//It is almost evening now//

The sky outside is silent. Silent and blue. The clouds that were dancing across the horizon have gone towards their dream destinations or are still on the chase. The birds that flew around my balcony cacophony of rhymes and rhythms that my coarse voice won’t be able to replicate are also nowhere in sight. They must be resting in their nests to rest their throat after that marvelous performance.

I look around to notice a cow scavenging for food in the street with the determination of a mystic contemplative mystic. I and she are the only two living beings visible for yards and yards of that visible path in front of me. The pleasant weather that was the courtesy of those floating clouds has vanished, replaced by prickly heat without any wind. The lack of wind reminds me of its presence just like lack of someone stares us in eyes. The continuous wind from the last few weeks had made me habituated of their presence.

Still reeling under the heat yet determined to sit in the balcony, I averted my gaze from that cow who was now accompanied by a stray dog. It seemed as if both of them were contemplating some serious tax issues raging the country.

The sudden apparition of my neighbor’s cat attracted my eyeballs and they started to follow that silent creature in the leisurely fashion with an acute awareness of all the surroundings. The silent intruder stretched and purred without giving much thought to me. The sudden alertness on her part made my instincts active as well; she had spotted something and there was this playful yet dangerous glint in her eyes. She was off on her next adventure in a blink, unlike me. I sat rooted to my chair with the book closed in my lap and my mind wandering to all those adventures I once had the opportunity to be part of.

An unbidden sigh escaped me and I decided to focus on the things other than mindless staring. I picked up the book and put it back on the table and started to scroll through my phone’s gallery.