Him:
He stands there gingerly. At the door to the classroom.
He remembers the usual way. He would walk in and turn right,
stopping just before, just for a split second, to smile and wave good bye, and
he would disappear into the crowd of little people making their way to their
classrooms. It was like he was in auto-pilot. He would walk straight and turn
left, and the first classroom, was his. There inside would be Lavanya Miss, she
with the beautiful dimpled smile. Only he didn’t have the vocabulary yet to
describe that. But he knew what it felt like when someone smiled genuinely at
him, and he liked the way she smiled at him and welcomed him to the classroom.
Such a short life, such deep memories. He couldn’t describe this either.
But he felt today was different. His mother didn’t drop him
off at the gate, but walked along with him. She was in fact asking directions,
and after little walking, which confused him, and he didn’t know left from
right, and where the entrance was, she led him to his new classroom. He stood
at the door gingerly…
Her:
Routine was so comforting. You don’t need to put thought into
it. Every day at 6 am, an internal alarm would go off. And she would wake up,
no matter what day, no matter where she was, be it home, or in a hotel on a vacation.
And she knew what to do. Pack child off to school, get ready and leave for
office, throwing in some house hold chores in between. It was smooth.
She would take the same route every day. That’s how she
could listen to music and drive. At work, she liked to know what to expect. She
always prepares her work day one day in advance and plans so she could leave at
6 PM everyday.
Familiar faces, familiar language, familiar everything. It
was bliss.
But today she stands on the thresholds of change, a subtle change
and she looks at it with glint in her eyes, but only the glint is that tear,
hidden away for fear of society
Him:
He didn’t know why he had to get into this strange place.
The faces were all new. There was no Lavanya Miss and this new lady wasn’t even
smiling. And where was Karthika, she who brings Lays chips every day, she who
listens to his tall stories, and she again who smiles from her heart. Where was
Karthikeyan, he who always fought with him. It wouldn’t occur to his little heart
that he missed even what he despised. It was all so strange. And suddenly his
mother was asking him to get in and sit down.
What’s with all these people?
She:
Suddenly she finds herself in a new job. One she had chosen
herself. A change she had sought. It should be exciting, shouldn’t it? She
tried to convince herself. She looked at the mirror and smiled at herself and
said a “Yay!” to all new beginnings, and with a deep breath she set forth.
Behind all that cheerfulness, there was fear of the unknown.
Fear, that tried to seep through her
eyes.
Him:
HE walked into the classroom. He was asked to sit in a
place. The bench and chair was to be shared with another child, whose name he
did not know. All the children were quiet like little dolls in kolu. He found it
so stifling, he could take it no longer and cried – “Amma don’t leave me and
go. Amma please!”
She:
She starts her two wheeler and drives on in the hot sun.
There is music playing in her ears and she takes a right turn that she usually
takes. And stops, after driving in that direction for five minutes. This was how
she drove for 6 years. Today is different and she realizes that. She turns
around and starts driving in the opposite direction.
Him:
It was not even afternoon, and it was already like a year
for him. He couldn’t wait for the bell to ring. It rings four times usually.
Unless that too has changed.
He had to just pull through the intermediate time. And he realizes
as time progresses that it isn’t too bad, and he might actually consider coming
here tomorrow. They sing familiar rhymes. Yes, familiar rhymes in an unfamiliar
place with unfamiliar people.
The bell rings. He can’t believe he pulled it through already.
He sees that familiar face appear through the window.
“Amma” he screams in joy.
She:
She has reached the new office. She has worn her best outfit
and she thought she looked professional. She had to ask for directions once,
but the directions were bang on, and so she reached earlier than she had
anticipated. She didn’t know where to park, and this in an IT Park. She had to
wear her ID card, prominently. She didn’t have one yet, so she got a one day
pass.
All the while her mind travels back to walking in to the
earlier office without an ID card. She knew everyone there. Her face was her ID
card.
This place was huge. Hoards of people using all means of
transportation to get through its gigantic gates. She walks up to her current
employer’s office. There are others like her, but in all shapes and sizes and
ages. In walks the on-boarding executive. Surprise! She realizes that the on-boarding
executive is a familiar face – same college.
She finally smiles.
