Patient waiting

The waiting room at the clinic overflowing at the seams was evidence of a long wait. I had anticipated it, which was why I had brought along, in my bag, my trusted companion to keep me company.

Yes, my ally through the patient waiting was my book. What better companion can I hope for through the endless hour or so than my book? It had the unique quality of endurance that is hard to find in anyone else, kindred spirit though they may be, for offering to accompany me to a doctor’s clinic.

And because my book would transport me to quite another world in a matter of seconds, I too would not feel the impatience of the long wait. I must have buried my nose in my book for about five or ten minutes only when I became aware of several sets of eyes on me.

I glanced around casually, then resumed my reading, brushing aside the sensation of being watched.

But the weird feeling continued so I took a break from my reading to look around and observe the different shades of humanity gathered there in that room.

At first I didn’t notice it but a second later it struck me. I was the only one in the room with a book! And what did the others have? A phone.

So I was the odd one out, but did I care? I went back to my pursuit of the pages.

Soon the seat next to mine emptied and a young lady with her cute little girl came and sat there. The little one was impatient to have something from her mother’s bag. Imagine my joy when what the young mother pulled out of her bag was an ABC book!

I smiled, thankful that my kind wasn’t extinct yet.
Vidya Shankar

Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Jan 13, 2018)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/e6d6be18-f9c7-401b-9f20-6a9cd3522777.aspx

Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk



www.facebook.com