We never know what happens when life happens, unless it actually happens! Today we are so caught in this idea of “myself” that we gradually lose out on our “other self”. It is hard to say whether life is ready to entangle us or is it we ourselves who are willing to get entangled…

 

I do own a time machine.

And I often use it to travel back

to my other life…

I live two

One here, today

And the other, that I left around the corner

and conveniently call it yesterday.

 

On rare occasions when I wish to holiday

and feel the need to breathe

I sit in my time machine

to go back

to tresses with shades of grey

and wonder how they became this colour

since I saw them a few months away.

I go back to grooves

and can make out those dimples gone astray.

I go back to puffy eyes

that hide behind horn rimmed glasses

only to find them a little weaker than they were

on my last holiday.

And then I sit in my time machine once again

to travel back into today.

 

That morning my phone buzzed unusually.

There was a call from that side of life called yesterday.

It had a new address

Ward fifteen at a place called Healthcare.

I paced for a while

and thought if it was urgent in any way…

I sat in the time machine

but it refused to budge

I tried hard

Checked for power failures,

battery woes

and other technical slows…

I summoned the engineer

only to know

that I’ll have to wait until the weekend

before I can go.

 

Alas! The time machine

held me back

Wasn’t really my fault you see.

I made a few phone calls though

Even tied up for somebody

to run errands all through.

 

Coming Saturday I travelled back

to see another strand of grey

troughs on cheeks deeper than ever

and puffy eyes tired like never.

 

Next morning, it was time to move.

I wished the time machine

to give up once again.

A snag, a lag

anything that would make me stay.

But it never breaks up when I travel into

this life called today.

So, I sat down once again

Pragmatic

Apologetic

as I chose one life over the other

that day!