The cab dropped him home, it was 3 AM. Usually he takes a bus to his place. He has to get down almost 500 m. before his place due to traffic and then he walks but that day was different. It was 3 in the morning, the day before was 4 but it's hardly any different. The cab had just stopped outside his room, and he could see the gate to his building, it was closed. It ought to be closed. He gets down and starts to walk towards his room. Meanwhile he takes out his phone; abruptly he dials his roommate's number. He didn't want to disturb him but he also had to get inside his room. His roommate picked, nonchalantly he says, "The door is open..." and then he disconnects. He realized that his partner must be tired and should be fast asleep but the good thing was the door was unlocked for him.
He tiptoed inside, threw his bag, and then ate whatever was there in the kitchen (hungry man devours anything). Moment was dull, time was running slow, he sat on the chair and looked straight towards the door of this room. He could hear some voices; some were from inside him, some outside his room. He could recognize the voices from inside. It was the story of his day. He was getting mad, annoyed, harassed; he wanted to get away from those voices. He stood up and walked towards the door as if to check what those noises were. The voices were not clear, it was echoing. He opened the door; it was illuminated as if he was put under a spotlight. He could see a stair, a spiral stair. He was standing at the base of it. Looking up he could see the stair spiraling upwards to the sky.
"They do not understand what is to be done" The voices inside him said and it echoed outside too. He decides to move his heavy legs up the narrow staircase. As he climb, the outside voice becomes clearer. He was not surprised but full of agony. It was the same voice that was disturbing him from inside. He couldn't understand where he was going on, but he wanted to go, far away from his miseries. The voices call out, “What you have done is madness, you should have used it at first instance, that could have saved you time", "But they should understand, time is the constraint" It was killing him. He started to move faster, the stair seem unending. The voices were no longer consoling, it was threatening, "You should be more aggressive when you reply, and that was not how you buy time"
He climbs the final stairs and arrives at the top. It was the damp morning air. Far ahead him he could see his office building not 4 kms. away. He will have to go there again after few hours and complete the responsibilities given to him, "Why me?" the voices said. It was then when he realized that the voices were his own. It was he who was talking to him. He wanted to ask what he should do. He has no knowledge; suddenly he started to feel like a child. "Take baby steps", the voice replied. He felt relieved on hearing that. That calmed him down. He wanted to meet the voice, the one who was talking to him. And so, he lifted his eyes and made a supplication to the Almighty. "Dearest Allah, I pray you to keep me in Your hands, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."
With that, he whispers his Ameen ... and as he was trying to turn around, he felt a hand touched him. It felt familiar. He turned around. The lights went off, everything went blurred in front of him. He wanted to know whose hand it was. When his vision came back his room was vibrating with the ring of his alarm clock. It was 5.35 AM. He couldn't contemplate why the alarm was ringing at that time. He sat there for a long time or as it seemed to him at that time. But just after 5 minutes, his thoughts cleared up and he realized it was time for "Fajr" the Morning Prayer. With that in mind, he stood up for the ablutions - to clean his hand and feet and get ready for the Namaaz.
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I marveled how your face looks different behind transparency. It was not merely your face but I also wanted to know how my face would look behind those transparent glass doors. Beyond the cities pollution, the stars seem to be brighter. Above the hills you could see the town living their life. It was the only time I believed every one of us could be beautiful, the deal is to keep moving. Rivers are not stagnant; the snow falls over the mountains every season. The leaves change its color, the trees change the leaves, and nobody is still. Sometimes I love to see my life's routine gets disrupted. The cab is booked and it leaves exactly at 1 AM
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