23 posts tagged “confused”
They were two wounded soldiers, fighting a pointless war, out of bullets. Two soldiers talking about nothing at all; unable to ask the other which side he was fighting on, perhaps because they didn’t want to know... or perhaps because it just didn’t matter anymore.
He looked up at her as she pulled out a cigarette from the half empty pack. Half empty. He guessed that made him a pessimist. She closed her eyes as she lit it. He noticed that. That, and the fact that her hair fell about her face in an almost apologetic way while she was lighting it. He said almost because she was too proud to ever be able to look apologetic. Angry? Easily. Annoyed? Definitely. Disappointed? Yes. Sad? Sometimes…. But apologetic? It just wasn’t possible.
She took a long drag and opened her eyes. Kohl filled dark eyes that always seemed like they meant to say something more but didn’t know how to. Or at least that’s how she imagined them to look. A conversation from a lifetime ago floated through her head along with the strains from the music at the bar.
“You have creepy eyes.”
“Creepy? Thanks! What the hell is that supposed to mean anyway?”
“Err… I didn’t mean it like that… It’s just… well, they’re too blank. I can never tell what you’re feeling”
Water.
Cold water.
She always thought that her eyes were what betrayed her. Years of practice had taught her how to hold that mask in place. Blank and smooth, like nothingness itself. It was the best weapon disguised as a perfect shield. In reality, it couldn’t stop anything. Definitely not pain. But it was proud. And it made the opponent determined to break you. And so, the words got crueller and the blows harder, but as long as you didn’t flinch, you won. It wasn’t exactly a fun game, but it captivated her.
Her eyes were always what gave her away. She could hold back any emotion, but her eyes reflected what she felt. Even the slightest hurt would make them widen, kind words would make them quiver and sometimes they would soften. Luckily, most people couldn’t read her eyes… but she still felt betrayed… and a little reassured. She did not like losing control… but she liked knowing something about her was still natural. Still… human.
And he had said her eyes were blank…
She looked at the man across the table. She couldn’t exactly place the look he had on his face, which bothered her. She was good at reading people. Really good… but when it came to him, it frustrated her to no end that she couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. She sighed and took another drag from her burning cigarette, watching as he lit one of his own.
He wondered what he should say now. She looked like she was waiting for him to say or do something. It was like playing a game of poker and suddenly realizing it was your turn… except the difference was he really had no idea what game he was supposed to be playing right now, and that just made things a lot harder.
He asked her what she wanted to drink and they both ordered their shots. Brandy for him because his throat still hurt. She asked for a Whiskey. Straight. And he couldn’t help nor explain the smile that flitted across his face.
She looked down into her drink with the saddest eyes he had ever seen on anyone. When he called her name, she looked up at him and smiled. And the question he had been planning to ask seemed pointless. Of course she was okay. Didn’t she look like she was okay? A perfect defence he didn’t know how to cross. And so, he let it be, shaking his head as she looked up at him curiously.
Her name. It had always felt alien to her. Yet every time he said it, it felt as if it belonged to her. She really couldn’t imagine being called anything else, though she strongly suspected she would feel the same no matter what he called her. It had always been like that. From the very beginning. She loved the way he said her name…
Oh,
but it wasn’t love, she thought as he raised his eyebrow at something
she had said. That didn’t mean she knew what it was. Nor did it mean
she understood. All she knew as she glared at him while he laughed at
her was that it felt… real. Comeback after comeback, and it felt good.
It made her feel almost alive. Almost. As he chuckled again, she
wondered if he felt the same way. And as he looked up at her with his
expression changing from amusement to one that was puzzled, she knew
her eyes were betraying her again.
She smiled at him, and the confused look on his face made her giggle, which confused him even further, but he laughed anyway. She didn’t laugh like this very much. And it made him oddly happy to know that he was the reason. He didn’t know why and he continued to bug her about inconsequentialities. She didn’t mind. He knew that. He could tell. Even if her eyes were hollow, they seemed to shine when she argued with him, and he liked that.
