The First Day.

The alarm clock on the table went off at exactly at 6:00 am. He struggled to reach the alarm clock. At the age of 60, he still moved fast enough. He shut down the alarm. He was still feeling sleepy. “Just 5 minutes” he said to himself. He closed his eyes. Waiting for sleep to take over again. But somehow sleep did not come. He glanced at the half open window. It was just dawn. He pulled himself to get up from the bed. The bed besides him was vacant. It had been vacant for the last 2 years after his wife passed away.

And it had been two years he was waking alone. He glanced at the small clock by the bed. The digital time said 6:05 AM. He dragged out of the bed and went to the toilet. After some time he came back to get the towel. He looked at the clock. 50 minutes left. He had to leave house by 7:00 AM to reach office in time. After 20 minutes he was back removing clothes for the office.

“What are you doing?” his brother’s voice startled him.

“What do you think I am doing?” He said without looking back

“Where are you going?” His brother again

“Office” he sounded a little irritated by the questions.

“What office? You retired yesterday”

He stood there motionless. How could he forget? His brother was right. He did retire yesterday. He looked at the writing table in the corner. The flower bouquet still looked fresh. The small gift next to the flowers remained unopened. Yesterday was his last day in the office. Yesterday after 33 years in the same office he had finally retired. After 33 years of routine job, he was going to be home.

It was not that he never had been home. A year back he had been home for 2 months due to illness. But that time he knew he had to go back to work. But today he knew he never had to go back. He never had to go back to what he had hated for 33 years. He never had to go back to the place which he had dragged himself for the last 33 years. He sat on the chair next to the table. He looked relieved. He looked at the flowers, still fresh from yesterday’s function, given to him by his colleagues in the office. Most of his colleague were between the age of 20 and 30. They were and are still boys who were starting a career, a life. They were somewhat friends to him. A little strange feeling because he had a daughter who was more than their age and she was not a friend.

He hated his job. He wanted to quit. But then he was not young enough to start anything new. But somehow he didn’t hate the people around him. He knew that they were not responsible for his job or they in any way causing any problem for him. They suffered just as much as him. And they still had many years to go before they retired. Most of them would never retire from this company. They would switch to better jobs, better designations.

He sat there looking at the flowers while the world outside his room went as usual. Children were getting ready for school, and colleges. Elders were getting ready for office. It was chaos out there and just yesterday, he was a part of the chaos.

Now what? He looked around his small room. A room for himself in Mumbai was a luxury in itself. What to do after today? He was out of the only work he knew for 33 years. What now? Yes! What now? From here what? He didn’t worry about money. He had saved plenty of it. The work he hated till yesterday had become a reason for his existence. Somewhat like a mission statement. Today he had no aim, no mission, no work and no life. He just sat there. He was not needed now. The feeling of neglect and not being wanted bothered his mind. The chaos outside his room was subsiding. Children had left for schools and colleges. Elders were out to office. He got up. Had a nice bath. Stood in front of god’s photo and prayed. He was praying after a long long time.

He roamed around the house, had breakfast, read the newspaper and watched TV. He had time. Time was his luxury. He looked at the big clock on the wall. He was comparing his workday with today. At this time he would be doing this and doing that. Strangely he was missing work, work he had hated for 33 years.
His mobile rang. He picked up the phone and saw the familiar office number. Why were they calling? He answered.

“Are you ready dada?” The voice on the other end asked
“What for?”
“Come on! You said you were coming.”
“Where?”
“Come on! We have to attend vishal’s wedding today. You forgot?”
“Ah yes! No! Don’t worry! I am ready. I shall meet you all at the station.”
“Good! We will be there in 2 hours and then we will call you on your mobile, bye, a little busy here”

He knew! They were always busy and yet they had called him. The phone went silent. He smiled. He was not as unwanted as he made himself to be. They still remembered him. They were nice to him even though they didn’t need to be. He pulled himself and started dressing. Life was not bad after all. His mind started working on the things he wanted to do. Things he couldn’t do because of work or family. Things that would be his next mission statement and Things that he would actually love to do.

Life had not ended. Life was wonderful! This was his first day of his new life.

Note: Inspired by a telephone conversation, I had with Dada who retired couple of days back. The work is totally fiction.