Elsewhere in time
One evening after a long exhausting day, Arjun decide to walk back to his place from his office instead of taking a cab. It was just 15-20 minutes of walk.
He usually takes a cab, but this evening, he wanted to take a break from the monotony and a disconnect from the exhaustion. Walking felt like a good choice, as it offers a mental space to slow down.
As he reached near his colony, today he took a detour through a park, instead of taking the usual road. This park is usually empty after evenings and not much lights are installed.
The park was empty today as usual when he reached there, except one man sitting on of the bench.
Arjun kept on walking, with slower than usual steps, as if he is postponing something or re-wiring something in his mind, with each step.
As Arjun approached further, the man on the bench looked familiar. First vaguely, then almost awkwardly familiar as he approached closer.
Arjun tried hard to recollect his memories to identify the frame which was vaguely visible. But he couldn’t recall anything.
Suddenly, the man said, “You are on time!”
Arjun stopped. His first instinct was confusion.
“Do I know you?” Arjun asked in confusion.
“No. But you’ll.” The man spoke in calm and mature voice, patting on the seat beside him, he said, “Come sit.”
Every instinct within Arjun told him to walk or run away as fast as he can from the situation, without any further dialogue. But something else within him took over and he found himself walking towards the bench and sitting beside the man. Though, not in state to listen anything. He was already having a mind full of chaos and exhaustion.
As Arjun sat beside him, the man looked almost like himself in the dim light.
“How do you know me?” Arjun asked, though still curious that why this man was looking like someone he already knew.
“I’m you!” The man said.
Arjun had no idea how to react to that. His, instinct said this couldn’t be true and he is being fooled, but data in front him suggested otherwise. The man looked, spoke, sat just like him and had awkwardly similar body frame as well.
There was silence for a few seconds. A dog barked somewhere in distance.
“Right! And am I supposed believe that?” Arjun said finally.
But the man didn’t seem to flinch or express any discomfort.
“No! You just have to listen.” The man spoke with assurance. “I too had asked the same question. But I’m you, I can’t fool you.”
Arjun was about to stand up.
“I’ve come to tell you something”. The man continued before Arjun could interrupt further or leave.
“I don’t think I can trust you or anything that you have to say, but go on.” Arjun said in haste, being dismissive. He was too exhausted to argue further.
Man: “I’ve come to tell you that, there’s still time.”
Arjun: “Time for what?”
Man: “Time from where everything can still change. I’ve come to tell you, because no one came for me.”
Arjun: “So you’ve come to warn me? Tell me what mistakes to avoid?”
Arjun felt anger arise in his voice because of his exhaustion and irritation.
“No!” The man said in soft deep tone, as if that ‘no’ was not just a word but an abbreviation of a long thought, which couldn’t be explained easily with words and specially to a person in the state of mind as of Arjun.
“I’ve come to tell you the cost of staying the same”. The man spoke.
That sentence pierced through Arjun’s instincts and inner reasoning. He couldn’t think of anything to speak. His mouth went dry.
The man then went on to describe a life that sounded painfully ordinary. Trip plans that were never taken. Apologies that were never spoken. Love that faded into polite conversations. Dreams reduced to anecdotes. Promotions that came too late. Projects that were never finished. Stories that were never told. Friends who were neither forgotten nor called.
“I didn’t fail dramatically one day” The man said in the end. “I faded quietly…That’s worse”.
That was deep. Arjun’s mind went blank, the noise inside his head went silent.
“Then what should I do?” Arjun finally asked.
“Stop procrastinating. Procrastinating and assuming that someday a big opportunity will come and everything will change. Someday, something special will happen and you will become braver, wiser and get all what you need to go after your dreams.”
The man leaned forward and looked sharply in Arjun’s eyes. “Stop rehearsing courage and start practicing it. Nothing is going to happen on its own. It’s you who will have to make it happen.”
Tears burned Arjun’s eyes. He took a deep breath. After a moment of silence he finally asked softly, “Do I become happy?”
The man paused as if he ran short of words. That pause hurt more than an answer.
“I become peaceful, sometimes. But peace is not same as fulfillment. That’s why I’m here.”
A breeze passed through the park. Arjun blinked and the bench beside him was empty.
He sat there for a long time.
That night, he didn’t scroll. He gathered himself through the tiredness and discomfort, cleaned his cluttered desk, sat and wrote all of the decisions he has been postponing. Prioritized them, then slept with a plan to execute one of them at a time every day.
Life didn’t transform dramatically overnight for him. But that night for sure, lit up something inside him, he became conscious about how he is spending his time, as if that meeting had lit up a candle of discipline and clarity inside him.
Many years later, one day, after a long exhausting day, Arjun walked into that same park. As he sat there, a young man, with heavy shoulders, slow steps and lost in thought, entered into the park.
“You are on time!” He said looking towards that man.