Sitting in the corner of his room, by the window – his faithful companion, by now, Ron stared out as he did everyday. That was his life now. To wake up in the morning with hardly four hours of sleep and then sit by the window and stare at the world going by. The world he was a part of, once. Technically, he’s still a part of it. But still, isn’t. Ron spends hours staring out of the window and sometimes his mind would venture out – and mingle with the crowd and be where all the action is! Those were the instances when his mind would go back to the time when he’d be not at the window straining to see what’s going on outside but he’d be right there where all the action was! And there would be some other man, somewhere who’d look at him and reminisce of his youth. He was a part of the cycle and he knew it well and he accepted it. Just that sometimes some things reminded him of the days when he could still trek atop the steepest mountains, cycle on and on, pack his bags within no time and set off to explore places he’d never seen and chatter endlessly with his friends. Everything could have been the same but for time. It keeps ticking away. It had ticked away his childhood, his youth, his middle-age, the dark hair, the pearly whites, his smiles, and heartbreakingly, his friends. It still kept ticking. In the numb silence of his room he could listen to his wrist watch ticking away and he glanced down to have a look at it.
The wrist watch! A mere look at it brought a faint smile on his face. It was long time ago when the wrist watch first marked time for him. It still did. His lips trembled as he smiled and with his fingers he gently felt it. As his fingers touched and felt the wristwatch, he thought he was falling through the dial. But he wasn’t afraid of that fall. He was glad that he was falling. There was a sense of happiness, a sense of belonging to that fall. Ron’s eyes were closed and his face had a serene smile – one that had not adorned his face for a while now. He found himself in a familiar room where a guy was sleeping like a log. He looked carefully – it was Ron. But Ron was him. He was back in time, he realized and that put him to sleep.
He could hear his mobile ringing – louder by the second. That told him it was the alarm. He reached out for his phone and turned off the alarm and switched off the phone! What a bliss, Ron thought as he drifted back to sleep. The bliss didn’t last for long though, as he heard loud bangs on his door. He could also hear familiar phrases now and then, kamine, kutte, wake up, what the hell are you doing?... He dragged himself to the door and as soon as he opened, his friends started barking. Eh? Well, “barking”, is what he tells ‘em they are doing if his friends are shouting at him!
Ron, you insane insaan! You have to be late everywhere you go! Tell me one place where you’ve reached on time!, challenged an agitated Manoj. And as cool as he ever was, Ron replied, Come on Manu! I always reach my bedroom on time to sleep like a dog. Err em, I mean, a log! All of them burst out laughing. Dudes, listen, I have a reputation to keep. So, kindly adjust!, Ron announced. Rohan shot back, Reaching late everywhere, every time – consistently! Is that what you call re-pu-ta-tion? Ron did not have an answer to this. Instead he grinned the famous Ron-grin! He was feeling special and he knew Rohan and Manoj were here to take him to where all their other friends where – at Seema’s place. All of them had planned to gather at Seema’s to celebrate Ron’s birthday. Yes it was Ron’s Happy Birthday! All his friends never trusted him to be on time – so they sent Rohan and Manoj to drag him to Seema’s house.
As soon as Ron entered Seema’s house, he heard so many barks! All of them barking at the same time “Happy Birtday to You…” and pouncing on him to hug him and kick him! Many moments passed by and so many kicks, laughs, smiles, and bouts of laughter. And suddenly all of them fell silent. A stark realization hit all of them at the same time – this was probably the last time they’d be together as a group. Some of them were moving to a different city, some to a different country, and some to a different life – getting married. The moments, minutes, hours, days, hours, months, and years they had spent together – that period of time was coming to an end. Their eyes were filled with tears of joy, sorrow, and the pain of separation writ large, looming on their faces. Seema was the first to go. She cried, bawled like a child. Manju followed suit. Manoj, Rohan, and Abhi stood still. Not speaking. Not looking at each other. Ron broke the silence and the tears, Guys, where’s my happy birthday gift? I want one right now! His child like antics as he jumped around everyone asking for a gift brought smiles back followed by bouts of laughter as Seema brought out a gift-wrapped box and all of them posed for photographs as a group with their cam in the self-timer mode. Say paneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer, someone shouted and all of them broke into another bout of laughter *Click*!
Ron opened the pack slowly. He had an inkling what the gift would be and it turned out to be that. A beautiful wrist watch! Manju shouted above the din, Ron, atleast reach your first day at work on time now! You don’t have an excuse now. You have a brand new wrist watch to keep time! Her voice trailed into another bout of laughter. Laughter was one thing that bound them together even through their tears! Ron thought of the gift. Apart from being a sarcasm-filled humor, it meant a lot more to all of them in the context. It was a rememberance – to remember the times they spent together, the moments of joy and happiness, of sorrows and pain – all shared between them. It marked the moment they’d go their separate ways. He held the watch close to his ears to hear the pleasant tick tick… But that pleasant sound was interrupted by excited shouts from below Ron’s window. His thoughts broke and he was pulled back into the present. Now. He looked out of the window again and spotted a group of youngsters laughing and walking together enjoying the silly comments and jokes that came their way.
Ron wondered - where did those days go? Why am I here? Why cannot those days last forever? Where are all my friends now? Why did it have to end like this?... Those thoughts were too much for Ron to take. He closed his eyes. There was a smile on his face, which was not a smile actually. It was something more, something less. The room grew quieter. His breathing, deeper. He could hear the wrist watch tick away, tick, tick tick… He could almost hear his heartbeats too. And then, his heart stopped beating.
The wrist watch kept ticking away – tick, tick, tick, tick…
