Mulakaat 1: Run

run

She was getting late for work. In a hurry, she filled her mouth with the breakfast laid on her plate, took the keys and left the house. While swiping her metro card, she noticed that the metro she had to board was to arrive in the next minute. She rushed to the escalators and climbed them up quickly to reach the platform.

After boarding the train and finding out a suitable place for the journey, she opened her bagpack to take out the novel that she was reading these days and plugged in her earphones. Music was playing, but not being listened to. As usual, her eyes searched for words in the book on her lap as her mind started to wander.

She was pondering over a new set of thoughts today. She dreamed last night after a long time. It was an unusual dream, a quiet graveyard, which made her ask existential questions to herself.

“Who am I? Why am I here? Am I living? Or dead? Is it reality? Or a dream?

Am I happy? Why am I not happy? Why am I sad? What stops me from being happy? What does happiness actually mean? Where is my happiness? What gives me happiness? When little things can make me sad, why can’t little things make me happy? Does being happy cost me much? Why do I barter the smiles for tears? Why not start the other way round?

They say every why doesn’t have an answer. But why?”

Tringgg. Lost deep in her thoughts, she startled at the beeping sound of her phone. The void disappeared. She stared at the ringing phone with a pale face but did not pick it up.

“Why exist but not live? Why survive but not breathe?”

Dinggg. Coming back to the real world, she realised she had reached her stop. She quickly gathered her things and ran to deboard.

“Where am I running to?”

She picked up speed to reach her workplace on time.

“Or whom am I running away from?”

Read all the Mulaakatein here.