Page 121 - Musings 2022

The door to life

Kaustubh Chaturvedi
2018A8PS0516P

I

“...We can beat them, just for one day, we can be heroes, just for one day...” The alarm rings
at dawn. Two tired hands appear from within a heavy blanket, searching for the source of the

sound. As the overworked fingers try to suffocate the alarm, the mind has already begun to
drag the drained body out of the linen and onto the bathroom floor. Heavy hands mop the hair

and adjust the boring blue tie over a pale pink shirt, as the sleepy eyes try and stay open in front

of the mirror. Fred prepares for the office.

At the office, everything is a copy of something. Everything is far away, in a labyrinth of
cubicles. Printer noises everywhere, cell phones beeping with emails, keyboards being

smashed, the smell of coffee and printer ink all around, blinding fluorescent lights coating
everything, people purposelessly dragging themselves in and out of cubicles, formality in

authority, unnecessary bureaucracy. Everything is drenched in monotony and lethargy. Good
coffee is the trick to getting through the drab dingy daily routine. A shot of espresso would get

some work done. It will keep the mind awake, and away from questions like “What data?

Whose files? Why work?”. After the work, Fred reaches his apartment, which is filled with
stuff that won’t help with anything in life. He searches for a bed, and hopes for a calming shut-

eye, ignoring the city outside.

Days burn to no end. Life seems missing and work never seems to end. Days feel sleepy and a
good night’s sleep itself becomes a dream.

II

One such day, sitting in the cubicle, hitting the keyboard, the eyes give up and Fred drops off
for a nap. As he wakes up, he finds himself without light. A dark labyrinth of cubicles, on a

locked office floor. As he comprehends the situation, he realises the small source of light on

the other end of the labyrinth. It’s a door, labelled exit. The drained man drags his drooping
figure towards the dreamy door. To his surprise, the door has two doorknobs. One is the usual

right doorknob, and the other is a dusty left doorknob. As he opens the door the usual way,
using the right knob and swinging, he finds a staircase, leading downwards, probably to the

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