Eve

The gong signalled 8:00 PM. He got up wearily from his chair where he had been sitting since morning. He went to the coat shelf and put on his frayed black long coat and went outside the office. He was suddenly hit by the chill in the air. The office had a radiator that had kept him reasonably warm, if not comfortably warm. But it was almost freezing outside. He bowed his head and turned his collar up. A hat would have been preferable, he thought but then his thoughts did not really want him to focus on that. He looked around and on one side could see the faint outline of the River. The gas lamps were probably not lit on that side or there would be a problem with them. He did not really care. Near the river was an entire expanse of road, almost vacant because of minimal light. Whatever light there was, was from the other side of the road, beyond the buildings, where people lived. He could make out the large dome of the museum and the faint outline of the municipal buildings, all dark now. Beyond them, the buildings were brightly lit, some even decorated. He did not pay any heed to them.

He took recluse on a bench facing the River, the distant lights from the other side of the city, casting their reflection on the water surface. He sat down, turning his back towards the city and stared at the water. The wind flapped at his shoulder, shaking the lapels of his coat, as if urging him to come out of his thoughts and join it in play, but he was far too deeply absorbed to pay any heed to it urgings. He sat there absorbed in thoughts, his eyes seeing, observing, yet not registering. He saw that his coat was frayed and that the threads were coming out of the slits for the button. He saw that one of his coat buttons had become loose. He saw the lights dancing on the water surface and all this time he thought and thought, yet he knew not of what he was thinking. It was all so far away. It was as if life every now and then yawned open its mouth and wanted to swallow him up.

He sat there for a long time. When he finally got up, he thought it must be late. He did not have a watch to consult the time and he had been too deeply engrossed in his thoughts to hear the bell announce the time. He looked around. The streets on the other side were still busy. Men, women, and even children were around, all dressed up. He decided to go home. For one last time he turned to look at the office building he had left a few hours ago, then turned back again. “No more, no more”, he said to himself. He started walking back to his home on the other side of the city. He chose to go via the longer route, just to avoid the brilliantly lit streets and the crowd which seemed to be getting thicker. Faint music streamed into his ears from somewhere. He did not recognize the tune, but the word “posh” stuck in his head. Just then he heard the bell strike.

He stood there, frozen, counting the bell gongs. Clang, clang, clang, it went. One, two, three…he counted. The bell continued to strike. Ten, eleven, and then it struck. Twelve. The crowd which had thickened considerably let out a triumphant hurrah and started congratulating each other. The sky lit up into a million dazzling colours as the fireworks went off. It was New Year. He stood enraptured, watching the firework show. He stood there smiling to himself, hidden in the shadow that was now glimmering in the afterglow of the crackers. For a moment he forgot. For a moment he was at peace again. For a moment he forgot that he had lost his job and that he had no way of earning in the New Year. For a moment he forgot that the meal he would have tonight might perhaps be the last one for many days to come.

He stood there in rapture at the firecracker show which went on for a while and then it eventually faded away to darkness. The streets slowly emptied and silence descended upon the earth and then it all came back to him. He managed a grim smile, turned his back to the office for the final time and walked back towards what he once called “Home”.

-Parekh, Pravesh

April 10, 2013; 04:50 PM