Beyond Reasons - A Short Story

The monsoon clouds had just calmed down after a heavy July downpour. And like other days, Chitra had woken up early. The fresh air and the mild earthly fragrance of the wet soil were mesmerizing.  The lush green leaves of the trees, slow dripping water droplets and the chirping of the birds at daybreak added a serene touch. 'What a beautiful start to the day!' , she thought. Just a few minutes back, her sleepy eyes had struggled to find the snooze button on the bedside clock.  Despite the urge to sleep more, she had managed to wake up. And there she was on her patio, with a book in her hands, watching the first rays of the sun coloring the morning sky. She felt at peace with herself.

Chitra loved the early mornings. It felt like a different place altogether, quiet and soothing, unlike the later part of the day which was noisy and busy. Her exams were a month away. She was determined to give it her best shot and score high. And the calm mornings gave her the much needed boost to execute that plan.

As she scanned through an algorithm, trying to figure out the logic, something at the corner of her eye caught her attention. She saw an old man walking on the road. 

A familiar white dothi. A familiar white kurtha. And a very familiar gait. She was dumbstruck. “Grandpa ?”, her heart whispered. 

Grandpa meant the world to Chitra. Chitra’s day would begin by accompanying Grandpa on his morning walks. She had hundreds of questions and Grandpa had answers to all of them. Listening to his extensive life experiences was a thrilling pastime. Her enthusiasm peaked when she described the day’s events to him, on returning from school. Grandpa used to watch her play with her friends every evening, while reading the newspaper. And he always had a secret stash of lemon peppermints for Chitra and her friends. Towards the end of the day, she fell asleep hearing him recite his prayers. Grandpa, really meant the world to Chitra.

“No, it can’t be Grandpa”, her mind fought back. 

“Is it my imagination?”, she pinched herself to check if she was day dreaming.  “Is he Grandpa ?”, she murmured.

She stood up and walked up to the railings to get a closer glimpse of the man walking by. She couldn't see his face, but his lean frame and gait had done the trick. All at once, she was eager to meet this man who had re-surged her lost emotions. She wondered, who could this man be, who was so similar to the person she adored. Before she could fathom what just happened, her thoughts broke. 

“Chitra”, her mom called out. She got up and went inside the house.  

The rest of the day went on with mundane tasks. But the events from that morning had brought a unique sense of contentment in her. She fell asleep, unaware of the smile on her face, as she slept through.

Next morning, the alarm went off as usual. And Chitra was once again searching for the snooze button. But the faint hope of seeing the man again made her get off the bed instead.

She went out on to her patio and started studying. But her eyes constantly searched the road for the slightest sight which might make her happy. Deep down in her heart, she was waiting for that old man to show up again. She hadn’t thought about what she would do, if he did show up. Would she follow him? Would she speak to him?  So many thoughts in her mind. She was getting restless. 

There was no sight of the man she saw yesterday. She started feeling it was her imagination. Or maybe she was hallucinating. But somewhere she was not convinced that her sight and senses had cheated her, and made her believe in something absurd.

“Why has he not come for a walk today ?”, she pondered. “Maybe he will turn up tomorrow. Maybe he might have woken up late. Maybe he took a new route today?”. Many questions ran through her mind. But there was no way she could figure this out any further. For she had, just a image of a man in her mind who walked across the road. And he reminded her of her grandpa. Apart from that, she had no other details.

Days passed by and exam fever had caught up more intensely. Chitra got busier and busier with the never ending list of topics which needed her immediate attention. She lost count of the days, and the probability of seeing the old man again was diminishing. But Chitra believed, she would see him someday.

It was the morning of her last exam. Accustomed to her habit, she was studying on her patio, breaking her head over a complex theorem. 

Just as she was trying to recall what she read, her eyes gazed across the road ahead. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was that same old man. That moment, she knew, it wasn't her imagination after all. He looked so much like her grandpa. He walked calmly at a steady pace, in stark contrast to frenzied thoughts running inside Chitra’s mind.

Without second thoughts, she ran outside her house, trying to catch up with the old man. He was about a hundred yards away from her. She ran until he could hear her. “Grandpa”, she shouted. 

But the man didn’t stop. She continued running further, until she was much closer to the man. “Grandpa”, she reached out again. This time he heard her, and turned around.

As he faced Chitra, it was the moment of silence. 

Chitra saw his face. 

It wasn’t her grandfather. 

The castle in the air that was built over the last few weeks, had shattered right in front of her eyes. She felt helpless, standing there in the middle of the road, desperately searching for familiarity. She was devastated. 

“Sorry. I thought you were my grandfather”, Chitra mumbled.

Her mind knew it from the very beginning. He couldn’t be her grandpa. Her grandpa had passed away a few years back. Chitra cherished the time she had spent with her grandpa. And those memories were very much alive. What she didn’t know was that, a fond heart could easily cross the boundaries of reasoning.

The old man smiled and affectionately touched her cheek. He didn’t say anything.  And he continued on his way.