In the walks of life
there are so many promises that we make
promises to love, promises to stay
and promises to make memories worth living each day
With the pace of life,
words lose meaning, responsibilities take cover
ambitions take a backseat and before one knows the gleam of desires disappears into the dark
Where does it go? Does it find its way back?
……
We headed out to explore the city of Dubai
Stopping by the “must-visit” attractions and jumping over the predatory tourist traps
We had the company of 3 Indians on the ride
2 women and a man, all in their late 50s I suppose.
They seemed like a family of retired folks. and like every other bunch of Indians in a room
we got indulged in conversations
Conversations on geographical diversity, the political fiascos
we discussed our respective itineraries and reviews
striking off the ones that the opposite company shook heads to
We went to place after place, building a rather warm rapport with one another
and we discovered they weren’t really a family
The trio consisted of a couple for certain but it also included 2 best friends;
The best friend of the wife.
Childhood friends and retired government servants,these charming women had always
wished of roaming the world together
while they couldn’t find time in their active years they swore to make it happen in the times of grey
challenging yet inspiring by all means
The partner of the best friend being bedridden encouraged his wife to go ahead and
live her dream of traveling with her better confidante
Her eyes shine as she says this perfect line;
“He couldn’t make it but he didn’t let me compromise”
Just like how two teen girls would be, these lovely women would stop around every corner
taking their time to giggle, gossip, and capture all of their moments in a haste..
The vibrance of some people can just light up the room
and their aura for sure was surreal in every form.
Social barriers of captivity within relations have taken the ugliest of faces
sacrifices get rhymed with responsibilities, relations get taken for granted
and somewhere in this Jenga of priorities
desires for individuality get dissolved in the ocean of liability
Soon after we returned the pandemic took the headlines,
I wonder where these women are today?
Which trail would they be traversing
which guise of ambition would they be pursuing
and most importantly
which promise will they be keeping?
..
