Empty voices...

This post was picked as a WOW post by BlogAdda in the Write-Over-the-Weekend initiative ! :-)

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"What's that noise?" I stopped and looked up. They were sitting right in front of me. I looked at each one of them. There seemed to be a little voice coming out from everyone. I strained my ears hard to hear it. But more than what I got to hear, I felt the voice within them. 

To my left was Mr. R, looking thoughtful as ever. He had flown down 1300 miles from his home to be here and he didn't like it. It was an important day and he missed his family. If he was home, there would be celebrations, laughter, fun and togetherness. But all he was left with was monotony, loneliness, sadness and silence. He strained to focus. His mind was drifting. Half-heartedly, he took a deep breath and sat upright. There was a deadline and he had to type. The celebrations would have to wait until the upcoming weekend.

Mr. M, who sat in front, didn't seem disturbed. After all he had aged. There were no celebrations at home at this time of the year. He sat quietly, typing on the laptop, occasionally gazing at the screen and back on the keyboard to find the letters. This place was his home away from home on weekdays. He didn't miss family that much. All he had to do was drive 2 hours and then he would be at home. But he chose to stay here from Monday to Friday. His kids weren't missing him and so he had to keep himself engaged. But he always pondered - Did they ever miss him ? Maybe not. They were adults in their early 30s. They had their own families to look after. But what about his wife ? Didn't she miss him ? She lived alone after all. It looked like a mystery. And he wasn't affected by it.

Mrs H. had a story of her own. Seated on the right, she pretended to work. But she couldn't. Her 2-yr old son was crying in the daycare and she had to work. She wanted to take him in her arms and sing him a lullaby. But the nearest she could do was pray and hope that he stopped crying and went to sleep. This job was her second chance to start working. Her eyes welled up. She shrewdly picked up the thermos and got up from the chair. Walking towards the vending machine, she lowered her head and wiped her eyes. It was too early to leave for home. She had to wait till another 5 hours.

As for me, I stopped from typing on my laptop and attempted to explore each of their lives. My body was present but my heart was not. I missed my life partner who worked in another city. He wouldn't be home until 4 days. As my mind wandered, I looked out the window right beside me. The November chill sent winds gushing through the office lawn. All the trees swayed here and there. The leaves dropped one by one on the ground. I noticed a squirrel climb to the top of the tree and it paused. I looked at it and it stared back. Seconds later, it ate the nut it had in hand and ran back down the tree to fetch another.

Time was ticking and my inbox beeped with a reminder - "15 mins before the next meeting". This email had to go out now. I looked back at my laptop and started typing again. It was just another day at work.

(Images courtesy - Google)

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

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