Inkblot

Dear someone who's reading this, Hope you're doing fine. It’s Wednesday today, but I’m still emotionally stuck on Saturday night. Life has marched on — I had a jam-packed few days after that, semester practical exams on Monday and Tuesday, rushed between cities, long bus journeys, early alarms, checked things off my calendar, yet part of my mind is still paused there, quietly replaying those few surreal minutes from Saturday. Let me tell you what happened. Disclaimer: this is neither a fairy tale nor a made-up bedtime story. But it could easily pass for one. So, I was to leave for Bangalore on Saturday night. If you don’t know me well — I live in Sirsi, Karnataka. Correction: in a village tucked away 14 km from Sirsi town, deep inside the Western Ghats, nestled between tall trees and thick silence. My parents call it heaven. I call it a jungle. Fair. Now for the weather. It had been raining cats, dogs, and possibly wild boars for three days. That’s normal here. But this time...

“Color color, what color, which color do you choose?” “Red.” “Uh-oh! Red is already busy waving from flags and storming the streets, walking red flags everywhere! Definitely choose something else.” “Again, Color color, what color, which color do you choose?” “I choose green.” “Nope. Green is already stuck on environmentalist placards and awareness campaigns. You choose green, but green doesn’t choose you. Again, Color color, what color, which color do you choose?” “Uff… white this time.” “Not loudly, you girl! If you say you choose white, people might call you a racist. Again... Color color, what color, which color do you choose?” “I hate this game. I choose pink.” “That’s extinct. All young girlies used it up on their bedroom walls in 2009.” “Color color, what color, which color do you choose?” “Okay, black it is!!” “Oh dear. Black is currently taken by air pollution and the ozone debate. Not available for you. Try again.” “Beige. Nothing can go wrong this time.” “Men don’t even know...

Yes, that hurt me. I had to sit down for a while to figure out what was going on. Because obviously, you’re not in your senses when you hit your pinky. And then I realized — today is Wednesday. That must be why it happened. Wednesdays are supposed to be frustrating. And if Wednesdays don’t do what’s assigned to them, they might lose their job!! No doubt this Wednesday has already checked off its weekly goal. Let me ask you, do Wednesdays in your life ever go smoothly? Mine rarely do. Problems start right from the morning — if I wake up! It’s hard to get out of bed on Wednesdays because they don’t come with any motivational perks. Things like, “Come on, just one more day!” or “Wake up! Yesterday you had so much fun.” Nope! Instead, Wednesday whispers, “You left that pending yesterday,” “You still haven’t started this and you said tomorrow you will,” “You stopped meditating two weeks ago.” Urghh! Wednesdays seriously need a class on how to wake up people gently. The rest of the day fee...