

Someone was enthralled to see his first piece of work when he was in college, but a shy fellow was not bold enough to step forward and accept the accolades. He stood in a corner while the admirers wondered around his work.  His passion filled him with happiness but the associated triumph never reached him.

This practically changed the way he perceived victory thereafter. He went after the goals which were never his and climbed one peak after the other, the shy him fell from one of those.

He took a left turn towards the isolated lake where the sun was settling, something resembling to what he painted a decade ago. As he stepped out of the car his mobile vibrated for the n^th time. He took it out and tossed into the stationary stream.  At least it won’t bother him again. He sat down at the shore and felt a strange sensation in the silence, it was nothing like the hustles and bustle in and around the cubicles of his office. Instead it was just the reverberations of the water hitting the sands, the quite whispers of the birds and the winds carrying innumerable messages.

He took a pebble and pitched it on the surface of the water which made innumerable expanding boundaries. Once he was in a cubicle then shifted to a cabin and now he held a chamber of his own. Each strike increased his boundaries but confined his reach. He drowned in the life as the pebble in the lake.

He attained more accolades than what could have ever earned from his paintings but nothing made him a fraction happier. His company gave him enough toys to pride himself but they confined him too, he has already got rid of one and remembered a few which were still lying in his car.

The settling sun made him aware of possibilities which were closing its gates. He stood up and typed his final paper addressed to his ministers; they won’t administer his life and passion hereafter.

He drove off from there only to return the next day with a canvas, a brush and paints of his fascination.

A lifelong of forgotten inspirations came alive in some hours of sweat and honesty. He took a few steps back and observed his work glowing in the settling light of the sun and it brought a smile on his face. 

This practically changed the way he perceived happiness thereafter.