The Conversation (An Original Short Story by Pushkar Bajpai)

The other day I was wandering down some unknown alleys of the brain-land. I was searching for a rather peculiar place known as 'The Nothing Box'. I had been dying to come out of my peaceful apartments located in the distant suburbs; called 'The Complacence' for sometime now. 

While wandering through the 'Tough St' I took some time to glance around the surrounding area. It was full of shanties with clouds of hopelessness hovering in the sky; with drops of frustration bent on wetting my peaceful attire. I was on the brink of giving up.

Suddenly I heard a melodious tune which was coming out of a small pub with a sign hanging that said 'The Faithfuls'. I wasn't sure whether I should stop in this infamous 'Tough St' and risk being robbed of my peace (I had only few left in my wallet).

I went in through the creaking door and saw a lot of guys like me just blowing out puffs of smoke; with glasses clanking against the wooden tables. I was getting anxious, not sure whether I should stay for a while or just leave. A guy in blue ran past me, looked at his watch and gave a sigh of relief.

I said to myself, ‘what the heck!'. So I made my way into the corner and sat on a stool, waiting for the bartender to serve. I looked around for the band which was playing. Apparently it wasn't live music but just some records from an old band called 'The May-bees'. That’s it I’m leaving, I thought.

I was about to get up but suddenly a hand on my shoulder prevented me from doing so. I turned around and saw a man with a rather dark trench coat and a fedora hat. He had a golden watch on his wrist that said 'About Time'. That was strange but I guess life brings in a bounty of strangeness sometimes!

I wanted to shrug off his hand politely but seeing the wrinkles decided to wait till he was done. Slowly he removed his bag around his neck and sat on the stool next to me. He whistled to the bartender, who came running and poured him a drink.

I was still waiting for my drink! The light was shining on the old man's face. He had thick white eyebrows that tried their best to hide behind the equally thick black eyeglass frame. His nose was rather crooked and he looked pale & tired.

Perhaps my stare was too obvious, as he turned and looked right at me. He smiled and tipped his hat. He noticed the emptiness in front of me and whistled again. The bartender came running and looked at me with a quizzical look. I noticed the old man was pointing in my direction.

I was bit taken aback but ordered a martini (shaken but not stirred). I glanced back at the old man and blurted out thanks. He smiled and said, ‘Hi, friends call me Kreat'. I clasped his outstretched hand and replied, ‘Hi, they call me X'.

'That's a peculiar name!’ I said. 'Yeah, it is, isn't it?’ replied Kreat with a smirk on his face. 'Oh, I am sorry', I said. 'Its fine, I myself find it rather amusing!’ said he. This brought up a smile on both of our faces. We turned back to our glasses. 

'So, Mr. X', what brings you here to this part of the town?’ asked Kreat. 'Well, frankly, I've been kinda lost for a while, so just wandered into this place by chance', I replied back, ‘so you can just say I was looking for something of which I don't know yet!'

'Ah, isn't that the case with everybody’, said Mr. Kreat, 'sometimes you get this urge that something is gonna happen but not sure when and where, it's just miserable'. 'Perhaps that's how it works, not knowing what you want but still wanting it with all earnest', he added.

'You stole my words.....it's miserable yet I want more of it', said I, with a bemused smile. 'Yet, it's not you can have it anytime you want, you just wait for it like a hunter waiting near a trap', said Kreat, tapping on the glass, sounded like precious seconds ticking away.

'Yeah, tell me about it....but the catch is you can't contain it even if you manage to catch it', replied I with a slight shrug of the shoulders. 'True, it's not yours....maybe just giving you a chance to have it, ephemeral yet its there for you!’ replied Kreat with a twinkle in his eyes.

'You can have it, just have to believe it's yours - and only yours', said he, 'so what you gonna do about it...can't just leave it.' I pondered for a moment, letting my gulps give me a moment to react. 'I can trust myself...and just go with it; let the powers to be worry about the result', said I in a deep moment of self-revelation. 

'You always can, trust yourself and don't blame yourself if it goes south', said he. 'Problems always tend to settle down like dust, then you can sprinkle a few drops of faith and you've your firm ground....so go and play on it!' he added with a broad smile. I smiled back because I knew the words, although odd, somehow made sense in some corner of my mind.

'What you bring to this world is yours and it's beautiful', said he, ‘give up for a while, let time bring more sense to the chaos...and until that day...be kind to yourself.' He kept his hand on my shoulder and took a last sip from the bottom of his glass. 'I think I am done here', said he, as he picked his bag and left a few coins on the table.

'Give up?’ I inquired. 'Yes, give up on all those expectations, just live life for a while', he clarified, he glanced at me and left for the door. I was back alone in the dark corner, but somehow a warm ray of light seems to have found its way. I felt its warmth making its way through my cold exterior and giving some help to the sparks of hope that were fluttering within. I stood up and looked around me to just absorb this moment.

I was back out on the street, the rain was still pouring with all its might. But somehow I felt light and all the miseries of the world couldn't weigh me down. I made my way towards my home but this time some faith in heart and searching for the next breath of the elusive creativity to bring me something (or someone). Only God knows!