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What Lies Beyond

Writer's picture: SambandhSambandh

Updated: Oct 12, 2024

B i d i s h a B a n e r j e e

India


Scene 1

He was waiting outside the boardroom to submit the report. It was getting late, and he was yearning to be back home. Not that anything important was happening at home; it was just that his daily routine, which he hated to break, was getting disrupted. As he waited, his thoughts drifted deeply into how his rise within the corporate world was beginning to take its toll on him—on his personal life. Yet, it was also true that, over the years, he had grown accustomed to this life.


Fifteen long years—he had gradually become habituated to the ways of the corporate world. Gone were the days when he enjoyed simpler and inexpensive things in life. But still, something inside him kept telling him, "Run, run as far as possible..." His thoughts slipped into a reverie—a dream of owning a small beachside cottage in Goa, walking barefoot in the sand while the wind rushed through his hair.


The perfectly set air conditioning felt suffocating. After nearly half an hour, he was finally summoned inside. Slowly, he rose and entered the boardroom, dragging his unwilling feet along.


Scene 2

That car! That blue car is a dream! Aftab, the security guard, often dreamt of that car. Maybe one day the owner would let him touch it or even sit inside. He seemed like a nice person—always greeting him and asking about his son.


Speaking of his son, Aftab suddenly felt sad. His boy needed extra tuition for math, but he just couldn’t afford it. Life was expensive in a city like this. How Aftab wished he could be someone like the owner of that car—well-placed in a high-ranking position at a company like this. Should I ask for help? he wondered.


It was almost 6:30. The man was usually never this late.


Ah! There he comes... but something seems off today. Aftab had planned to ask him for help with the tuition fees, but seeing his troubled face, he decided against it. Maybe tomorrow...


"Good evening, Sir!" Aftab greeted with a bright smile.

The man nodded back, but something was definitely off. This guy doesn’t just nod...


Scene 3

He was trying to think hard. Ravi, his subordinate, was supposed to accompany him today, but for the second time, Ravi had ditched him. Something was definitely wrong with Ravi, but he couldn't quite figure it out just now.


He headed toward his car. The security guard saluted, and he absentmindedly nodded back. Usually, they exchanged a few words, but not today. He was tremendously tired, every part of his body screaming to just let it go...


Sometimes, he wondered how life would be for the security guard, Aftab. Life must be so much easier for him. No endless emails, no meetings to attend, no waiting for approvals, no frequent travel—just a simple, uncomplicated, routine life.


Not gonna happen, he guessed, as he got into his car.


Scene 4

On his way home, his car got stuck in traffic. His gaze wandered, settling on a barber who had set up a makeshift shop on the pavement. The barber was intently cutting someone’s hair, chatting away with his customer.


Suddenly, a rush of emotions overwhelmed him. He wanted to leave everything behind, get out of his fancy car, and have a haircut from that pavement barber—just like a regular guy, ditching his upmarket salon. It had been so long since he’d been to a normal gents’ saloon. Nowadays, it was only high-end salons where the barbers spoke fluent English.


Sure, those barbers might speak English, but this pavement barber knew his trade better.

The barber and his customer noticed his car, their eyes wide with awe. Normally, he relished this kind of attention, but not today. Today, he just wanted to feel the sand between his toes, be a security guard for a day, or have a simple haircut from the man on the pavement. Today, he wanted to break free from his routine.


But the routine had a firm grip on him once again.

As the traffic light turned green, he sped off, leaving his thoughts behind.

And slowly, the maximum city swallowed him whole.

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