Early Morning

Today morning I woke up at 4:30 am - I dont recall whether it was due to a dream or otherwise, but it felt awfully painfull: you know, the sort of dull fear that drones somewhere inside you, like a distant rumbling of an oncoming storm. I paced the room and peeped out of the window. The dawn was just about to crack open; a few eager roosters had started there wake up calls; the sky looked foreboding as if challenging the sun to rip it apart. Alas, how would the sky know that the sun would tear its cloak into shreds just minutes away. Instead of thinking, I focussed on completing a few pending mails and a couple of other things. It sort of worked. Closing the laptop, I lay down, switching off the fan. It was a bit cold. My eyes again fell on the crack between the curtains - the day had begun. I closed my eyes in an effort to get sleep, and built castles in the skies of the darkened eyelids. Sleep eventually took over, and the next thing I know is my mobile's alarm ringing...and an ache in the entire body, especially the legs. The climb to a 213-stair tower a couple of days back was demanding its own pound of muscle!

It is my nephew's birthday, and I realise I had set the alarm at an earlier time than usual to catch him before he leaves for school. I call him up. And as I type this, I dont recall a single strand of conversation that I had with him. The log in my mobile shows I had called the number, else I am even ready to believe it was all in a dream. Since there was time, I lay back and closed eyes till it was my normal wake-up hour. I dont know when I slept again, but when I woke up it was way past the usual time. Guilt - get off my back!