She was in love with the sea.When she and her husband shifted to this house, far away from the din of the city, she felt God had answered her prayers for a quiet life.She considered herself to be very fortunate to be able to live in a house overlooking the sea.
Quiet life.....these two words brought a smile to her lips.Looking back,she was amazed to find how much she had changed , over time.She was born in a city and grew up to be a typical city girl.She loved the so called good life and enjoyed the lights, noise et all.At that point in time, she could never imagine spending time anywhere close to the sea.No, not even on holidays would she agree to visit a sea side destination.But then, suddenly everything changed, almost overnight.
Quite unexpectedly, she lost her maternal uncle.It was not exactly a devastating loss for her.But the thought of her distraught cousin , who was very close to her father, certainly disturbed her a great deal.So, she decided to pay her a visit.
It was one of those sleepy little towns bounded by a sea, with very little activity , social or otherwise,happening around.For obvious reasons,she had no intentions of staying there for long.However, as soon as she landed there, she took it upon her to get her cousin out of her depresssion.It wasn't an easy task.When talks failed , she would take her for walks. Their walks would always end up on the rocky shores. The evening breeze and the calm sea seemed to soothe her cousin's nerves.Initially,she herself had barely registered the scene around her.Gradually,everything in that place kind of started growing on her.Every evening she'd look forward to visiting the sea side.The calm blue - black lapping water seemed to beckon her.She could feel her lungs yearning for the salty fragrance.Everything,in the dusky light took on a mysterious shape.For hours she would sit on a rock and watch the twinkling lights far across the sea.The star studded sky with the moon sailing across,and the changing colours of the water would have her spell bound.Whether her presence there brought her cousin any comfort or not,it sure did reveal an unexplored side to her being.When it was time to leave,the thought of returning to the city did nothing to either comfort her or excite her.She just didn't want to leave;and then she knew why......she was in love with the sea.It ,definitely was a revelation.She had never imagined that she, who was so into an artificial life, could be this attached to Nature!
Years passed by and lot of water flowed under the bridge...but somehow the sea she had carried in her heart then, flooded her entire being.Now and then ,when the pull on her heartstrings would become unbearable,she would set out for an unknown destination,but invariably where a sea or an ocean would lay in wait for her.
After all those years when she found herself so close to a sea,she just couldnt resist the urge to feel its arms around her in a moist embrace.It was not that she was not content with her life in the house and fulfilling her social responsibilities.But when she'd look out of the window and see the endless stretch of the blue waters, a sense of dissatisfaction would grip her and then she would long to break free.Everything around her and every little thing she did, would seem futile and meaningless.The calm waters raised a storm in her.
Every evening she would make a trip down the rugged path to the sandy shores.She would stand on the edge of the water looking out into the blue expanse.While she would be lost,the little waves would sneak up on her and knock her down.Laughing,she would sink in the sand.A little game that was played between her and her beloved!She would sit ,gazing at one of the greatest mysteries of Nature.The vastness of the sea would make her feel very small and insignificant, but she'd be awash with a sense of freedom.The freedom to be at one with the unrestrained spirit, in which was embedded limitess possiblities.
Like all other evenings, that evening too she sat there, her eyes fixed on the still waters.The sea was unusually calm that day....like a sulking child.She couldn't bear to see it brooding.She felt the need to comfort it.Without a thought, she stood up and stepped into the water.It was cold.She shivered a little.But it didn't matter to her.She started wading ahead as if in a trance.All she wanted to do was get into the heart of the sea to fathom what was troubling it.She hardly noticed that she was waist deep into the water.Suddenly,she heard a roar.It was the thunder.She was jerked back to her senses.It seemed to tell her that the sea needed her not lost in it but there ,where it's waves could find her when they wanted to wrap themselves around her feet.To be their playmate.She stood there transfixed.Just then she felt the first drops of the rain on her and she waded to the shore and walked back to the house.
After sometime, as she stood at the window, looking out at the sea which had come alive at the the touch of the wind and the rain, she was filled with remorse.If she had allowed herself to be buried in the waters, she'd have tainted the spirit of the sea.The crashing waves made her realise that their comfort lay in the storm....not in her effort to calm it.She would've never been able to forgive herself for imposing the dead weight of her corpse on it.She mouthed an inaudible sorry ,followed by a heartfelt thankyou.She then shut the window and turned away , letting her beloved be in it's element in the sought after company of it's much desired elements.She admitted to herself, with a wry smile, that much as she'd like to, the sea was too huge to fit into her puny embrace!
