Humanity at its worst, she thought. Each day, same time, same place, same people and sadly the same attitude. No one ever made eye contact. No one ever offered more than a slight, stifled smile. No one ever spoke a word beyond “Hi”. No one ever broke through that solid, harsh exterior to undress of all inhibitions. Even she, herself was becoming one of them.
She rhythmically jogged along the track as the skies trickled down in tiny droplets. The music in her earphones paved a tempo as did her breathing. The gardens that were her setting for this strenuous workout emitted a prism of brilliant shades of green. Now, if only the humans would radiate some warmth.
Her longs, shapely legs were accentuated with a sheen from the perspiration. Her inky sheath of hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. She showed off a toned body and had a pleasant air about her. A flurry of thoughts assaulted her mind as she worked up a sweat and involuntarily clutched harder at her I – Pod each time a passer by stoically stared her down.
She craved the unexpected, the amusing, the heartfelt, the uninhibited voluntary. She craved passion in speech and action. She wanted the bespectacled boy jogging a few yards ahead to turn around, jog towards her and kiss her smack on her lips. She was glad for her thoughts and imagination; her head was the only journey where she could play incidents and characters as she wanted.
The music swirled in her ears and head. She felt powered with the beats. Every individual was emitting an aura, vivid and bright – there was so much potential. As she flew past other joggers, she glanced into some of the dull eyes and wondered where they were that very moment. What were they thinking of? Did they feel as good as her? Did they pity the human race as well? Did they crave for some change in this routine? Did they feel the need for closeness? Did they want to rise higher?
She wanted to evoke some emotion. She wanted people around to be pleasantly surprised, to show a joy that knows no boundaries. She wanted to do the unexpected. So she did.
Her jog amazingly, unexpectedly altered to a dance. She started unsure but the music boosted her confidence. She felt electricity run through her sensitized body. Electrifying! She gyrated with her eyes closed. Her arms reached for the sky and her hips swung like a hoopla dancer’s. She pulsated with vibrant energy. Her feet stirred in ways she didn’t know she was capable of. Her forefingers pointed to the sky and made tiny circles in the air. Her hair swung to and fro as a few strands strayed from her pony and made curly wisps along her forehead. She danced like no one was watching.
Even with the darkness of shut eyes, she could feel the piercing stares of the people around. Someone shouted in surprise and giggled openly. Another stated a question with only one simple answer, “What is she doing?”
She snapped her eyes open and saw the gathering audience. Breathless, she smiled meekly, hoping for an applause, after all she did experience a tremendous feeling; that overwhelming emotion you go through after a performance on stage. But this routine was impromptu, straight from the heart, satisfying. A bunch of youngsters sitting on the grass, grinning openly let out a whoop as she caught their eyes. She didn’t bother to regard the astonished, confused people some of whom took a step backwards as she opened her eyes.
She smiled magnanimously, red in the face with the exertion and jogged on with a new life in her step. She felt good.
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