A Wonderful Last Night
This is a picture of my room’s window in Bangalore.
I love it. It was one of the reasons I rented this room. It is a full length window and as a viewer from inside the room you can see a good portion of the sky. At night, it’s even more beautiful as you can see the moon from the bed and watch it gradually disappear into the horizon.
As for the story, the window plays a key role in making my night wonderful. And the night I’m speaking of is of 6th March, 2020.
That evening I was home after work and was casually surfing the net with nothing better to do. As I went about doing nothing, out of nowhere I heard loud splitter-splatter coming from the balcony. I thought that was unusual as it was the beginning of spring with no hint of monsoon. I pushed the curtains aside to see where it was coming from and to my surprise it was pouring cats and dogs! There was lightning and thundershowers and the sky was filled with dark clouds.
I was happy to see this change in weather. It instantly lifted my mood and filled my spirits with renewed energy.
I was getting back to doing my thing with more hopefulness until I remembered my plans for that night. My friends and I had been deciding to meet since a long time and today was the day we decided would fit everyone’s schedules, which meant that I had to go. On a regular day I love to catch up and hangout with my friends but now after this change in weather I didn’t feel like. I didn’t want to be inside somebody else’s house. Instead I wanted to enjoy the weather in my own house, sit in the balcony, order some pizza and relax.
I was in conflict with my feelings but after having thought about it for a minute, I decided that I needed to get out of the house. It had been a rigorous week and I needed to get some fresh air and see new faces.
And it so happened. When it was time I changed into casuals and prepared myself for a chill Friday night. Like any responsible person, I started booking a cab in advance(anyone who’s lived in Bangalore knows the city goes wild once it starts raining). And that’s exactly what happened. Frantically switching between the cab service apps I found that all cabs were unavailable. After a few minutes of struggling at last I found an Uber Auto who was willing to be my happy ride for the night.
I started moving down the stairs to locate my auto and I started to feel excited. It was the freedom of getting out of the house and taking charge of the night. I felt lucky I found an auto as now I could also enjoy the breeze and mild chill in the weather on the way.
The auto ride started slowly, first moving past the pot holes and muddy roads and then picking speed as we reached the main road. The pleasant wind swayed around me with the frenzy of evening traffic.
I reached my friends society and was at their door holding a couple of beers. I entered their flat and was so happy to see all of them gathered there. Finally reunited. We started with rounds of drinks, ordered-in, planned our Goa trip for last week of March(which obviously didn’t pan out), scrutinized Post Malone song lyrics, prepared cheese sandwiches for a second round of dinner, had ice-cream for dessert and also managed to topple that tub upside down. Friday night well spent.
It was 3 a.m. and my cab back home was waiting. I got into it tired and drowsy, ready to be put directly to bed. The cab guy started and accelerated swiftly into the silent main road which instantly made me wake up to my senses. He drove like one of the movies where burglars try to run away from cops after a heist. I had to stay awake then to ensure we didn’t get ourselves killed, occasionally asking him to slow down.
Thankfully I reached home safely. On reaching my room I cosily tucked into bed. Just laying there felt so good. Soon I was trying to get comfortable adjusting the pillows and blanket when my eyes fell upon the view outside my window.
In front of me I saw a dense cover of dark gray clouds. They were moving very slowly as if full of weight. But as they drifted, in the quick flash of a moment, they uncovered a glorious gibbous moon.
Oh, the sight was absolutely magnificent! The moon looked huge as if it were right outside my balcony. It was full but not exactly round. It shone exactly in the middle of my view, like a bead of pearl in the sky. Its color was light golden just like the early rays of the sun.
Clouds kept floating over the moon, exposing in glimpses its beauty. In one such moment, there were no clouds surrounding it and I felt like it stood there to be watched by me. I could feel the energy being transmitted by it like a beacon of blessings towards me. I was overcome with a fuzzy feeling of being sheltered by the celestial gods. I continued looking at it for a long time marveling at its glory until an expanse of clouds floated and concealed the moon once again like nothing existed before.
What a dreamy experience. In that moment I apprehended what I had just witnessed. I realised how grateful I was as everything had fallen into place on its own. The rain had marched in out of nowhere and instantly rejuvenated my spirits. Despite having decided to spend time with my friends, I got to enjoy the element of the weather on the auto ride. Also, I got the chance to capture a glimpse of the waxing moon in such a dramatic way. I was blessed!
With this thought, I closed my eyes and fell into dreamy slumber.
Nature truly has ways of surprising, inspiring and forgiving us. The sweetness of this encounter created a lasting memory in my mind that continues to fill me with gratitude for nature.
