The Pursuit Of Happiness -The Eclipse .

5:20 AM .I was at the Regional Science Centre, Bhopal and no prize for guessing that I found her. Clad in a black &white striped top, blue jeans and a black jacket with hairs fluttering in the air and those cute little earrings; I couldn’t help but be mesmerized at the sight so much that I did not notice when she ended up her conversation with the professor and was standing before me awaiting an answer.

Was it you whom I saw yesterday? Do you live in the city? What brings you here? Are you with expecting someone? Whom are the flowers for?

Oh! I thought females had a bad memory recognizing men but it seems I have been wrong all those years. I don’t know about you, but I definitely saw you yesterday. Moreover, I don’t live in the city, I just came for the eclipse .I am not expecting anybody now and these flowers are for someone I like so you can have these flowers if you like happen to like them. I guess I answered all your questions. Now I suppose you wouldn’t mind answering mine.

You definitely are not from this city. So what brings you here? What do you do for a living and if you have an uncle in the city, why isn’t he around?

Yeah. I am not from the city .I came here for a short vacation .I am a Criminal Psychology student and it’s I who am interested in the eclipse, so I came all by me. By any chance, are you stalking me?

Don’t worry, a wise woman once told me that you shouldn’t desire what you don’t deserve although you can admire them .And I being insanely perfect for anyone to deserve, totally defines me being single. So there isn’t a chance of stalking you as I prefer being a bachelor than a master (or you can call it as slave).

So given the weather, how do you suppose you would see the eclipse?

I guess I am not that lucky today .Maybe next time. What about you?

I don’t give up that easily .I believe I would see what I came for. So if you really want to see the eclipse then you can come with me lest you have no problem trusting people at least one’s like me. So are you coming or not ?

Where do you suppose to see the eclipse and if you insist then I can come. Let’s see if your faith can at least move clouds if not mountains.

Clouds won’t be everywhere, so we can drive along the central eclipse path .Sanchi and Vidisha happens to be in it. Sanchi is an isolated divine hill some 50 kilometers away and as far as I have known hills, they don’t disappoint anyone. If it does and we still have enough time, we can go up to Vidisha. Even if your bad luck over rides mine, it would be a good morning drive and you can enjoy the caves there. So if that sounds ok then we can go get a ride.

Lucky enough I did not have to call the autowala from yesterday as she had a car, which she drove fast. It was about 45-50 kilometers away and I feared that the journey would end rather soon.

We talked little as she drove because she concentrated on the roads and I lost myself in the clouds somewhere.

Sometimes later, she broke the silence. What is that thing in your hand? Ah, it’s an equipment I was taught at school to know how much solar eclipse we have missed.

Just then, I noticed a little toy tiger on the dashboard and asked if it were her’s. She replied that it was her beloved tigress toy, which someone has made for her.

We luckily found a very beautiful place amongst the woods, which had a clear sky. We had missed quite a lot of the eclipse but totality was still a few minutes away.

Aren’t you scared of this lonely place or me? No, I like them both. What are your opinions on flattery? Does it work on you? Not until you tell me something that, I don’t know and you haven’t said before. So would you be flattered if I say that you look more beautiful than the eclipse. I know that for sure. People can miss the sight of the sun but not me .Look at you, aren’t you looking less at the eclipse and more at me?

Ok then let me think for a moment .The totality had just begun and I just a couple of minutes were left before the most spectacular sight of the century.

Have I ever told you that I am in love with you? I guess not so let me now. I held out the flowers and started pouring out words from my heart.

Ever since I first met you, I felt something missing in me. It did not take me much time to know what was missing because instead of my heartbeat it was always your name .There wasn’t a single instance when my eyes did not perceive you in everything it saw. All the bits in my memory have your image and a question as how to find you ever since the day we first met. All my wishes and prayers have been to see you again and tell you how I felt because without it my spirits wouldn’t rest in peace. I have been searching for you these entire days and you have no idea how I finally found you.

I could only get you flowers from the city, as I couldn’t find a ring better than the one in the sky, as I do not have friends or family in the city so I sent invitations to Mercury, Venus, Mars (from our solar system) and Procyon, Sirius and Rigel (stars) to witness the moment .I couldn’t find a better place than Sanchi, so I brought you here.

You just have 30 seconds to wear the ring or else it will be gone forever and so would the honorable dignitaries I have summoned. I lifted her hand towards the sky and the ring did seem to fit best into her lovely fingers.

She kept staring at the ring and those heavenly bodies until they bid adieu as the moon parted ways with the sun.

She looked stunned for some time. That was flattering, you are good at it aren’t you. So what favor do you expect in return?

Now that I have succeeded in flattering you, .You must show me around, as I leave not before night.

Do not take my words seriously .They were just meant to make this eclipse memorable .We came all this way long and so I just wanted to make it a point for you to laugh at with your friends. The eclipse would be boring to them but not this story if you tell them.

Life seems to be a joke for you right. Why does life have all the pleasure laughing at us .Sometimes we should laugh back too, isn’t it.

We stayed in the woods for a while and then got back to the wheels. We visited a few caves ,rode back to the city had lunch ,got on a steamer boat ,caught a movie in the evening ( Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince – I haven’t seen any of its earlier episodes ,but who was interested in the movie anyways ).

