The Wholesome Satyr

She might as well have quoted Faiz:

और भी दुःख हैं ज़माने में मुहब्बत के सिवा

राहतें और भी हैं वस्ल की राहत के सिवा
मुझ से पहली सी मुहब्बत मेरे महबूब न मांग

But she did not। The disdainful laughter was as much of a cursory dismissive tool as a sensitive piece of poetry.

And he was left bewildered and wondering, one moment sure and another doubtful of what that meant; anxious if he had come through as presumptuous – again.

So sure, at the end of it all, that our past dissembles our sincerity in the foetal sac of the impression of the other, in their collective perception – which is all that they have and have nurtured in any case. And Hope is all that takes birth. All that continues to float.

“ I wish someone would fall in love with me…” he manages to susurrate before shutdown।