When one hits a speedbreak.

Ravi was going through the motions. In the country he had chosen to work in, shunted around, he moved from one job to the next wherever they shuffled him. Chicago, Detroit, Nebraska, he had no moorings.
Marriage seemed distinctly unreachable in Life. One sister with her infant son, had come home to the parents. He had to support his aged parents and her.
Just how much more complicated can it get?

Now this--
The news was shocking indeed. His brother, just turned 40, was no more.
What?
Pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis, he now knows is a blood clot that is a silent killer. One or more arteries of the lung gets blocked when a blood clot gets lodged, preventing flow of blood to the lungs. Often, the person suffering has no idea, except for a sense of chest pain and weakness. His brother had visited a doctor who suggested he get admitted for a checkup, but did not stress just how serious the condition was. Being late in the day, he decided a hospital visit the next morning would suffice, only to feel agony in the early morning hours. The mad dash to the emergency center at 2 AM, could not save him- he passed on leaving behind a wife and two children aged 7 and  2 years.

Ravi rushed home to hold the family together. Money held no power, he could not bring his brother back to Life, filing a criminal case against the famous heart surgeon seemed futile. Helpless, he just went through the motions.

Three weeks later, he returned to be relocated to a project in Canton Michigan. As a house guest, the family he stayed with heard him quietly. Two months later, he felt better and in control when the realization hit him. His brother had been through a lot but gambling and drinking was not the way out. The family was in a better place now, the children were thriving. His sister in law was offered a job at the brothers' office under the  survivors benefit scheme. She held it all together, his parents were well cared for as she seamlessly worked her magic. 

Old wounds healed and hope opened new horizons.

Oh, he had been so caught up, he never paid rent or for the food he consumed, home cooked meals, hot, tasty and nourishing. Vegan food at its best, organic, fiber filled, fruits and vegetables, he had not even missed eating flesh foods, smoking habit was forgotten, his promotion at work kept him busy.

Quickly calculating his savings the amount staggered him, the old couple were living on a small pension but never asked him to pay for boarding and lodging. they were always there to hear him lament his lot, he never heard their story.

Well, time to make amends. This long weekend he decided to take them on a trip to watch the cherry blossoms in bloom. stocking well on good organic food, he drove them around, waited to witness the joy seeing the world through their eyes. 

The TV he had bought for Thanksgiving, the WiFi signal booster, the new Apple phone he got would better serve his loving hosts.

They showed him that Life goes on, when one door closes, another opens.

life goes on..

slice and dice, come out.

They sat apart, across the narrow bench at the rest area.
Two wandering souls, each seeking meaning, swaying in the winds of uncertainty.
Words made sense? Not anymore, each wondered why they even existed in a meaningless world.

All was not lost however.
The conversation went so-

"Inane eh?"

"Uhm, better than an erudite slice and dice."

"Thought only crudites were sliced and diced."

"Thoughts too."

Would you believe the two drifters, each so entrenched in a lifestyle so quenching, it was like being bogged into quicksand---

A tinkle of pure glee sounded, a child's laughter, from across the dappled scene.

The dazzle of colors on a winged dragonfly caught their fancy.
Moving along the water body, thoughts sliced across as the insect flew over the darkened waters, glimmering irridescently.

They were each trying to make sense of Life. One, a lawyer, pulling in money settling fraud cases. The other, a computer geek, building firewalls to protect trade secrets.

But life held no meaning, till they broke out to walk about across the huge pond, watching Nature come alive.

"Do you want company, I am single, clean, no family around, open to male bonding" - tentative feelings quiver across the fog building up this late October weekend.


A quick intake of breath, the 6 foot, slender, long limbed beauty, stretched even as the tank top revealed swatches of glistening color.

Well proportioned and sinewy, the longing to be held and comforted, overcame hesitation.
They came together and cuddled into the warmth society frowned upon.
Moved to another state where they could live together.
Yes, each worked in a field that did not pin them down to a locale.

Compact, clasping, coming close California.

Love is beautiful, fluid, mystical as feelings breathe out.

The peal of laughter sealed the union of lonely souls.
Yes, they could have surrogate babies, one each.
The lawyer longed for a baby girl to rekindle his joy of dressing up and keeping house.
The computer nerd hoped for a boy, who played the graphic games he brought to Life.

Two years later, their twins arrived, they paid off the debts of the medical student for full custody of the children.
The girl closely follows the games while the boy is elegant and fashion conscious.
Life well lived.