THOSE KNOWN STRANGERS...

                                                                 BY-
                                                                    ADARSH SINHA

We often meet strangers in our lives, some of them stay with us for our entire life while some of them turn out to be mere strangers whom we never knew and never met again. There are also some strangers who for a brief period of time stay with us and promise to stay with us till our last breath but suddenly one day when we open our eyes, all we have is memories of that person, moments which we once shared with that stranger...this post is dedicated to all those persons who gave us priceless moments and memories and then left us with those golden memories etched in our brain and heart...THOSE KNOWN STRANGERS...

                                           I was sitting alone in the park, staring at the swings and those group of children playing hide and seek among themselves. It was getting difficult for me to handle that emotion which was running wild inside me and with each passing second threatened to tear my soul into pieces, i desperately wanted to run away from everyone and hide somewhere, some place where those thoughts and those memories won't traumatize me and haunt me. Unfortunately there wasn't any place which could have helped me in fighting against that tornado of emotions which was breaking me from inside. The last rays of sun had just sunk in under the horizon and darkness was beginning to take control of the surrounding and my soul. I don't know for how long had i been sitting there but suddenly i realized that there was no one in that park, all the noise had died now and all i could hear was quietness and silence. I closed my eyes and tried to feel that gentle breeze and the quietness around me. Memories started flashing in front of my eyes, as i tried to relive those moments sans that stranger...

                             People often say that memories are the most dangerous weapon one could ever give to anyone, i could never understand this line and i haven't yet reached that stage yet where i can understand these strange rules and philosophies of this human race. We humans are a social animal and need people and their company to survive and enjoy our stay in this world, why has it always been like this? Why are we afraid of loneliness? I don't know why but these questions needed to be answered by someone someday. Every relationship and bonding begins with two strangers who are trying to know each other and as time passes that stranger starts to mean something in our life and suddenly one day we can't imagine our life without that person who was once a complete stranger to us. Friendship is one such bond that can make us do crazy and insane things, in that process it gives us memories and a plethora of unforgettable moments. The most intriguing part about these memories is that they have the power to take you back in that same old time, the same old days, reminding you of that person. People may go away but their memories never fade away and that's the most beautiful thing about them, this world and the so called mature persons may tell you to move on in your life and would warn you about the consequences if you dare to walk down that aisle of memories in order to meet that person but maybe these mature persons and this world don't want to accept that they could be wrong sometime and maybe walking down those aisle of memories can soothe your mind and soul.

                                                It's easy for us to forget that person and erase those memories given to us by that known stranger...that's how this world looks at battling depression and leading a normal life, maybe they don't know that memories never fade away and by walking down those old streets and nostalgic lanes we can meet those persons whenever we want. It's not those memories which haunt us but it's that feeling of separation which evokes a painful feeling because our mind and heart fails to accept this separation. This world will never tell you that it requires a great amount of courage to get up every day and live your life without that one person, that person without whom we couldn't have even imagined our life. We must respect those persons who are doing this and even after suffering and going through that feeling of separation are ready to meet new people and forge a bond of love, we need to realize that we always need to forge memories because they are the greatest gifts given to us by any person and our bonding with them. Those known strangers will eventually go away someday but these memories will help us in fighting with that negative feeling of separation.

                          Maybe this cruel world and those mature people governing it don't know that memories are like those little stars in a dark sky which give us a sense of calmness and soothe our mind they act as those little pockets of hope which guide us though the darkness of this night. These stars may look far away from us but still, they tell us that even this darkness can look beautiful, such is the power of these memories given to us by those known strangers...

                                              "So when are you writing this on your ‘blog'?", he smiled at me and looked outside the hospital window, it looked beautiful with a thin layer of mist surrounding those mountains and quietness all around, "maybe you can upload it when you start your own blog, because i don't think after this operation I’ll be able to do anything for a minimum of 40 days ", suddenly someone tapped on my shoulder, i looked around and saw the caretaker of that park standing and gesturing me to go out of that park, i looked at the dark sky which didn't look dark anymore because i could see those little stars shining brightly and lighting up the whole dark sky, i smiled looking at those stars, with a drop of tear in my eyes. "REST IN PEACE BROTHER", was all i could mumble looking upwards with a smile on my face as i trudged towards the exit of that park…