Spring in my Steps!

Today was one of those rare occasions when I witness the rising of the sun. I went to drop a friend at the airport at 4.30 a.m. and took the usual Blue line train to go home. The 1 hour train ride home for me meant some sleep to end the sleepless night. But sometimes things are not the way you expect to be, and instead I end up thinking about what am I doing here at this point in my life. As I stare at the lit subway, the realization that I am in the US, far away from what I call Home strikes me. It’s almost 3 years since I am here but there are these moments which make me feel I still haven’t absorbed completely the fact that I am in the USA.

Well the train moves on, I observe the people getting in and out of the compartment. Some still sleepy and just anxious to settle down on a seat and continue with their dream, some all energized for the day and some in the process of waking up with a huge cup of coffee (the familiar pink- dunkin donuts one). Almost at the end of my journey the train finally emerges out of the subway. I notice the sky changing from pitch black to a deep cornflower blue color. I am at the door ready to step out at the next stop. And there it all starts.

East is behind me where the sky turns a lighter shade of blue while West in front of me is still very dark. It felt like somewhere in the middle there existed an invisible barrier which stopped most of the rays from going any further; such clear demarcation. As I walked my way up the bridge I felt like the rays of the sun were following me inch by inch. Every step I took gave the feeling of a lighter shade of blue spreading out in the sky. I stepped out on to the street and turned left to look towards east and saw the most beautiful sight of the Chicago skyline with the striations in all shades of blue(with such subtle difference between each shade) behind the mighty Sears and a hint of deep orange just above the horizon.

I smiled, took in a deep breathe feeling the crispness in the fresh air. It was picture perfect. I wished I had a camera, to captivate this moment in time. Not that it would do justice to the actual feeling within me, but at least it would be enough to remind me of the experience. I have seen sunrise before too but it’s just a different experience each time. Wish I could capture them all and remember the feeling of each forever. But the brain has its limitations here, where the camera can probably provide as much memory as needed to print the picture each time. I kept walking- noticing the trees, listening to the birds. Each tree hosted a different kind of bird, with its unique call, a sweet chirping which one missed during the cold, bleak winter mornings.

The birds chirping, the sprouting leaves, the beautiful sky and the warm pleasant weather all seemed to yell in unison-“Spring’s here!” The only thing missing here was the low hum of the doodhwalas on bicycles, that I was used to listening at such hours back home.:-) so very typical, but interesting. The way they placed the sealed packets of milk on front porches or kept ringing door bells till one opened them with sleepy eyes.
And suddenly there I was -in some part of the world, oblivious to all emotions of pain, worry, sadness, irrespective of whether my loved ones were close to me or not, standing in the middle of a lane looking towards the sky, feeling one with nature, experiencing my interaction with the heavenly one, smiling and thanking that spring had arrived- not just in the air. Anyone who saw me walk at that moment of bliss could’ve said- “She has a spring in her steps”. And I kept walking looking forward to that peaceful sleep once I got home.