The last time my heart danced

We entered, pulling our luggage behind us. I was back at my alma-mater. B

e it just for a couple of days, but I was there. I could see my heart running ahead of me. I was signing at the gate, to mark my entry and my eyes were already searching for familiar names on the list. Oh! And my nose could smell the parathas that were to be cooked that night!
I could feel heaven again!

But only this time, I wasn’t the same anymore. I had changed. I seemed to have suddenly grown older, what’s called maturity had taken over the innocent joy that prevailed. The very places which were reminding me of myself just a few months ago, were also making me realize what had become of me. I couldn’t get myself to be the same again. I was excited, but not quite. I was happy, but not quite. I went ahead and met my friends. We were all the same, yet so different now. We spoke a different language all together. Our multi-lingual background never mattered much to us; we used to learn from each other. Now, all of a sudden, we had had enough of learning. Friends had become colleagues, chit-chatting had become business-like, the very atmosphere had changed.

Then came the cultural night. I enjoyed myself thoroughly!...or so I thought I would, but again, didn’t quite. The DJ! That’s where am gonna let out all my tensions and be fine again! But that was not to be. The DJ bored me! I just gave up and retired to bed. “Campus is not the same anymore”, we said. But the truth is, it’s we who had changed.

Back at home, the usual schedule started again. Breakfast, rush to office, meet deadlines, come back home tired, finish some pending stuff, sleep. Sunny day, wear a cap. Rainy day, take an umbrella. The other stuff remained much the same. Routines always are such! Boring! Huh!
But there was something that kept nagging me at the back of my mind still. Something I couldn’t figure. Something that just said…”Something’s wrong”. My mind wasn’t at peace. My heart was mum. It was raining outside and I was watching TV. My eyes were frozen and my mind elsewhere. My heart was as though it just didn’t exist.

And then a song woke me up from my trans. I couldn’t see for a while what was in it that got me attracted to it all the time! It was just a couple enjoying the rain. They were simply moving around and it was pouring…just the way I used to…… and then it occurred to me. My heart now spoke, reminded of the days when I used to play and get drenched, with no one to care about… Not long ago, when we weren’t into the jungle yet, when things had not changed,