It was just another day, or maybe, another night. My insomnia had again gripped me. I looked at the alarm clock -- 1 am. It’d be difficult to sleep now. Let’s have some tea. Anyway, tomorrow is Friday and it’d not be a problem if I reach office late; or don’t reach at all. I poured water in the cup and put it inside the microwave to warm for a couple of minutes. I took out an Earl Grey tea bag and slowly dipped it into the cup. One sip and the warm tea tasted like ambrosia.
I slid the glass door open and went out to balcony. A cool breeze touched me. It’s early October and winter is yet to hit Kolkata. I took another sip and gazed out to the street in front of me. From my balcony, on the 23rd floor of the building, it looked a complete deserted stretch of land. Occasionally, a cab or a bike will fly by. Who can guess 3-4 hours ago, this would be one of the busiest roads of the city? The street lights amused me. Don’t they get bored of glowing the whole night long when there is hardly any traffic? Maybe the government should have employ some smart way of lighting the street. Say, every hour, alternate lights will glow. Or, maybe, some sensor can be applied to check the incoming traffic, and only then, the streetlights will glow. Fuck, what am I thinking. Just useless stuff, which, probably, I’ll never be able to implement. Let’s concentrate on my tea.
One more sip and I looked at the sky. The moon was a crescent. When I was a kid, my dad used to tell me stories of how "Rakshashas” had ate part of the moon. I chuckled. Taking another sip, my eyes focused on a star to the left of the moon. It was shining, or rather, twinkling. I muttered
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Starts.”
No, that’s not a typo. I said Starts. She used to say starts. Actually, she would stammer a bit and instead of stars, pronounce starts. I used to love that; you know, these sweet nothings which people get attracted to when they are in love. She’d know I love it; and, later, she would consciously say “starts”, just to see my face beaming.
I beamed again, and looked at her. “Like a diamond in the sky”
