Elements....

You look at a pair of bathroom slippers after 20 years and you would feel nostalgic..Then the idea of meeting people you knew from 20 year old memories would certainly give you goosebumps. I have embarked on just such a journey to meet people or just talk to those who form a part of my long term memory. And it's not my sole decision. It's a conspiracy. It's a conspiracy so that we check on the salvage value of what's left of friends. But i know that it's not always a fairy tale story. But who are we to be judges? A long time ago when i was in 9th grade a friend from kindergarten came along with her parents to our place. I had every memory of me with their family carefully stored in the deep recesses of my mind. My mom and i were thrilled. But it seems they were not so thrilled from what they saw. Our walls needed painting. We were trying to manage a threadbare existence inspite of all our problems. The guests, maybe, had pictured us in a different position. They left as quickly as they entered and we never saw them again. I blamed the walls for them leaving. But i should have guessed how difficult it is to be at a place where you find yourself alienated by the settings. Luckily, for me, each setting is a story and there is every element of a good story in human existence.

~ C. Gopal