The sky was bluer than the usual smoggy grey, but the breeze was almost non-existent. I was earlier than the usual time that I come in or go out, and the entrance to the building wore people that I don’t usually see and those who don’t usually see me go in and out.
I was in runners of both types and sporty tee, wearing headphones and starting the jog just as I got off the stairs that lead out from the landing where the lifts end.
As I start my run, I realize that this is most definitely a better part of the day for the run. It also seems to give me a clean break between the late afternoon and an early evening, and another chance at establishing a clear break between work and other work. Maybe this is why I found my cadence different, more assured.
After crossing through the smaller of the two parks, and traversing the traffic-ridden street to cross over to the other, I again noticed the change in the constituents of the crowd that throngs the same streets. How could a mere hour, maybe an hour and a half, change the entire world.
Inside the walkway of the bigger park, things settled into more like the usual routine. I was feeling good enough to do two rounds instead of one. Until I saw the boy again. He was not lying down. Instead, he came up on me in a corner of the walkway and he was walking the usual jagged way, looking up at the trees, trying to find something that would keep him occupied for the next hour or so.
That brought me back to what I used to write about the boy, which brought me back to what I must write for an interview that is being recorded at work. I needed to find a good opening line for a new series of content that we are recording.
After my round, I looked for an empty park bench, and I found one that I usually don’t sit on. I sat down and started rattling off some lines that I had been thinking about. I didn’t even let my breathing settle. A couple of rounds of this and I was dissatisfied. Then I got distracted by the under-arm cricket match unfolding in the playing area across another stretch of a well-maintained lawn.
When I came back to my senses, I took down what I had written in my mind. I rehearsed it a couple of times until I performed it on the phone. More satisfied than otherwise, I started back where the boy was and I couldn’t find him. I could have gone the long way around the walkway to find him, but instead I walked back home.
I ended up sharing my copy and the recording with my work colleagues, who seemed to react to it well. One of them even give me a good idea to improve it. The evening had promised a lot and it delivered almost as much.
I headed to the shower. It was almost time for me to get ready, wear my favorite tie, and start the webinar. I was about to speak about the importance of maintaining accuracy in scientific writing. I had just learned a lesson in terms of letting your mind wander to come up with creative writing.
Engayging Life 