We all have bonds that we cherish
Bonds of life, of faith, of love
But the truth of the heart, my dear, remains
Calls of Duty rise above
“Let us never underestimate the power of a well-written letter”
I smiled as I read one of my favourite lines from one of my
favourite books for the hundredth time. My home library was bursting with a
zillion books, and I think I arguably had a million left to read, but my
stubborn heart always preferred returning to the yellowing pages of some of the
old classics. After all, old habits, old memories, and old feelings are guests
who generally outstay their welcome.
It was one of the most beautiful evenings April had seen. A
typical evening that would have justified my not staying indoors even for a
second. But now, with the lockdown, I had to make do with sitting in the balcony,
sipping my coffee, and slowly observing the golden sky turn violet as the evening
waltzed into twilight. But I wasn’t complaining, very few had the privilege of
doing so.
As I could feel my thoughts grandly flowing into a
philosophical zone that I was not quite yet ready for, a familiar noise broke the
trance. From the last two years, my unparalleled favourite cribbing subject had
been that a new high rise building had just come up in front of mine, and that
had been responsible for curbing a beautiful view that had been more in my mind
than in reality, frankly, but I’m sure any Mumbaikar would heartily relate.
Every time I saw the building, the inevitable frown lines just creased
themselves across my forehead and if anyone happened to be within a metre, they
would have to spend at least five minutes listening to my ranting. However, off
late, I’d stopped complaining.
A reluctant smile wove into my cheeks as I saw a familiar
figure lounge into the balcony on the 10th floor of that building. He
was holding a cup of what I assumed to be coffee, along with a copy of, bless
my eyesight, “Bourne Identity” which he’d been reading for the past one week.
Out of habit, he brushed his chocolate brown hair from his eyes, reflexively
looked in my direction, as if expecting me to be there, and gave me a boyish
wink, which I didn’t return, but my smile didn’t do a very good job of hiding
itself.
About 6”2, he had a moderately admirable physique, a sandy
complexion, a jawline that I suspected a Greek God had chiselled himself, and a
disarming dimpled smile which he’d been generously dishing out to me for the past
three weeks. I’d deduced he was a “Beatles” fan as half his Tees idolized the
band, and I guessed he also liked football, because he spent quite a bit of
time, just blankly gazing at the empty football ground in the far right, as his
legs dribbled with a ball. He definitely loved gaming, as he often brought his
console with him. He wanted me to think he liked to read, but it was obviously
not the case because he religiously brought the same copy everyday whereas I
was on my third book, but I admired the effort to impress.
Over the past three weeks, the two of us had just developed
a silent equation of “accidentally” coming to the balcony at the same time. I
didn’t know his name, he didn’t know mine, and we never made an attempt to
start a conversation. We just enjoyed the silent company, and liked the way it
was developing into a habit. In a lockdown where I spent almost the whole day
doing nothing, this half an hour of nothingness was my favourite, and I liked
to presume it was the same for him too.
As my watch inched towards 7 ‘o’ clock, I shut my book, preparing
to go to my room again. As I looked in his direction, and gave him my standard “See
Ya Tomorrow” smile, he suddenly waved out to me. As I looked at him
questioningly, he took out his phone, put it on full volume, and started the
theme song of Grey’s Anatomy, and smiled slightly. I was not a fan of the show,
so I just shrugged my shoulders and gave him a thumbs down. He shook his head,
grinning, signalled me to wait, and darted into his room. In a minute, he came
back, and waved out a stethoscope he was carrying in his hand, and then pointed
at himself. I unconsciously rose and leaned against the balcony ridge, looking in
his direction. Even as I was mentally digesting the fact that a guy who I’d stereotypically
assumed to be in a rock band was actually a medical student, he leaned back, reached
out for his laptop and turned the video gaming screen towards me, which I instantly
recognized as “Call of Duty”. As I looked at him quietly, he smiled and
signalled himself walking away, gave me a thumbs up, and waited for my
reaction.
I slowly realised that I didn’t know when I was going to see
him next, and at the end of the day, even though he was a stranger, I couldn’t
help feeling a slight emptiness. He was patiently waiting for me to respond. I
slowly smiled at him, raised my coffee cup as a toast, even as my fingers fumbled
with my playlist. As he looked at me expectantly, my phone started playing, “See
You Again” by Wiz Khalifa in the background. Even though the night had engulfed
the sky, I could see a wide smile crease across his face as he raised his mug
too.
And just like that, in complete silence, we both quietly listened
to the entire song, waved at each other, and went inside, leaving behind a
moment that we dearly hoped, would continue post the lockdown.
We all have bonds that we cherish
Bonds of life, of faith, of love
But the truth of the heart, my dear, remains
Calls of Duty rise above
