The Moonlight

Wrote this story for a Literary Week competition where the theme was 'Light'  and the word limit was 500 - to celebrate the year of Light and Soil declared by UNESCO.

Jatin returned from work late in the night and just crashed on his bed. He was dead tired after a long day’s work but was not getting sleep. He had spent many a nights in this state over the last 3 months.  The house had turned into a boy’s hostel. His belongings were thrown over the bed, over the sofa, over the couch – all over. He had turned into an asocial recluse in the last 3 months. His life seemed in complete disarray.

He had a career shining bright like a star. With his intellect and hard work, he had moved up the chain much faster than his other colleagues. His family was proud of him. He was the leading light of the family.  But it was all dark now. As if a death-eater had sucked lights off his shining life.

Jatin and Ankita were married for 3 years. They had a short courtship and liked each other. Post marriage, 6-months flew away like a fairy tale.  Soon Jatin got back responding to his work pressures. Ankita too worked and had a similar profile but took it a little easy after her marriage. She tried to balance her work and home and that did stretch her a lot.

Jatin was not able to sleep yet. He recalled what Ankita spoke, the night before she decided to walk out.  She sounded too sombre but he did not realize the intensity of her pain. That Moon had no light of its own. It was the Sun that made the Moon shine bright. And while Moon basked in the glory of all the romanticism, the Sun remained as the single source of the brightest light. Unfazed by the popularity of the Moon as a symbol of love, the Sun continues to shower its light on it. If the Moon doesn’t acknowledge the Sun’s existence and takes it for granted, the Sun might as well stop showering its glow on the Moon. Howsoever deleterious it might prove for itself.

The precariously balanced life did not last for long. While Ankita was willing to sacrifice her career and balance her work with home, she was not willing to be taken for granted. The least she sought was an acknowledgement and appreciation. For Jatin, his work and career became supreme. And Ankita got weary of playing a second fiddle for too long.

Three months had passed but his life was at a standstill. Just where Ankita had left it. A few of their friends had fixed up a meeting for them over the coming weekend. But he realized that it was between him and Ankita and he wouldn’t need any mediators.  He had to face it. It was past mid-night but he did not want to wait till the morning. He wanted the lights to come back in his life before the Sun decided to move away.  And he pressed the speed dial ‘A’ on his mobile – first time in 3 months.