Familiarity need not breed contempt
Familiarity need not breed intimacy
Familiarity could co-exist with strangeness.
Otherwise he would
have turned my friend already.
Each morning
on my way to the office
I used to see the man
riding his bike from the
opposite direction.
Serious and stone-faced
he would pass by me each day
without even caring to notice me.
I too didn’t care to think about him
and saw no reason why should I.
On a holiday morning
free from the daily morning chores
while I was deep in slumber
the incessant cries of
the calling-bell woke me up.
With blood rushing to my face
for forcing me out of a
deep, sound sleep,
I rushed to the door
and found the man gifting
me a broad, sweet smile.
Something and embarrassing his
unexpected visit and smile,
I returned him a warm smile
with curiosity glinting in my eyes.
Forgetting my anger
I extended him an
invitation into the drawing hall
and with a ‘please be
seated’ gesture I invited him to the visitor’s sofa
close to the wall.
Both shook hands and introduced each other
and a friendship thus born
for the time-being at least,
yes, at least…
‘Dear friend, you might
be knowing this is election time
and pleasure to
let you know that I am
a candidate from this constituency.
‘Please be kind enough to cast
your family’s invaluable votes to myself
and see that I win hands down
from here’.
The reason behind the sudden
melting of the ice of strangeness
and stone-face struck me
and gifted him a broad smile.
‘Sure, my friend, our votes
are for you, for you only’, I assured him.
Within days the D-Day knocked
on our doors and the votes cast.
My friend unfortunately
came third and that was
the end of our friendship.
Even today morning on my way to office
I saw him riding his bike
from the opposite direction
stone-faced he was
strange looking he was
and I found myself burst out
laughing….
Familiarity need not breed contempt
Familiarity need not breed intimacy
Familiarity could co-exist with strangeness.
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