And here's a packet for you!!
Unable to sleep, I was loitering on the terrace late one night when suddenly there was thunder and lightning and a packet labeled "Authentic Ambrosia" landed on my feet. Alarmed, I looked around. No, there was no-one besides me and the starry sky. There was no sign indicating that there was a thunderous clashing of the clouds some few seconds back. Was it my imagination? Was I too drunk on my thoughts? Again I looked down, the packet was still there. Taking for granted that it was meant for me, I clutched the packet tightly and bubbling with excitement headed to my room.
Once, within the confines of my haven, impatiently I stripped bare the cover and inside it...to my dismay...I found nothing. There was nothing besides colorful scraps of rugged paper. I felt stupid. Stupid that in this modern age and times, I somehow dared to believe in immortality. I was pretty sure that there was some reality show, a hidden camera somewhere through which everyone was having fun at my expense.
What if it was a bomb? Paranoid, I was all ready to throw the packet when I noticed a shiny object amidst the colorful papers. Curious, I touched it. It was hard and transparent, like water made into a tiny ball. It looked more like a marble with which we used to play as kids. Ambrosia…I expected it to be a green twig with lots of tiny fresh leaves all over it. Fearing the worst, I licked the marble…Uhuh…tasteless, no thunderstorm, no unexpected nothing. Carelessly, I popped it into my mouth, confirmed for sure, that some prank was being played on me when the marble dissolved immediately in my mouth leaving a fresh mint-like flavor. I got scared. I expected the worst. Could someone try to poison me? Reeling with disbelief, I called up my folks…said I loved them. Prayed for forgiveness and then waited for the inevitable. Two minutes…nothing, five minutes…nothing, ten minutes…nothing. I tidied my room. Waited...nothing. It was then that I realized that whatever I had taken, ambrosia or not, was not poison. I was not sure whether I was relieved or not to this discovery since there was a tiny portion of me that believed that I had indeed taken the ambrosia, the mystic fruit for immortality. For the first time after having taken it, lets say "fruit", joy crept into my heart. I was immortal. I could now afford to have time to climb the Great Wall of China, swim in the Dead Sea, go for Bungee Jumping, learn to face the waves without fearing death and maybe, just maybe try to handle the slippery, slimy, oh-so-disgusting snakes. I imagined earning, saving and backpacking around the globe…reaching every corner and afford to have the time to indulge in learning everything about the strange foreign lands. I imagined life on being 20ish forever…hale and hearty with not a care in the world. Gloating on the new-found glut of opportunities coming my way, I sat down on my study table and started making a list of things I wanted to do….While I was busy noting down my wish list, an unknown fear crept in and lodged somewhere inside of me. It hit me that I wouldn’t have my family around me for long. My friends would marry, have children, have loads of grandchildren, hopefully enjoy the autumn phase of their life and die gracefully while I would forever be young. Young and healthy. Young and wise. Young and knowledgeable. Young and tired…
I was now terrified with the complicated turn of events that I was to expect. I needed fresh air fast, urgently. I rushed to the terrace again and with my heart in my mouth, I decided to jump just to test whether I was really immortal. Just then, I decided to leave a note to my folks in case something tragic happened. I didn’t know then what was more tragic…dying or immortality. I feared that I wouldn’t have enough courage to jump once I sat down to write. So then, I stood up on the railing, looked at the moonless starry sky, closed my eyes and one, two three…I jumped.
I jumped expecting the warm late summer breeze to blow harshly across my face.
And then, like you’d already known from the start, it was all a dream.
I was mortal. I am mortal. If someone were to give me the fruit, I wouldn’t have taken it…I don’t know…Would I??? ….Would you???
Once, within the confines of my haven, impatiently I stripped bare the cover and inside it...to my dismay...I found nothing. There was nothing besides colorful scraps of rugged paper. I felt stupid. Stupid that in this modern age and times, I somehow dared to believe in immortality. I was pretty sure that there was some reality show, a hidden camera somewhere through which everyone was having fun at my expense.
What if it was a bomb? Paranoid, I was all ready to throw the packet when I noticed a shiny object amidst the colorful papers. Curious, I touched it. It was hard and transparent, like water made into a tiny ball. It looked more like a marble with which we used to play as kids. Ambrosia…I expected it to be a green twig with lots of tiny fresh leaves all over it. Fearing the worst, I licked the marble…Uhuh…tasteless, no thunderstorm, no unexpected nothing. Carelessly, I popped it into my mouth, confirmed for sure, that some prank was being played on me when the marble dissolved immediately in my mouth leaving a fresh mint-like flavor. I got scared. I expected the worst. Could someone try to poison me? Reeling with disbelief, I called up my folks…said I loved them. Prayed for forgiveness and then waited for the inevitable. Two minutes…nothing, five minutes…nothing, ten minutes…nothing. I tidied my room. Waited...nothing. It was then that I realized that whatever I had taken, ambrosia or not, was not poison. I was not sure whether I was relieved or not to this discovery since there was a tiny portion of me that believed that I had indeed taken the ambrosia, the mystic fruit for immortality. For the first time after having taken it, lets say "fruit", joy crept into my heart. I was immortal. I could now afford to have time to climb the Great Wall of China, swim in the Dead Sea, go for Bungee Jumping, learn to face the waves without fearing death and maybe, just maybe try to handle the slippery, slimy, oh-so-disgusting snakes. I imagined earning, saving and backpacking around the globe…reaching every corner and afford to have the time to indulge in learning everything about the strange foreign lands. I imagined life on being 20ish forever…hale and hearty with not a care in the world. Gloating on the new-found glut of opportunities coming my way, I sat down on my study table and started making a list of things I wanted to do….While I was busy noting down my wish list, an unknown fear crept in and lodged somewhere inside of me. It hit me that I wouldn’t have my family around me for long. My friends would marry, have children, have loads of grandchildren, hopefully enjoy the autumn phase of their life and die gracefully while I would forever be young. Young and healthy. Young and wise. Young and knowledgeable. Young and tired…
I was now terrified with the complicated turn of events that I was to expect. I needed fresh air fast, urgently. I rushed to the terrace again and with my heart in my mouth, I decided to jump just to test whether I was really immortal. Just then, I decided to leave a note to my folks in case something tragic happened. I didn’t know then what was more tragic…dying or immortality. I feared that I wouldn’t have enough courage to jump once I sat down to write. So then, I stood up on the railing, looked at the moonless starry sky, closed my eyes and one, two three…I jumped.
I jumped expecting the warm late summer breeze to blow harshly across my face.
And then, like you’d already known from the start, it was all a dream.
I was mortal. I am mortal. If someone were to give me the fruit, I wouldn’t have taken it…I don’t know…Would I??? ….Would you???
posted by ripz at 10:38 PM
2 comments
