Sleepless Nights

It's 3AM and I lie wide awake. I can't get these damned thoughts out of my head. I shift restlessly on my bed. Drat! It's not even my bed. Some family friend staying at our house has occupied my room. I hate giving up my room.

3:30 now. No signs of sleep approaching. I get up and head to the kitchen to get myself a drink of water. I look around myself as I slowly sip the water. I'm in no hurry to get back to bed.

Everything around me looks the same as it did years ago. And yet, so much has changed in the lives of the occupants since then. I'm overcome by nostalgia as I remember the happier times I've spent in this house. Although maybe, the happiness I think I felt is just a construct of my mind. What I am sure of is that my heart could not have been this heavy back then.

As I trudge back to the bed-that's-not-mine, I remember times when I was definitely happier, nay, extremely happy. The four years I spent at the insti with my friends were perhaps the happiest of my life. The friendships that you form here last forever, they said. I let out a small laugh of derision in my mind. Not so naive, indeed.

I'm really just trying to avoid the deep sadness that threatens to engulf me. I close my eyes and firmly push away all thoughts. Maybe dreamland will be a happier place...

A Lovely Morning

The sound of the rain outside the window. A cold water shower. The sting of the icy cold drops of water. Life creeping into your body bit by bit. A glass of hot milk.

The walk down to the lake. The haze of the morning sky. The quacking of the ducks and the chirping of the birds. The aroma of freshly cooked breakfast wafting through the air by the guest house.

The bench by the lake. The mild breeze in the air. The stillness of the lake reflecting the trees. The colours of the flowers brightened by the rain. A smile and a good morning wish by an absolute stranger. A book to read.

A perfectly lovely morning.