Description of a dream

I was standing around the corner waiting for her. Usually, she passes from that corner around lunch time but today she had not come. My room was on the third floor of a building which was nearly 20 meters from the street corner. It has a balcony. I often used to sit in the balcony for sunbath after Lunch. It was on one such afternoon when I had noticed her passing by on her bicycle for the first time. I had seen her before also but every time she had wrapped her dupatta on the face and covered her entire body. It was only as late as mid-December when I could see her face for the first time.

Her first sight lasted only for micro-seconds but it was sufficient enough to get my gaze fixated at her face. Her face got registered deep in my heart. Her gleaming half open eyes and graceful look kept appearing in my imagination for the entire day. For the next ten days, I ate my lunch early and used to wait for one glimpse of her in my balcony. She was simplicity personified. Her narrow forehead, dark black eyes, and persistent faint smile gave the impression as if she is too busy immersed in her own world. She had the confidence but a tinge of uncertainty reflected in her ride. Her gaze was fixed on the road ahead, 20 meters ahead of her as if she is living in the moment and not thinking too far ahead. One day I sat for the whole day in the balcony waiting for her to return. It was a frosty day. I wrapped my blanket around and mufflers around my head and sat our there bearing the cold wind. It made me think as if I am on a spy mission on India-Pakistan border where temperature runs in sub-zero in this time of the year. My gaze was fixated on the corner for the entire day and I did not even take a drinks break. But she did not return. Maybe she took some other path back home or maybe afternoon ride was her return journey and she had passed early in the morning itself. However, this would be the most difficult thing to know for someone like me.

The strange truth of the student life is we turn nocturnal animals. I hardly remember when was the last time when I had seen the sun rise. I think it was in June when I had an exam in the morning shift and given my under preparation, I decided to do a night out. Not to mention, I ended up spoiling the exam. I felt so sleepy in the exam that I could not lift my pen after the second hour and literally slept in the examination hall. Only when the finish bell rang, I got up and saw the classroom was empty as everyone had left the room. The invigilator came and took away my paper without disturbing my sleep. Maybe he understood the blissfulness of the sleep from his early days as a student. Quite considerate of me. Anyway, that time is gone. Nowadays I am having sleepless nights due to her. There is a sense of curiosity, sense of desire to know about her. So finally I decided to wait for her at the corner of the street.