The Maverick’s Soliloquy

Unusual times have dawned on us, but when I look around I feel, this is nature’s way of reclaiming its space. The extended horizon is a treat to the eye and everyday my 10 year old maverick sees something beyond. At his pace by the end of the lock-down we would be able to see the Himalayas sitting at Delhi. Till now our world view existed a little beyond the haze. I wonder if cooped up human beings will now become more nature wise…

The city isn’t abandoned, the humans are just caged for the while. A time when we were awaiting WW3 (world war 3), the nations at large have to come together and fight a pandemic. The league of the high and mighty seems like a deserted fortress where the kings and council were caught unaware by something as basic as common cold but as deadly as any nuclear armament humans have designed.

“It all started in China.” he said looking up the News paper of last week as we had spread it to do craft. The entire internet is filled with advice on how to spend the lock down and making use of it as quality time with kids. I was doing my bit.

“It all started in China,” he said once again. I nodded wondering which conspiracy theory do I explain to continue our conversation – the one that COVID 19 came from bats or the bio-warfare labs, or the eco-political warfare one. It isn’t easy not tell the child who is ready to listen once in a while. But after my mono-syllabic answer “Hmm” I realized he was no more looking at me for an answer, he was reading the news papers.

It hasn’t been long since we have been locked in a house and till now things have been bearable with all the motivating thoughts and videos floating around.

We have a balcony with a view and it is a breather to life especially in current times. In a normal course it is my haven but I often share it with my 10 year old who was born with rights to encroach my space. While he often unsuccessfully protests me encroaching his. But these are unusual times.

We have limited space and yet we are naturally giving each other a breather. So when I sit in my balcony in the morning, the maverick chooses to be fast asleep. And then yesterday I realized, that he has found time to make his space into mine. Sometime before the clock struck 12, I felt I was in conversation despite being in deep sleep. I was answering questions to someone who was supposed to be fast asleep on my arm, but had actually crept out of the bed, and perched himself on a chair in the balcony as he looked into the dark blue vastness.

“We can see the stars, Ma” he whispered. “It is just like your childhood.” he said. And before I could answer in a sleepy monosyllable, he glanced through the glass and said, “I will wake you up, if I see a constellation.”