A silhouette without a shadow…

22:00hrs on a typical Saturday, the city was still alive and bustling when I decided to floor the accelerator on my Mustang. My life was good, I had made it well so far despite the hurdles, but there are always things beyond my grasp, things that I desired, things I hunger for and a few things that I needed the most. Hence my quest logs were still in progress and today was one of the brighter days.

I was returning home after dining with a very interesting person in a fine restaurant which had its own band. Being a meticulous man, I had made sure of every little detail so that my charming companion would never forget this evening. My efforts paid off as I was honoured with not only another chance to get together but also a gift I did not expect. Beaming with pride and joy, I accepted her gift which was wrapped elegantly. The packaging suggested that it was most likely a framed photograph or a painting.

I hit the road and the shapes shifted around me as I manoeuvred past other vehicles like a flicker of lightning while maintaining the agility of a snake. I was on cloud nine — a fine date, great ambience, exquisite food, enthralling music, unforgettable conversation and a surprise gift. My mustang added fuel to my feelings as I felt like nothing could stop me tonight.

But no matter what we ride in India, be it a cycle rickshaw or a Bugatti Veyron, the roads of our motherland always treat us with same amount of respect and ‘kindness’. Within 20 minutes, I was nestled inside a traffic jam of which I could see no way out. I turned up the stereo and fished out my phone so that I can trouble a friend. I guess my friends were very lucky that day as I found that there was no signal on my phone. A heavy sigh escaped my mouth and I went to focus on the music while praying for an ambulance to appear and break through the traffic so that I can shadow it as it vanguards through the horde of vehicles. Even after hours, it was futile and before I realised, I had dozed off.

After wasting a ton of gasoline and volts, I was able to break through the masses and my ride bolted into the night like a shot fired from a crossbow. As I drove into the night, I thought about the things we talked about — prospects, work, travel, hobbies, things of awe and mystery. She had a lot to share and a lot of questions for me which made the mere verbal exchange seem like a waltz in a ballroom. Each of her questions seemed simple at first, but had a deeper curiosity and grip on a closer inspection.

Before we parted for the day, she asked me one last question — “What will you do if you see something or someone stand in your way as you head towards your goal?”

I was like “I will blow them away” while smiling and winking at her. She laughed and then I escorted her to her car.

I continued to ride through the night. And for some reason, this question echoed inside my mind. The echoes became louder as I got closer to my destination. I lost count of the number of bends and turns I took, the speedometer read 120kmph and still counting. My odometer meter showed that I was just 4minutes away from my destination. My GPS told me that I have to cross a large canal to reach my place. The road was clear and there was nothing to stop to me. I floored the gas pedal and the V8 got busy pushing all its power to the wheels.

The Mustang was now cutting through the wind as it rode on top of the bridge across the canal. And out of nowhere my headlamps showed me the silhouette of a woman standing in the middle of the road. It was clear to me that in under 3 seconds, I am going to send someone flying and this realization took over me. Her question for some weird reason still echoed inside my head — “What will you do if you see something or someone stand in your way as you head towards your goal?”

And then the silhouette disappeared, only to reappear again after a few seconds. I bashed the horn as I stepped on the brakes which sent my vehicle into a spinning motion. The silhouette disappeared once more and reappeared again while her question echoed loudly inside my head.

‘Fear and Panic’ got hold of me, making me lose my senses, my judgement and the desperation caused me to send myself flying into the canal. I crashed into the guard rails, breaking it into smithereens while diving into the canal like a torpedo.

The funniest part is, I forgot that I was drowning, but instead I was worried about the damage to my car. For a car lover, any damage to his ride would be his worst nightmare and I had taken it one step further by totalling it.

Soon the situation brought me to senses, I was underwater and water was slowly gushing in through the cracks. I tried opening the door but it was jammed in. As I struggled, I tried to process what I saw on the road. My addled senses made me question whether there was really a person or I was imagining it. My efforts were in vain, I soon lost consciousness and then I drowned…..

“Biriyani! Biriyani! Sir Biriyani!” I woke up to sounds of vendors and peddlers. I was astonished to find that I was inside my car and everything was intact including the traffic jam. I stretched myself while cursing the dream and suddenly spotted the silhouette on my rear view mirror. Terror gripped me. I slowly turned back to see what behind me. To my relief, all I found was the gift on my rear seats. I reached out for it and swiftly opened it up. Inside I found a painting of a mighty man on a pedestal reaching out to the sun. He had overcome all those hands below that tried to pull him down. But he was unable to grasp the sun, even though it was well within his reach. I was a bit confused by why he was unable to do so even though everything was perfect and the sun was waiting to be harvested.

Unable to quell my curiosity, I called her to ask her what’s stopping the man. She was playful and told me that the answer is right in front of me. Seeing me persistent and clueless at the same time, she asked me to look at the painting under a UV light. Lucky for me, she had included a UV pen torch inside the package. I took it and focussed the beam on the painting. To my horror, I found innumerable hands coming out from his chest which were binding his arms from reaching out to the sun. And his expression was not of the warrior before but of a man who had lost all hope.

I finally understood her message.

There is no greater obstacle than fear and there is not a bigger blindness than losing hope. As long as we let them stand in our way, even if the sun is so close within our grasp, we shall not be able to reach them.

And the silhouette without a shadow appeared once more to ask me — “What will you do if you see something or someone stand in your way as you head towards your goal?” and my answer remained the same — Ï will blow them away”. The silhouette starred at me for a moment and then exclaimed — “I will be watching”. It then slowly faded into the darkness while letting me know that it was nothing but the manifestation of my own fears and doubts. As long as I keep the hands of my fear at bay, I will be able to grasp my goals and aspirations. With that in mind, I started the engine and started moving out on the road ahead as the traffic blocking my mind has been cleared.