Chandni.
Quiet life.....these two words brought a smile to her lips.Looking back,she was amazed to find how much she had changed , over time.She was born in a city and grew up to be a typical city girl.She loved the so called good life and enjoyed the lights, noise et all.At that point in time, she could never imagine spending time anywhere close to the sea.No, not even on holidays would she agree to visit a sea side destination.But then, suddenly everything changed, almost overnight.
Quite unexpectedly, she lost her maternal uncle.It was not exactly a devastating loss for her.But the thought of her distraught cousin , who was very close to her father, certainly disturbed her a great deal.So, she decided to pay her a visit.
It was one of those sleepy little towns bounded by a sea, with very little activity , social or otherwise,happening around.For obvious reasons,she had no intentions of staying there for long.However, as soon as she landed there, she took it upon her to get her cousin out of her depresssion.It wasn't an easy task.When talks failed , she would take her for walks. Their walks would always end up on the rocky shores. The evening breeze and the calm sea seemed to soothe her cousin's nerves.Initially,she herself had barely registered the scene around her.Gradually,everything in that place kind of started growing on her.Every evening she'd look forward to visiting the sea side.The calm blue - black lapping water seemed to beckon her.She could feel her lungs yearning for the salty fragrance.Everything,in the dusky light took on a mysterious shape.For hours she would sit on a rock and watch the twinkling lights far across the sea.The star studded sky with the moon sailing across,and the changing colours of the water would have her spell bound.Whether her presence there brought her cousin any comfort or not,it sure did reveal an unexplored side to her being.When it was time to leave,the thought of returning to the city did nothing to either comfort her or excite her.She just didn't want to leave;and then she knew why......she was in love with the sea.It ,definitely was a revelation.She had never imagined that she, who was so into an artificial life, could be this attached to Nature!
Years passed by and lot of water flowed under the bridge...but somehow the sea she had carried in her heart then, flooded her entire being.Now and then ,when the pull on her heartstrings would become unbearable,she would set out for an unknown destination,but invariably where a sea or an ocean would lay in wait for her.
After all those years when she found herself so close to a sea,she just couldnt resist the urge to feel its arms around her in a moist embrace.It was not that she was not content with her life in the house and fulfilling her social responsibilities.But when she'd look out of the window and see the endless stretch of the blue waters, a sense of dissatisfaction would grip her and then she would long to break free.Everything around her and every little thing she did, would seem futile and meaningless.The calm waters raised a storm in her.
Every evening she would make a trip down the rugged path to the sandy shores.She would stand on the edge of the water looking out into the blue expanse.While she would be lost,the little waves would sneak up on her and knock her down.Laughing,she would sink in the sand.A little game that was played between her and her beloved!She would sit ,gazing at one of the greatest mysteries of Nature.The vastness of the sea would make her feel very small and insignificant, but she'd be awash with a sense of freedom.The freedom to be at one with the unrestrained spirit, in which was embedded limitess possiblities.
Like all other evenings, that evening too she sat there, her eyes fixed on the still waters.The sea was unusually calm that day....like a sulking child.She couldn't bear to see it brooding.She felt the need to comfort it.Without a thought, she stood up and stepped into the water.It was cold.She shivered a little.But it didn't matter to her.She started wading ahead as if in a trance.All she wanted to do was get into the heart of the sea to fathom what was troubling it.She hardly noticed that she was waist deep into the water.Suddenly,she heard a roar.It was the thunder.She was jerked back to her senses.It seemed to tell her that the sea needed her not lost in it but there ,where it's waves could find her when they wanted to wrap themselves around her feet.To be their playmate.She stood there transfixed.Just then she felt the first drops of the rain on her and she waded to the shore and walked back to the house.
After sometime, as she stood at the window, looking out at the sea which had come alive at the the touch of the wind and the rain, she was filled with remorse.If she had allowed herself to be buried in the waters, she'd have tainted the spirit of the sea.The crashing waves made her realise that their comfort lay in the storm....not in her effort to calm it.She would've never been able to forgive herself for imposing the dead weight of her corpse on it.She mouthed an inaudible sorry ,followed by a heartfelt thankyou.She then shut the window and turned away , letting her beloved be in it's element in the sought after company of it's much desired elements.She admitted to herself, with a wry smile, that much as she'd like to, the sea was too huge to fit into her puny embrace!
Chandni.
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