She screamed from the top of the skyscraper to the bustling crowd around her. "Come to me!", she said, "Come to me and discover bliss!! Live with me a life that you have not lived before!". And we looked at her in awe. She was beautiful, she was sexy, she was offering us an exotic life, one that would make us feel strong, independent and socially accepted amongst our peers. As I looked around me, I saw the hundreds of people who wanted her. What was so special about her that made lakhs of people pass her by everyday? Everyday, to hear her screaming in delight. And as I sat in the cab, I saw how people drove oh-so-slowly as they saw her. Sometimes, cars would wait for over an hour to get their fill of her. People in cabs and rickshaws gasped in her after-breath. Honking, delirious in her presence, trying to overtake the next motorist who wanted to get to her first. I saw some managing to sneak under the concrete maze and I thought to myself, "Will they be able to meet her today? Touch her?". But the rest of us inched on, looking, wondering, hoping that she tease us no more with the unattainable.
Unattainable. Of course she was unattainable. She was way out of our league. Pretty, but high maintenance. She would suck out our cash, our ambitions, our health. And fill our waking, non-productive hours with stress and regrets. We yearn for things that do us no good, don't we?
And I was one of those stupid 'yearners'. I had to meet her. I had to know her secret. What did she possess that made us all pass by her everyday, looking through every window in every building, asking ourselves if we could live here, so close to her? Staring at her imperfect, yet gleaming body. With so much to offer and so much to take away.
Sunday was the chosen day. The day men obliged their wives instead of their bosses. Today she would be free from the chaos.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Just another aspiration in this city", she chuckled.
"How do you do it? Get all these people to flock around you everyday!"
"That's my secret, honey!"
"How can I get rid of you from my thoughts? I want to be free from your will! I don't ever want to see you again. You are ruining my peace of mind. Every time I'm near you, I get stuck in my tracks. I want to live a normal life! Without your thoughts! I want to be married and have kids and keep my job, but you won't let me do it. Your presence harasses me every day!"
And she laughed violently. Like a laugh I had never heard before. "Oh but that IS normal!" she said. I was sure now. The people she had lured were zombies now, living the life that she chose for them. I had to get away from her. I never wanted to cross her path again. She was a monster!
"Say your name!" I screamed. "I will tell all of your evil!"
But the laughing continued, louder this time. "Try all you want. They will never cease to cross my paths! Scream as loud as you can, stupid you! And tell them all...my name is Goregaon!"
Unattainable. Of course she was unattainable. She was way out of our league. Pretty, but high maintenance. She would suck out our cash, our ambitions, our health. And fill our waking, non-productive hours with stress and regrets. We yearn for things that do us no good, don't we?
And I was one of those stupid 'yearners'. I had to meet her. I had to know her secret. What did she possess that made us all pass by her everyday, looking through every window in every building, asking ourselves if we could live here, so close to her? Staring at her imperfect, yet gleaming body. With so much to offer and so much to take away.
Sunday was the chosen day. The day men obliged their wives instead of their bosses. Today she would be free from the chaos.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Just another aspiration in this city", she chuckled.
"How do you do it? Get all these people to flock around you everyday!"
"That's my secret, honey!"
"How can I get rid of you from my thoughts? I want to be free from your will! I don't ever want to see you again. You are ruining my peace of mind. Every time I'm near you, I get stuck in my tracks. I want to live a normal life! Without your thoughts! I want to be married and have kids and keep my job, but you won't let me do it. Your presence harasses me every day!"
And she laughed violently. Like a laugh I had never heard before. "Oh but that IS normal!" she said. I was sure now. The people she had lured were zombies now, living the life that she chose for them. I had to get away from her. I never wanted to cross her path again. She was a monster!
"Say your name!" I screamed. "I will tell all of your evil!"
But the laughing continued, louder this time. "Try all you want. They will never cease to cross my paths! Scream as loud as you can, stupid you! And tell them all...my name is Goregaon!"
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