She asked him a question. He started telling her about the answer. And both of them skirted past the things they really wanted to talk about. Needed to talk about. Why did he keep disappearing? Why did she never ask him where he’d been?
They couldn’t be on opposite sides, he thought. She was too much like him. And yet, with her blank eyes and distant smile, he couldn’t even tell if she was fighting the same war… and he didn’t know how to ask. But he really didn’t think it mattered very much. At least, he thought as she laughed again and pretended to throw the glass at him as her eyes shone, not anymore…
So, I'm on and as of now tuned into channel "Make yourself miserable". What am I doing in this place? I don't like law. Well, it's okay I suppose... But only in the "It will do... for now" kinda way. Not the "I wanna do this for the rest of my life" way. I want nothing to do with law.
Angry Sarcastic Bitch: Why don't you just quit then?
Annoying responsible loser : Because I fought to get in here. Fought with Dad and every one sitting in B_____ and D____ wanting me to go stay/study with them! I fought to get to Law School!!! How can I tell my parents I don't wanna stay?! And besides, it's not like I have an alternate plan or anything. It's not like I can go up to them and say "Oh, guys. Sorry. Just realized it's not law that I'm interested in, but XXX (Astronomy, Biology, whatever). Why? Coz there is no XXX.
But the truth is, I didn't come here to do law. From the start, It was just about getting away. Well, I'm away from home now... but stupid blissfully ignorant me is just waking up to the fact that the whole world is more or less the same... At least in this dimension. Or society. Whatever you want to call it. The fact remains that I can't just walk up to my parents and tell 'em I'm sick of living like... well, who? People my parents would call respectable? Normal?
What am I doing? I'm studying something I don't care bout, in order to get a job I don't want so that I can make money I won't need to buy things I'm happier without!
I do have an alternate plan actually> Go to Goa/Gokarna/quiet place, open a small cafe like place, earn just enough money to keep a roof over my head and manage basic food and clothing stuff. I want to wake up each morning to the sound of the ocean and the birds... I want to work in a small quiet place where random people will come and go, where my life may not make any significant changes to the world... but it will be mine. Completely. I want to own myself. And I want to go to sleep tired and content. (Stoned would be an added benefit ^_*) Then why don't I just go ahead and go?
Because... because I don't know how to do that to my parents. Not yet. Because even though somewhere deep down I'm sure that it would be the better option, I don't know how to get that across. There's also the fact that it's contingent on other people, but I could work around that. I know I could... It matters, but it's a little bump in the ground compared to the volcano of an issue my parents will be...
So, I stay here. Stuck. reading things that mildly interest me - if I'm lucky, getting wasted ever so often, doing things I shouldn't be doing just because I shouldn't be doing them and so on.
It's like the TV is on, but the only signal I'm catching is this society's... and it's so powerful that every time I try to tune in to any other channel, the societal signal keeps interfering with the new signal... leaving me with nothing but static. I know I'll have to try further frequencies. I know it's definitely out there somewhere.. but a little part of me tells me not to try... coz it's afraid that this is the only signal out there. And if I go too far - out of range - I'll be left with nothing but silence... and I won't be able to come back...
So I choose the known evil. Static. Always just at the edge, but never leaving coz I'm afraid I won't know the way back. And I may need to come back because I'm not sure if there's anything out there. And even if there is I don't know if I'll find it...
Turned on, but can't tune in till she drops out... Can't drop out till she finds where to drop out to. And can't find out where to drop out to till she tunes in.
The cycle continues.
And I stay stuck in the rut.
What now Mr. Leary? What now?
So... I slept today. To those of you who do not know me, or who have not been following this blog for a while, this sentence would appear arbitrary and pointless. The others however, should be able to grasp the significance. Not only did I sleep in the afternoon, I slept for 5 hours straight!
I also ate. Quite a lot.
