The Mind and the Heart

The Mind and the Heart

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“The world’s a beautiful place”

A thought slowly floated inside her head while she sat by the beach, wave after wave caressing her sand-kissed feet.

The sun was still ascending; the shadow of the tall coconut tree leisurely touched her from behind to rest on her legs as she fondled with water and closed her eyes, trying to capture every moment, unwilling to let anything go unnoticed.

The soft musical rustling of the leaves turned even more enjoyable as the pleasant breeze cuddled her repeatedly before disappearing into the endless sea but then coming back again and embracing her once more before making that long journey again.

“If this moment could just freeze and never leave me,” she thought.

“Zoya, come over, we are all leaving,” someone suddenly breaks her meditative gaze at the vast sea.

Reluctantly her palms rested against the wet sandy surface as she lifted herself with a loud sigh all the while thinking about resuming this all over again soon.

“You ok,” asked one of her friends as she walked slowly over to where they were all laughing and talking loudly.

She just nodded with a smile, the satisfied countenance forcing her friend to smile back, as she wondered what made her so happy.

“What’s happening, huh, look at Zoya,” she asked her, before turning towards others in the group as all of them now stared at her.

“Nothing”

She replied and began walking after pausing for a while as she spoke with Ritika. 

Ritika was her roommate when they pursued Computer Engineering together and luckily even got placed in the same company; call it fate or whatever, but that was one of the major reasons, Zoya decided to take up that job.

Putting her arms around her shoulders, Ritika, brought her face closer and whispered in Zoya’s ears, “Sure, you weren’t talking to someone, huh?”

“What made you think I won’t tell you if there’s something,” asked Zoya, as Ritika, nodded her head, agreeing to what sounded a very logical answer from her best friend.

“The balmy breeze and the tender sea made me feel like I am in heaven”

“The feeling I had in those moments”

“I had never felt before”

“And now all I want is to feel them all over again…”

“Again, and again…”

“Let’s go to the beach right now,” she whispered, her voice turning melody-like, as Ritika stared at her with a large smile, her eyes stretched wide wondering if this really was the Zoya she knew.

“You sure, there isn’t anyone,” Ritika laughed out loud, twitching her eyebrows and repeating her question.

“Never will this happen again maybe,

“When something like this I experience”

“And how can you not be the one to know what my heart feels

“For you will be the first to know”

“And the only one I will ever confide”

She replied speaking as if singing a song again, making Ritika go wild imagining what could have happened to her.

Is that some kind of magic that had suddenly turned her quiet, introverted friend into a singer and a poet in just a few moments?

“What magic is this,” muttered Ritika.

“No magic, nothing happened suddenly,

“I realized, I never allowed myself to feel my feelings completely, never chewed on my thoughts long enough to understand them clearly, never gave myself an opportunity to do something weird.”

“I am living by the book and I think that’s not what I would like to see of myself when I grow old.”

“And today, as I sat at the beach, something inside me wanted to break free.  Free from all the shackles I have put around myself for no reason at all.”

“I want to break free,” she blurted out the “Queen” in the same tone as the music and lyrics played out in her head.

Ritika slowed down and held Zoya’s hands. 

She stared at her face while waving her hands with a smile wanting to know what happened to her and suddenly joined in the little adventure Zoya was craving for.

“Let’s go back to the beach,” she spoke assertively, ignoring what others might feel about this sudden decision of theirs.

Zoya blinked, letting what her friend just said to sink in before quickly turning around and the two of them suddenly started running. 

It was as if two kids were trying to outrun each other, desiring to be the first one to reach the destination and get that juvenile ecstasy of having beaten the other one in a race.

“That’s my spot,” shouted Zoya, as she slid onto the damp sands of the shores allowing it to wet her feet and trousers, something she could never imagine doing earlier.

“We will swap places after every song,” said Ritika, as pulled out her phone and earbuds, and played out the song Zoya was singing a while ago.

“I want to break free”

The two of them sang out aloud as other members of their group laughed from the distance.

“They have gone crazy,” someone murmured as they turned once to look at them before continuing on their way back to the resort.

The waves were repeatedly breaking on their feet as the soft salty breeze hovered around them as if checking the newbies in town before making its way far away into the water promising to return soon.

The two watched the sea, the occasional presence of birds and at times even the sudden appearance of what looked like large sea animals far away in the waters emerging from the depths of the ocean and allowing the two friends a peek into their life otherwise hidden from the prying eyes of the humans.

The two of them closed their eyes after some time, allowing the moment to sink in; the salty water of the sea suddenly felt different as they allowed their bodies to feel every little experience, they had not allowed it to savour earlier.

The wandering mind had slowly gone still as they felt a sync between the song they were listening to and the waves hitting them now; a rhythmic dance of the water, waves, and the songs playing out in their heads.

The sun which was behind them till now had slowly moved on to face them now as they admired the crimson sky with birds fluttering their wings as they intermittently blocked their view of the life-giving star before allowing them to peek into its grandeur as it gets ready to bid a final adieu to the two friends who now probably knew what they were missing in their life.

The darkness fought with light as the dusk now clamoured to reign supreme; the sun was now reduced to operating from just one corner of the sky and then slowly disappeared into oblivion allowing for the night to finally make its way onto this part of the planet.

The sky soon adorned itself with countless twinkling stars as the two friends now gazed at the starlit night, feeling lucky to be part of such a marvelous universe.

They had spent their entire day and now about half of the night, but none of them was keen to leave.

“Do you want to go,” asked Zoya as Ritika nodded.

“I want to be here, nowhere else,” she said with a smile.

“Ok,” replied Zoya, as they continued gazing at the starlit sky.

There was a contented smile on their face, a smile that one can only sport when it comes deep down from the heart.

They knew they couldn’t live their normal lives anymore; they have finally broken free!!