The little hand of peace

I was coming down with cold, had a terrible headache and was nearly bursting at the way things had been turning out at work. The chamber was dirty and I had no strength to clean it up. I was done sitting there and decided to get out of the enclave, just so I could step out and have a brisk walk,to burn out the frustration and convert into sweat.

Armed with my headphones, Gorillaz blurting out a song on Clint Eastwood,I walked down the stairs. It was coming on, and coming on and coming on...Watch out streets, here I come.

As I reached the bottom of the pyramid, I glanced around to see that nothing had changed. There was the noise accompanied by the eerie din of the shrill blaring horns. Nothing ever changes outside of the world. The people were talking, gossiping. The kingdom had seen a revolt in the morning. The Secretary of the enterprise had been accused of corruption and he had eventually threatened to resign. Nothing had changed. Its comin' on, its comin' on, its comin' on.......

I greet the elder, cuddling the offspring of her offspring in her arms. She was a study in contrast. Her hair the color of her teeth during the best of their days and her teeth the color of her hair, again, during the best of their days. Her weird colored gown striking a blaring contrast against her wrinkles. And in her arms she held the offspring, perched like a king on her waist, smiling at everyone and everything. She smiled but couldn't recognize who I really was. Age, we glorify it...but always..it's comin' on, it's comin' on, its comin' on....

I wish her a good day, say hi to the offspring's offspring, just a formality. Has to be done in the social world. And then I decide to move on. Only to be stopped. To be stopped by the the tiny hand on my shoulder. The child had decided he had stared enough and wanted a new throne. My arms. I froze...It really was comin' on and comin' on and comin' on....

Left with no choice, picking up the child in my arms, I felt a sudden change in the surroundings. The residents seemed alive, the children seemed to have come to life, the elder suddenly had expressions and the noises seemed to have disappeared. It was a divine moment as I unplugged the Gorillaz...The comin' on had finally arrived.

The child was suddenly my Master. Pointing around, he rode his chariot in any direction imaginable, "goo goo"ing and "gaa gaa"ing as he wanted to catch the flying sparrow. Pointing out to the car, smiling at the yellow line on the ground, banging against the notice board. And I realized I had so much patience. So much understanding which I lose everyday in just a matter of seconds. But aren't we all?

We have to think about how the competitor would be plotting, how the friend would be getting richer, how the colleague would be getting a promotion, stock markets, cheating girl friends, latest movies, scheming managers, rude rikshawallas, so much to think about but not a moment of peace. I realized how long it was before I could feel the magic of the flying sparrow, or the wonder of seeing a reflection, the sheer brightness of the color yellow, or the awe of seeing children play. I realized that dialogue from The Matrix "There is no spoon".

But soon, the child had to go back to his grandmom, and I was suddenly back in this world. But the world seemed better, my arm ached but I didn't seem to care. As I plugged in to my music again, I changed my gait. Joyful, happy, forgiving, peaceful. Hidden somewhere in the "1s and 0s" of the digital world of my mobile, Florence played with his Machine

"Dog Days are over".