Taking a stroll down a lane

 Lights out Alice!

Since exams are right around the corner, my almost hermitic lifestyle has turned even more secluded with visits outside my home reduced to less than once every 10 days. I don't rue my condition, since I am more or less used to it and more so, I do understand the situation I am in that requires me to live this way. A casual walk of around 2 kilometers generally takes an hour all in, which is an hour lost from study time since my breaks are tamperproof and inflexible. If I was as punctual with my studies as I am with my breaks, I would actually be good. Today was one day that I could take a evening stroll, obviously because I had to go out to visit my doctor since my chronic allergy symptoms had reappeared just one day after my meds ran out.

As I was walking down the alley next to my home, I realized that we all have a lane, a walkway, a pathway or a road that we know better than others. A road, that we can walk up and down in our heads. A road whose every broken light, every flickering lamp post, every wobbly  drain cover is vividly imprinted or etched in our memories. Some of us are lucky enough to have a happy memory associated with that pathway, a fond recollection of a time when we used to wander up and down to and from something fun. Something done enough number of times with enough enthusiasm every time that unbridled joy comes flooding back every time you walk down that road. Sadly, just as every road is different, every experience is defined by the person and is unique to that person. Some, sadly, have painful memories that come haunting back every time they cross that road. A dog bite, an accident, an untoward incident, all lead to bitter saliva in your tongue. We try, try hard to erase them, but just like a happy memory, an unhappy memory is also vividly etched in our heads. All we can hope is for time to create a path for us to travel with least resistance, just like a stream finds its way through rocks and creates a path for itself through dogged persistence.

That's all Alice..get ready for the exam!