Then finally, I was at the station not sure, if I should stay one more day. I decided to leave as there is always a next time. However, then something stopped me from boarding the train and I returned to where she was standing.

I opened my bag and I held out a tiger for her .My tiger refuses to go with me .He says he is in love with your tigress .Can you keep him along with her.

That’s it .That’s why you came back .I thought you wanted my number or something.

It’s very less likely that you would like to see me again and if you gave your number, that would be correct. Moreover, when I desperately need to see you again I will find you as I found you this time. Let me see if you remember me then. Thanks for the wonderful day. I wouldn’t forget anything about it.

Then my train left . . . . . . . with her waving at me .

The Pursuit Of Happiness - Judgement Day.

The journey continues from where I left . . . . .

4:30 PM. He was 1069 kilometers away from home into the city of lakes with a quest to find an oyster with the loveliest pearl. He had about six hours of leisure at hand .So he walks out of the station, gets himself a hotel room, freshens up and walks into to city to spend time, which somehow seemed to tick slower than ever. He walks through three multiplexes without getting one single ticket .His good luck seemed to be saving itself for the better moments. He sits besides the lake trying to be William Wordsworth jotting down something on nature’s beauty but alas! He is so very bad with poetry.

He was there on the station at 10:30 PM but the train being late by an hour. That was not a long wait. Anyways-good things in life are worth waiting for .If watching time pieces twice every second could accelerate time, then we would now have been in the 41^st century .Finally the train arrives at around 11:45 PM. He was very blank about his actions once he found her and hence I suppose his worries were listened to, as there wasn’t any sign of her. He has looked everywhere without missing a spot. He has even looked all over the parking lot for potential relatives and friends but then couldn’t spot any.

So the next train arrives in the morning. Everything happens for the greater good. Had she chosen this train then he would have had a tough time tracking her in the dark. At least if she arrived in the morning then he would have ease in knowing her whereabouts. He had only a few hours of sleep left so he rushes back to the hotel without losing his heart .He knew a big day was coming tomorrow.

Its 6:00 AM and again there isn’t a sign of her .He was damn sure that if she would be around him he could feel her .His intuitions wouldn’t abandon him when he needed them most. Now his only hope was the last train at 1:50 PM.

That left him roughly six hours before the last train arrived and he couldn’t just stay there waiting for the train to come; he had to do something. A plan hit him and he walks out of the station and looks around for a fool kinda auto driver and he finally finds one .But then looks are always deceptive and he must be very careful.

He asks him to take him to the DM’s office and on the way; he inquires about his name, driving experience in Bhopal and his familiarity about the city. He had found the right guy. The auto wala asks his purpose in the city and after a little build up he finally speaks,“ Kal suryagrahaan hai pata hai na aur 15 August aane wala hai to sambhaal ke gaaddi chalana yaha kuch bhi ho sakta hai ;Main Milan Singh – special task force Anti terrorist squad , Suryagrahan tak mera kaam hai yaha. Ab kuch samajh aaya .” . Then he plays some music on his phone and acts as if talking to some one.

He asks the auto wala to stop and inquires how much does he earn a day .He replies 600-700 /day .He says 1000 dunga aur petrol bhi mere upar par aaj din bhar jaha jane ko kahunga chalna padega .After hesitating for a few minutes he finally agrees. “Accha sun kisi petrol pump per rok aur kisi dhabe pe le ke chaal bhookh lagi hai “, says he. They sit together in a hotel and talk over the food and he gathers, as much information as he thought would be relevant enough. Then they both leave on a routine checkup of various hotels in the city just in case she came before and stayed in one of them.

He returns for the 1:50 PM train but that train did not bring what he hoped to see. He sits down in the auto outside and calculates the possibilities and probabilities. The rest of the day was spend in visiting all public places in the city including malls, open grounds and the museum and every other place he thought he could find her tomorrow.

Its 09:00 PM now and his hopes look a lot faded than a day ago. He looks up the sky and contemplates if he had done everything he could or not .If he had then all the hard work must bear fruits but still the tree was out of sight. He needed replenishments so he enters “Babu Ki Kutia “on Sultania road, the auto wala suggested him the restaurant.

Just when he walks out of the restaurant, a Mercedes C230 kompressor pulls over and for the love of cars, he could not help but look at it. It was kinda new but looked dusty and there was a sticker on its window” Science Centre Gwalior”. Just when he was busy, scanning the car; the window drops down and he couldn’t blink for the next 90 seconds or so. He had finally found the precious oyster that hid the pearl .As the car pulls away their eyes finally meet and from the smile that she displayed he would take it as a 1 % chance that he still occupied a few faded bits in her head.

Now that she was in the city; tomorrow he would definitely meet her .All he had to do was get his hands on the net and gather information as to where to find her tomorrow. Lucky enough he finds a café that was just closing and for Rs 50 /15 mins he agreed .And there was a smile on his face for he knew exactly where she would be tomorrow. Hard work does always bear fruit.

So are his intuitions right this time? Will he find her tomorrow? What’s he gonna say? And what’s so special about the eclipse?

Wait till I find time again . . . . . .