Who am I ?

Who am I? I wish I knew.

Why I am here? I wish I knew.

What do I do? I wish I knew.

Where do I go from here? I wish I knew.

So what do I know?

I know that I know lesser than I need to know.

I know that I talk more than I need to.

I know that I did not come here out of my choice.

I know that not all what I do is what I really want to do.

But I also know somethings that I bit unsure about.

Not so sure, but I know that I am making an impact.!

Not so sure, but I know that my today is not bad. But tomorrow will be awesome !

Not so sure, but I know that I am doing few things that I love !

Not so sure, but I know that where I go from here is around the whole world !

Not bad to know all this. Isn't it? !!!

Little did they know ...

Someone told me that I could be a good writer. I took him very seriously. It was only later he told that he just meant that for my handwriting. Little did he know I would try my skills to write love letters to his daughter!

Someone told me that I could be a good singer. I took him very seriously. It was only later he told that he just meant that within the confines of my bathroom. Little did he know I would try my singing skills to woo his daughter!

Someone told me that I could be a good painter. I took him very seriously. It was only later he told me that he meant was painting the walls with distemper. Little did he know I would try painting the town red along with his daughter !

Someone told me that I could be a good designer. I took him seriously. It was only later he told that he meant me to design sign boards. Little did he know I would have designs on his daughter !

Someone told me I could be a good runner. I took him seriously. It was only later he told me that he meant me to run a sprint. Little did he know I used my skills to chase his daughter !

One day all five of them with their daughters marched towards my house to kill me. And what they get to see? I wrote my own epitaph. Designed my own coffin box. Painted my own tomb stone. Sung my own swan song. And when they were confident that I am dead with guilt, I eloped with the prettiest of the five daughters ! Finally, I had identified what I was really good at !

You never know ...

It was 6.30 in the morning.Vincent had just finished his night shift duty. He logged off his computer and took eager strides towards the exit after waving at the office security guard with a bright smile. He took the elevator to the basement, picked his bike and quickly got on the empty streets. After about 5 minutes drive, he felt little sleepy and decided to get a cup of tea to be able to remain awake for the remaining ride.

He parked his bike in front of a tea stall near Gandhi memorial park and ordered a cup of ginger tea. And then as he leaned on the footpath rails, thoughts started rolling in his head. He had just completed his first year in Dream Destinations, the travel company of international repute. The job had been good so far. And the management was very happy with his work. The talks were on to give him a raise even before the usual annual cycle which was 4 months away. "It is all because of Cynthia,"he said to himself. Cynthia, the unknown angel, who kept bumping into him in two of his previous interviews. And the last one was special. She literally gifted him the job by taking him to the interview venue within hours of hitting hopelessness in his job hunt. And she did not even appear herself despite being in desperate need of a job herself.

Every meeting with this unknown angel had been a learning experience for Vincent. "She is such a positive person. She even sacrificed her opportunity to help me get into this job. How can I ever thank her. And I am such a dumb-ass. I never bothered to call her or see her after that. I think I must thank her in person. I am sure she will be very happy," Vincent's thoughts continued rolling in his mind. He remembered how she shrugged off every disappointment after the two failed interviews that he attended with her.

As he started sipping the hot ginger tea from the paper cup, he turned to his back to have a look at park entrance. And what he saw stunned him. He saw Cynthia walking with a pram with a kid sitting in it. " Cynthia has a kid? I never knew that! " He looked at her with disbelief. He quickly sipped his tea and then crossed the road to follow Cynthia in the park. "Hey Cynthia!" He called her loudly. Cynthia turned to face  him and gave him back a glowing smile. " Hi Vincent! What a surprise to see you here!"She said. Vincent was very happy to see her. And a bit surprised or may be confused. He rushed towards her and gave her a big hug. Looking at the little over an year old kid sleeping in the pram, he asked," Err ...Who is she? Or he? Sorry, I know nothing about you." Cynthia's expression changed. She said, " I think we should catch up over coffee. What about today evening at Mount Cafe?" Vincent nodded. They talked a bit about his job and then went away with a promise to meet at Mount Cafe at 5 pm on the same day.  

5 pm at Mount Cafe. A coffee shop in the western suburb in an old building inhabited mostly by Catholics. Vincent sat with a grim face and listened to Cynthia intently.

" Suchint was my classmate in school and then in college. We were best of friends initially and then fell in love. Our marriage was always expected to get resistance from both families because we belonged to different religions. Suchint was keen to pursue his higher studies in the US. His family put a condition that my father sponsor his studies. So we fell apart. He got engaged to a girl of his family's choice and left for US. I was very hurt and decided not to marry. I broke all ties with him and even though he always apologized to me for giving in to family wishes, I could never forgive him. 5 years passed. He got married and had a baby girl. The day you got your job, he happened to visit me with his wife and kid. When I saw him at my doorsteps, I was filled with loathe. I did not let him enter the house and told him to go away. He pleaded but I did not relent. He had no choice but to leave with his wife and the baby from my doorsteps. Barely past 3 km from my house, his car met with an accident and both of them lost their lives. But the baby survived."

Now there was complete silence in the room. Both of them had tears in their eyes. "It was a moment of truth for me. I had acted mean. I was harsh with the person whom I loved so much. I was filled with remorse. For the simple fact that despite practicing the most humane approach all my life, I gave in to my moment of weakness."

"So this is Suchint's daughter?"asked Vincent.

"Yes".

"I can understand the feeling of guilt. The remorse. The sadness. But don't you think it was a big decision?"

"I do not think so."

"It is a huge responsibility. His family should have taken care of the kid. They were the first to act mean."

"Vincent ! That is where we are all fall prey to our weaknesses. I loved Suchint. I could not get him or his love. But that should not have stopped me from giving the love back. His family made a mistake. And they got bigger punishment than they deserved. But the baby? Did she deserve that? Suchint's parents are old. Suchint's in-laws had passed away soon after his marriage. I had to step in."

"But Cynthia ... How will you?"

"I have now moved in with his parents. They take care of the kid while I am out for work. "

Vincent was completely clueless as his eyes were fixed at Cynthia in disbelief. Is this person real? Do such people exist?

"Vincent, do not look at me like this. Suchint's parents did not give me the opportunity to be his wife. But Suchint gave me this opportunity to be the mother of his child. And a duaghter-in-law to his parents. I got more than I ever hoped for."

Vincent could see a smile in her tearful eyes. Speechless, he stood up and walked towards her.He held both her hands in his and said " Do I have the permission to be the father of this baby?"

Now it was Cynthia's turn to look at him in disbelief. She could see the resolve in his eyes. She wanted to say something. But could not. Instead, she just rested her head on his shoulders ...