The World We Yearn For

By Srushti Kulkarni

The street was bizarrely empty, and it had turned dark. Maybe it was evening time. Khushi felt a spine-chilling anxiety, observing the murk around her. Usually, the dark winter sky, depicted an aesthetic painting of silver stars and a blemished yet magnificent moon during a full moon night, but today she couldn’t fathom the mysteriously deserted place. Even her house had disappeared somewhere. Anxiously, she trudged on the street, looking for her house. She looked terrified and breathed heavily. The street seemed never-ending, and all the houses lined up on the left were totally different from her locality. ‘Where am I?’ she wondered, plodding across the gloomy area. Surprisingly she didn’t even remember from where she had landed at this enigmatic place, for her brain was unable to recollect anything, apart from the fact that it was supposed to be a full moon night. 

The freezing weather exhausted her, and she drew her velvet coat closer to herself. She stopped mid-way and found a bungalow’s gate slightly open. She thought of taking some help from the people staying inside the house. Probably they would help her find her house. The iron gate creaked upon pushing it open. The entrance door was ajar as well, she rang the bell and tried knocking several times, but there was no answer. She entered the house, fearing the vast blackness surrounding her as she glanced at the street behind. 

She was flabbergasted at the scenario which unfolded in front of her. She stood frozen at the entrance and didn’t move an inch. It was her family, and an even younger Khushi of ten years age, was in front of her. She had been transported exactly ten years back. It was a time travel probably. ‘But how is it possible? How did I travel back in time?’ she thought, still frozen at the same place.

‘Mom, today we are going to play board games, dumb charades, listen to my favourite music, read stories and have fun!’ said the ten-year-old Khushi in a sweet voice, innocence reflecting from her sparkling eyes. Her mother nodded with a wide smile.

‘Weekend means recreation and we love to relax!’ exclaimed Khushi and her dad, simultaneously in an exuberant tone.

The twenty-year old Khushi felt a little relaxed, standing there, watching her own family having merry time. She suddenly felt an excitement to watch over how her family spent quality time without using any electronic gadgets like mobiles, laptops or television. She could slowly recollect her childhood which used to be the best time devoid of any screens. In the past couple of years, her life had drastically changed since the screens had become her life for savouring online content, endless scrolling and constant gratification of posting on social media. It had destroyed her mental peace and no doubt, she felt so frustrated and lost her temper easily. The perplexion and conundrum surrounding her over so much screen exposure, peer pressure for staying active on social media, had snatched her tranquil life from herself. 

‘Dad, I will win this game anyhow. I am extremely competitive, you know that,’ said an enthusiastic Khushi, who was so engrossed in her game. 

She realized how everyone in her family shared an impeccably adorable bond, where there was no space for stress but only laughter and merriment. These days she had been the reason for ruining all their family plans of outing, just because she liked to prioritize her college friends, more than her parents. 

The older Khushi witnessed all the light-hearted, yet supremely precious moments unfolding in front of her. Only that every cherished moment of her past was happening quickly as if someone had fast-forwarded a movie. But that didn’t trouble her much as she interestingly, found solace in that invaluable time. 

The ten-year-old Khushi looked extremely passionate about games, music and reading books. Her dynamic spirit, curiosity of learning and ebullient qualities radiated prolific confidence, and all these had dissipated somewhere in the dark as she grew up and turned into a youngster. A youngster with vague goals, less importance of people around her, almost no value of the real world and comfortably lost in the virtual world. She observed the kid version of herself, being ecstatic and excited even for the smallest of reasons, but what had happened to her now, in the present? 

Her mind was racing with multiple thoughts of her flawed choices, and she felt of becoming like her younger self again, comprising of passion, inquisitiveness and flamboyance. An instinctive thought in her mind suggested to sort her priorities and choose family first before friends. 

Suddenly, the youngster Khushi felt her feet getting off the place and moving towards the direction of the iron gate and she was left gobsmacked in a couple of seconds. An invisible force had tried to move her out of the house and now, the darkness had faded. The sky had changed its empty, black canvas into a gorgeous expanse of orange, yellow and grey. 

She smiled and proceeded on the street which looked rejuvenated and plush with greenery around. To some extent, her anxiety had alleviated, and she felt pleased with herself for some reason. 

‘Well, I don’t know how all this has happened,’ thought Khushi, sauntering on the street. ‘But this incident has put a question mark on my choices as a youngster and I want to mend things for my better now.’

Somebody tried to push her and said something in her ears which was clearly heard by her- ‘Khushi, why are you sleeping on your study desk? Its morning time now, come on wake up!’ said her dad. 

Khushi rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them, only to realize that her miraculous experience was a dream. She glanced at the closed window and the sun was shining brightly, illuminating her thin face with its golden rays.

‘Dad, I had been reading a fantasy book on my laptop,’ replied Khushi in a heavy voice as she had just woken up. ‘Then I felt asleep at around 2 am and encountered a strange but amazing dream. I thought, it was a full moon night and I had time travelled…

She explained the dream to him and her father looked utterly astonished.

‘Is this book about time travel? Do you overthink a lot about your childhood? About your current life?’ he asked questioningly, settling himself on an empty chair beside the desk. 

‘Yes, for all three questions,’ replied Khushi nodding her head.

‘In my opinion, since our subconscious mind remembers everything, it only tried to picturize itself in front of your eyes through this dream. It presented a visual sequence comprising of a mixed bag of thoughts,’ said her dad in an explanatory tone. ‘And it’s no less than a miracle, because the sequence was a melange, but a very sensible and meaningful blend. That surprised me!’

Khushi started pondering over the peculiar dream she had, feeling quite uncomfortable. She tried to refuse herself from overthinking.

‘Dad, how do I get out of this overthinking zone? I am so confused right now,’ she asked, looking irritated. Her dad was about to leave the room but replied before stepping out- ‘Only by distracting itself with a broad smile.’

‘And how do we smile unnecessarily?’ she asked 

‘Then find a reason to make it necessary.’

‘And nothing can be better, than spending quality time with family,’ declared Khushi with a grin.

‘Absolutely, dear.’ 

By Srushti Kulkarni