Stranger than a dream...

Dreams are manifestation of the thoughts that belie our subconscious mind. Each night humans dream of numerous things, yet they remember only a few of them. And even those gradually fade away, slipping away from our grip. The harder we try to remember, the more it evades and eventually it is forgotten in its entirety. There is eventually no way that we could record and keep a track of the things we’ve dreamt of.  What is it about dreams that make them so enigmatic, so nebulous that even though we try we cannot hold on to them.

What would happen if someday we realize that the days we have been spending were just another dream we had been living. And what would happen if the dream chose to break itself, move on and make us wake up to reality. Would we try to hold onto it and still spend our entire life running after it, just because it seemed so charming, try hard to turn it into our reality again.

Imagine meeting a person who seems to have walked right out of your dream, everything he does, says seems perfect: not flawless, but you come to love those imperfections. You learn to appreciate the depth the person has towards life, towards you. And you bond immediately, a bond so strong that you seem surprised that you were capable of such trust, capable of surrendering your soul in its entirety to that stranger whom you just met.

You are unable to decide if it’s still a part of a dream or a living reality. The way his hand slightly holds onto yours. The way he holds you in his arms and caresses you when you are asleep. The way his lips curve in to accommodate yours, smiling ever so slightly. Nothing seems new or strange, it feels that everything has been this way for ever. The way he looks at you at dawn, the room slightly illuminated by the first rays of the sun makes you feel beautiful beyond words.

But remember the first time? When your hands touched accidently, and you feel the spark. Even though we know in reality that Edward Cullen couldn’t stop Bella’s heartbeat, with his passionate kiss, yet that’s the one moment you feel that it didn’t seem impossible. And before you know you are so much into that feeling of attachment (love?) . Madly, Insanely and Irrevocably.

As the night draws in, slightly creeping away towards the first steps of dawn, you feel the mist coming on. But you are lost in the land of this mist, its beauty enhances the minutest details of the landscape around you. Before you are aware the sun is high up in the sky, melting away the fog, the mist.

And you find the stranger is gone.

Only your window pane holds the remnants of the stranger’s existence. You still wonder, what was it, so strange, so beautiful.

Stranger than even dreams.

A crazy little thing...called love

Kris stirred restlessly as the first rays of the dawn crept in through the glass window. She was asleep, but her mind was suddenly alert, awake, and refused to let her go back to the deep slumber. She tried to move her hand and stretch, but then she realized that she was being held, held in a warm embrace. She opened one eye and saw Nick’s profile shifting ever so slightly as he breathed peacefully. She could still smell in the lingering traces of love in the room that surrounded them. She could remember the tenderness of the passion they had shared the night before. As she looked at him, she felt a deep chasm that opened in her soul, a different kind of need to protect his sleeping form, the need to sneak inside his heart and stay there. The pain returned, the abomination that she would have to leave soon, that their time together was somehow running out and she closed her eyes stifling a deep sob that rose inside her. She didn’t realize that perhaps this man had some form of enchantment to know her inside out even in his sleep. He released her in his sleep, and shifted his form closer to her, encircling her entire body by his. Bringing her close to his heart, he rested her head on his arms, slightly not waking up as he did so. She felt the heaviness in her heart disappear, replaced by a slight tingling of increased heartbeat, the kind that comes with victory, the kind that comes with hope and the realization dawned onto her how this felt like a safe haven, a place of refuge to her decaying soul. She found herself looking at Nick’s face, wanting this moment to last, realizing that this was the tiny little thing people so exaggerated and called love

The moon has always been a source of mystery to me. It's symbolic association with romance and mythical creatures like vampires and werewolves in itself bestows an aura of enigma around it. Unaware , of the fact that the arrival of the summer solstice would coincide with the full moon, an uneventful  evening walk to a grocery store rendered me one of the greatest pleasures of all time. Imagine walking by,  lost in your own thoughts and there it is, an orange-yellowish orb staring at your face from the night sky. The sheer beauty of the moment is mesmerizing. I am aware that the moon has its phases, but the delicate and faint glow emanating from the full moon , was not something I was prepared for. Someone then mentioned that this was the "strawberry moon". Digging through revealed interesting facts about its namesake  (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/strawberry-moon-arrives-with-the-summer-solstice/), but what is surprising is the rarity of this event that won't happen again till 2062.
A slice of the moon for all the stargazers and nature lovers.

A late evening visit to a french bakery today (http://lamadeleine.com/), led me to think that what is it about these small, quaint bakeries that seems to tug at my heart. France has always been epitomized as a center for culture, romance , fashion and has been touted for its cafe culture. The cafes have been an integral part of the French culture, evolving from a place of gathering for the intellectuals to meet, a place where artists could showcase their works, a place where writers could shed their melancholy to a place where people simply flock in to spend a lazy afternoon with family or friends. It is the beautiful decor of this place that pulls me towards it time and again. The traditional intimate interior done in wood and the outdoor sidewalk seating each has a distinct ancient feeling to it, binding me to the culture and heritage of France at once. Whether you are a quiet book reader, or are just interested in watching people , these cafe offer solace to each wandering soul , almost "teleporting" you to a different era of peace and happiness. 

“The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say” 
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

                                                                         "Memories"

Charmed by the memories,
the mind wanders along desolate streets..
Trying to find your presence,
I delve into the depths of emotions- that keeps the fire from dying
but it is only you ,that I seek....
The streets are dark,
where would this search lead me....I know not...
It seems that the star that I follow at the end of the long road, and the forest of
emotions would swallow me...
I rely on the sunshine of your presence
To lead me through.
What if I give up before I can make it...
Charmed by the memories,
my mind wanders...
Through the empty streets...

                                                             ''Being together''

As she walked down the busy street, late in the evening, Kris could feel the vibrant happiness of the smiling faces that greeted her. The joy of being with their loved ones, was being reflected in the lazy demeanour of the people, sipping their tea and engrossed in casual chat not even paying undivided attention to the speaker. It was just the warmth of being together that they seemed to be enjoying. Over the years, Kris had seen a million different types of relationships. Some believed inherently in love, some at the brink of commitment and some, who believed in having flings and then just let go. But she knew that to all of those people, long distance was a step beyond possible. It wasn’t that love was absent, but it was just the physical and emotional presence of the person, in real time, that they ended up losing sight of who their partner really was. As she walked by, her thoughts drifted to Nick, who was 1500 miles away, probably sipping a cup of coffee sitting on his easy chair, looking out the window to the distant mountains that appeared as pin pricks against the gray evening sky, or probably watching the latest episode of his favorite television series. She felt lucky to be in love with this guy, who had come to mean so much to her in the short span of 3 months that she had been dating him.  He inspired her and made her life complete, so much so that she dared to be happy after such a long time. His presence in her was like the cool breeze that soothed her soul. At times she wondered if she could survive without him, she wondered if in this age of 5min breakups, their long distance relation would survive. She seemed to be so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realise her phone ringing. It was Nick calling her to check upon if she had reached her home yet. At that moment she felt, that even if she had to walk the extra mile, to walk across the distance that separated them she would do so gladly, without any inhibitions. It was then she fell in peace with the realisation that some people in your life are worth all the pain their separation brings.  As she balanced the  hot cup of coffee in her hand , and her phone in the other, a faint smile played on her lips  she thought of the time when she and Nick would be able to savour it together.