These... incidents(?) would not really bother me if it were not with the tiredness and appetite respectively. I'm also slightly annoyed because I keep waking up when I'm dreaming about confessional conversations. And every single time, I wake up right before the person across the table/rock/room is about to tell me what's weighing so heavily on his/her mind. Yeah, it isn't the same person every time either. And the funniest thing is, though I feel undoubtedly annoyed at the jerk who wakes me up, I also feel very relieved. Like I don't want to know what they clearly want me to. Hmmm, oh well... Absorb, reflect and forget.
I look into your eyes
waiting for a sign...
for a trace, a shred of memory
of what you'd left behind
Instead I see just darkness
Staring out at us all
A smile that reveals just as much
as an empty dilapidated wall
Where did your laugh go?
That never failed to make me smile
Where did your strength go?
That kept us going all this while
I turn away, tired of waiting
and I want to walk away
I don't know how to tell you
you haunt me night and day
But a step is all I can take
Before you quietly say my name
and suddenly I'm back to the day we met
and everything is the same
I tried so hard to catch you
But all I could do was watch you fall
Now I turn around again
How can I walk away when my name you call?
I'm confused again.
And suddenly so sad, but in a pleasant way... like you are after you've
had a brilliant day. You know its over... Or more like... well, I can't
explain. Thus the confusion...
I don't want to hurt anyone.
Especially not someone I care about.
But I do that so often... and so... I dunno what to do...
"Go with the flow"
that's what you said
Well, I hurt you too... and I'm still learning to live with that.
No matter what
This time is going to be different.
It has to be...
No.
I didn't forget.
*smiles*
I don't know how long this will last...
but till then,
...
Thank you.
Great.
I flunked land-law. That means I'm definitely failing history. Consti was always a sure thing.
Gah!!!
Three repeats once again!
*sigh*
These hols have not been nearly as long as they should have been. I don't wanna go back. Its not that I hate Law school. I just don't want to spend more time there. Then again, I don't have any other place to go. No wait. That has to be rephrased. I don't have any other place I want to go. Not anyplace define-able anyhow.
Dad left for some place today morning. He'll be back only after I've left, so I said goodbye. He said I had been "good" these hols. Whatever that means. But yeah, I do kinda get it. I have been 'good' these hols.
Spent lot of time at home. Gave the dog a bath. Filled water. Spent an entire day at the mall with my parents. There were really very few loud arguments. Ran errands (without much complaining). Didn't go out to meet 'friends' too often. Played cards almost every night with the family. Pretended to study.... You get the picture...
But what bugs me is, for some strange reason, I did all of it with a vague sense of finality. Like I was sure I wouldn't have this chance again. I dunno why... It doesn't exactly scare me or upset me. Just feels like its a fact half of me always knew and the other half quietly accepted. It's like I was just building memories. You know, 'perfect' happy moments mom n dad can always look back on. Hell, I think I'm also doing it for me. And I guess that means that a decision has been made again...
and once more, I am the last to know...
Sometimes I can't take the phone ringing
Over and over, it glows
I don't want to hear your voice
I don't want to talk
Leave me alone!
So, I pretend to be asleep
Pretend to be away
Because apologizing is so much easier
than forcing inside the pain
and then maybe I can believe
You won't call again...
Fire. Heat. Pain. Cold. Chilled.
Can't breathe. Can't see. Must rest. Can't move. Can't fall asleep.
Tired...
Sometimes, as I sit here in this class (History) and look around, I can not help but wonder what we would all be like if we were to exist in pre-independent India. As of now, almost everybody claims to be leftist, if not socialist liberal, but in a way that is what scares me the most...
I shall attempt to explain.
Today, being leftist is acceptable, if not encouraged - at least in the present youth of the educated middle class. So, if the 20s were a time when extremism (which funnily enough is so similar to conservatism) was praised and seen as the philosophy to adopt, and an era where sooner or later, everyone DID have to "take a stance", well... where would we all be? And who would really be on which side?...
I can only wonder...
