Closet of Words: Office

4:39 AM

An unexpected encounter!

Office hour was over.

And much to my relief, it was time to head back home.

From those hectic hours on desk, those boring hours in constraint.

It was October.

The overly humid weather was fading away, especially with evenings becoming increasingly chilly. The trees on the side of the pavements had gone almost bare with all leaves shaved, and the ones that did remain had changed their colors. Yellow, orange and somehow pink.

My day was somehow lethargic. The high degree-conditioned room mating with work requirements was sucking my activeness and the warm atmosphere was turning me hazy.

I headed out of the closed building and this sudden flow of fresh cold air greeted me. Darkness was blanketing the valley and befriending the wind that was increasing it's pace .As I walked a few steps, the same cold air hovering and stumbling would make its way to strike against me.

That chilly weather made me realize that i haven’t had shop anything for the winter. The woolen clothes I had in my wardrobe were either worn out or not relevant for office. I saw a clothing store nearby the lane and decided to hop inside.

I pulled the glassy door and stepped inside.

"What is the price of this Pashmina sweater? " , someone was querying the owner.

A voice somehow familiar.

I could feel I heard that voice quite a few times yet was unable to unfold where. I would pull the cardigans hanged on display towards me, see through if they would please me but all my head would do was indulge hard enough to figure out where I had heard the voice and when

"I can find cardigans better than these in a much cheaper price", just as she spoke highly in a rather pitched voice, it triggered. The very same boast deep inside that voice, the identical ego braded inside.

That was someone.

Someone I knew a long time ago.

And someone I would never wish to cross paths with - the annoying neighbor.

I turned my head to be sure.

It was her!

Those chubby cheeks, that fair skin and those strands of hair just about to touch her shoulder.

I didn’t know what to do, for I had no clue of that never-wished, far-away encounter. I took my cel-phone out and started acting like I was in hurry to get through someone. Dialed the numbers in haste. Pushed the door when the door read "pull me". Now that I think about it, I must have been a terrible actor.

And yes, she might be someone good. Genuine, might be.

But the "she" that I had inside my brain would never change. Her traits that I thought to be in my mind will never fade.