Milestone -1
Milestone -3
As he approached the second bend, he felt a strange sense of happiness that had eluded him for so long. Quite inexplicable really, but he did feel really good. He had nursed the little lamb to feel better, seemed so trivial, but the happiness felt so surreal.
On foot of the second bend he saw an old woman sitting quietly by the roadside. He noticed that she was not begging either. She just sat there with the lonely hills and silent trees. The drizzle had intensified a bit and it was getting chilly. He should have, could have, walked on.
But he didn’t
He squatted before the old woman and gestured pointing to the rain. The woman looked into his eyes without blinking. Age had shown visible signs of degeneration on her face. A face which told the stories of a thousand battles fought and lost mostly. A face which counted the moments left behind and the bliss to come…hopefully. They seemed to tell a story of lost hope.
Don’s eyes were moist...He was holding back his tears. But it was hard. There was a connect somewhere. She could see his heart, his pains…as if she took it upon her -as if not he, but she had gone through it all. As the drizzle became a light rain, maybe as an indication for Don to let go. He cried like he never did before, the floodgates of pain were flowing. There were so many angry waves from the past, some prejudiced, some misunderstood and some plain hurt.
Not a word was spoken. The old woman put her hand on his head. Her frail fingers wiped his tears. They seemed to say, it s ok to cry. Moments passed and the rain had eased. Don’s felt a sense of burden lift from his head. He felt like he had emptied the bucket. He was feeling fresh like the morning rain on the hills.
He searched his wallet and gave her some money. She looked at him and smiled faintly. Her trembling fingers returned the money in his shirt pocket. Don felt like a daft. He opened his bag back and gave her a woolen shawl. She was motionless, as if her breath waited for that one moment of kindness. Don never forgot the last look in her eyes…emptiness and hope fighting for a place. A silent tear struggled to stay in her eyes…before dropping to earth.
It was time for Don to move on. He had lost his past to gain a drop of the present.
Gyanban Thoughts - We dont know what we hold back.Somewhere somehow it will have to flow, you have to let go.Sometimes we hold back so much that we forget where we started storing it.lost deep inside, a hurt which never comes out but resides,a soul which cries to be heard,to be understood to be freed...so let go.
Don's journey continues through yet another bend.As he moves forward the hills and the roads throw new light , a new sight, a new hope for Don. But he is still loaded,and the burden is too much to let go too soon,he lugs his bag pack to the next hairpin bend.See where it leads...
Read Milestone -3
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