He sets of on his long ride by the scenic seventeen mile drive, his 'go to' road of epiphanies. When he particularly feels lost or low he steers his way into what the outdoors has to offer as this exploration leads him to unexplored territories into his own psyche. Lately, he is experiencing a slight dislike about the way things are shaping up in his life. Again, it has to do little with the outside and a lot to do with his insides. He is a man of answers. He has them at the tip of his fingers...answers to every quandary, every dilemma life might present. But even heroes have hindrances on their way. Even heroes cry and complain. Even the strongest of men falter sometimes and their true feelings surface, for once, betraying their fortitude.
And it isn't happening just once. It has become a pattern lately. He finds it so easy to share his joy about the littlest of things - like a man child. He smiles when it drizzles and exclaims that rain makes him happy to the random passerby on the sidewalk and talks to a stranger at Starbucks and tells them how ecstatic he is to meet his niece. Sharing joy comes naturally to him. He likes to spread the smiles and bask in his extrovert overtures. Until the inevitable antihero of life kicks in. Pain. Yikes! What pain? He denies it almost viciously. He is at this juncture in life, face to face with the urge to confess. That's where she comes into the picture. He finds himself blurting it out to her like he had taken a truth potion, something about her triggers in him, the inexplicable compulsion to come clean and tell her his deepest of hurts. There's a magic about her presence, the nonchalance with which she listens to him, never interrupting or judging, and then saying something that wondrously simplifies his agony. She annihilates all his facades, all his inabilities to process painful emotions with the precision of a skillfully administered antidote. This leaves him flustered enough to look for answers to the vulnerability she subjects him to, and then miraculously dismantles them into non existence.
He sees a bridge in the distance, faded by the dense fog - and he smiles. The epiphany. Happiness might make us think of a hundred people to share it with, but sorrow has the power to reveal our most intense bonds to us. He smiles because at that moment, he learns a valuable truth about himself. A bridge that leads to his treasure when he is struck with the deepest of hurts.
She flashes in his mind during his every moment of pain, as if she is the only one that could salvage his trauma. Bingo! The solace, the shade, the relief, the solution. Suddenly he feels blessed for all the pains, for they lead them to the most cherished, sacred connection of his heart. A few lucky souls like him experience it.
Pic credit - Chandra Elango
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