Dark Horse Arts and Sciences

Through the vibrant, colourful, energetic streets of Shillong, my feet keep carrying me forward, through the up and down, up and down curvy slopes of this beautiful city in Meghalaya, the land of clouds, a land encompassed by serene blue sky and grey mobile clouds, the ones you see this moment, the next moment they are gone, just like smoke.
My feet don’t get tired as I keep walking and walking, all alone, drenched within my own headspace, extreme random thoughts crossing my mind each second, just like those clouds passing those hills every now and then. My eyes scan the unknown yet pretty Meghalayan, Bengoli, Assamese faces. Those faces are also filled with a sense of angst and anxiety as they are also not sure what they are looking for here. Confusion and convolution envelops the air of Shillong.
Even in the midst of a thousand hearts and brains, I feel a certain stab of loneliness, grabbing me with its claws slowly and steadily. The feeling of being alone, away from familiar faces, sometimes, makes you anxious. But it’s fine. Over the past few years, I have started embracing this phase of utter loneliness, even though it’s painful and agonizing to some extent.
The yearning for some company keeps knocking at the door of my subconscious every now and then. But what to do. It is what it is. It’s not that I travel alone intentionally, it’s just that the ones I want to travel with are far away from me. And the ones I invite do nothing but disappoint me with their silly, pointless, monotonous excuses. They are the worst procrastinators I have ever seen. They keep saying we will go this month, then when that month arrives, they back off. So I have stopped expecting. Let them live in their own cramp shells, rotting from inside everyday, in their lives of utter monotony and slumber.
But I was finally able to find a group of friends from one of my friends from my previous college. We enjoyed it a lot. They were extremely helpful, lending me a hand in every way possible. So yeah I was lucky in that way.
Anywhere you go in the world, you will find someone you can connect with and hang out with.
The receptionist of the lodge where I stayed was also really nice. I think of her sometimes though. Her way of talking, the way her hair falls on her forehead. The idea that I may never be able to meet her again just sends some waves through my nerves. It saddens me like a damp monsoon night, cold and melancholic. But again it is what it is. I have to accept it anyhow.
So yeah, Shillong is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever travelled and I will come with my family here once at least in my life. They should also explore different facets of this beautiful country. I also will surely come with my lover once, with her only, just to walk on the mountaining streets holding hands, fingers curling against each other’s. We will go to mountains and lakes together and in the night we will go to heaven together, through another ecstatic gateway, a gateway induced by the experience of the senses.