With the ticking of the clock now a murmur, I was halfway into the state called sleep. I have stopped embracing dreams far before so I don't expect to have one today. But destiny is beyond one's hopes......
So here I am, walking unending steps through what seemed like a desert. I terribly wanted the walk to end but my legs wouldn't stop as if they were in pursuit of a sure destination.
That's when I saw them, too close to be a mirage, walking in slow but steady strides. They were the monks, three of them. Where could they be headed to? Though I couldn't see their faces, I am sure that it must be bereft of the insecurities I had. On getting closer, I found various hues of emotion in each of their faces. The first monk's face dwells in frustration. What could provoke a monk in this seclusion, I wondered! Then there was the second monk, whose pain reminded me of something. Though the third monk had its physique here, he is surely wandering on some imaginary greener pasture...
'Where are you headed to?"It was a question meant to find a way out for me. "Onto the time wrap", said the first monk and the second monk added, "Seems like it's your destination too". I was puzzled and asked with hope, "Would it be better than this somber land?" The first monk replied, " It's a mirage with knick-knacks to seduce you in, taking away the precious moments of your life". I looked at the third monk who hasn't spoken yet. He is still in the gleeful world and is unaware of my presence.
"Do I pay for getting in there?" asked me, barehanded and uncertain. To my surprise, this question was answered by the third monk. "You don't pay in paper but in emotion. Think no better, share no love and have no dream and you will be pampered there".
"Has it got any exits?", my worries started surfacing.
"Yes, but it comes with a price-take along the baggage of criticism, bears the hardships and solitude, gets to know the real color of others and on surviving all these, you can step into the edifice of sanity......"
I was no more walking, my journey and thoughts have come to a standstill. The monks are moving by, leaving me to detest the grumpiness of the first monk, pity the gloom of the second monk and envy the glee of the third monk.
That's when the tick-tocks became screams and woke me to the pending works that I got to finish. What faced me now was a blank word page which I opened to..., I don't remember anymore, for that dream had taken away my anxieties of getting fired, the hunger for hikes and promotions. All of it seems meaningless now. What overpours in me now is the long lost feeling of worthiness. Then I realized that the first monk was my agitation towards my current life, the pain of the second monk was my suppressed desire to follow my passion and my envy on the third monk has now turned to apathy.
And so I typed in bold black letters, my desire to step on a new phase of life and say adieu to the monotony which I used to call 'my job'.