The birds were chirping, the cars were honking, the crowd was humming, the breeze was blowing, the sun was shining, the sky stayed blue, not a cloud in sight. It was a normal day in nature.
2.16 p.m. – He left his apartment in a hurry, just about grabbing his cell phone before closing the door behind him. Seeing his frenzied pace, it looked like he was late for the most important meeting of his life and the only bus that would take him there was about to leave in the next minute, with or without him. Climbing down the staircase, three steps at a time, he reached the ground floor in a few seconds. He lived on the second floor. There was no bus waiting for him, no important meeting to attend apparently, because he assumed a leisurely pace the moment he reached the sidewalk. If one were to look at this entire episode from beginning to end, one might have found it comical.
2.24 p.m. – He had been walking for a few minutes and finally an empty taxi strolled by him. All he had to do was raise his hand and it would halt right in front of him. He didn’t. He kept on walking. He came to a crossing and stood there for a minute, waiting for green to turn into red. He walked, just as it did. Crossing the road, he carried on walking and eventually came to a right turn. Something caught his eye and he stood at the turn for a moment, looking into the lane. He was mildly surprised by what he saw. A woman was screaming and waving frantically after two men on a bike, one of whom had snatched her necklace clean off her neck. They were coming toward him. He took in the situation. He analyzed it. He rationalized it. He pondered, even if for just a tiny moment. He decided. He walked.
2.34 p.m. – He had crossed the lane where the incident took place and taken a left turn. As he was walking, he started feeling warm so he took off his jacket and slung it across his shoulder. The air started cooling him again. He had stopped sweating. He stopped at a street vendor to buy a bottle of cold fruit juice. Sitting just below the shop, was an old man wearing dirty rags, asking for alms. It looked like he was blind, although one couldn’t quite be sure. He put a two-rupee coin in his box and gave him an empathetic smile. He bought the juice, gulped it down quickly, and threw away the bottle. The vendor asked him for the money and he found he didn’t have enough change to pay for the bottle of juice. He looked at the old man once. He kept looking for a few seconds. A bead of sweat had appeared on his forehead. He snapped out of his mini-trance, took out a five-hundred rupee note, paid the vendor and took the change. And he walked on.
2.46 p.m. – After taking a brief break on his walk, he had kept on walking for quite some time. He reached another traffic signal, where he had to wait for another couple of minutes. He was getting impatient. He made three attempts at crossing the road, but failed. Thrice. He waited some more. Once the signal did turn red, he walked furiously across the road. He gave a mouthful of words to the policeman who was operating the crossing. The policeman couldn’t muster a reply quick enough. He had walked on.
3.00 p.m. – He took the final turn on his journey, a right turn. A coffee shop came in front of him, with a rather elaborate, orange board that said “Every day is perfect for coffee.” He pushed the door in, let it shut behind him. He spotted his friends sitting in the corner, arranged around a round table. He went to the table, pulled up a chair, took his seat and said, “What are you guys having? I think I’m in the mood for some really strong coffee. It’s been a tiring walk all the way from home.”
2.10 p.m. – He was having lunch. His friends called him and said they were planning to meet up at a coffee shop. He told them he would be there in half an hour. He left the lunch on his plate, not half finished. He changed his clothes and told his mother he was going out for lunch with his friends. She didn’t reply. She had made his favourite meal. She looked disappointed. He put on his new shows. He left his apartment in a hurry, just about grabbing his cell phone before closing the door behind him.
It was a normal day in nature.
