the new moon

There was a new moon that evening when I was called to work, thanks to the so-called boom in the IT industry. Like always, the FM radio was on and the driver was concentrating on the tricky traffic. I was thinking whether I would ever be able to drive on these roads in the city, intrepid though I am on other issues but not this.
Endless streams of lights zooming past, and there I was, one amongst the crowd.
While waiting for the green signal, I saw this little girl with her parents in the back seat of her car who, with her face all lit up, gave me this wide, warm smile that I could not help but smile back at her and wondered what this girl would be like when she would no longer be as innocent and unwary of the world we are living in. Sometimes, I wish that my car would forever get stuck in the traffic jam so that I could get a glimpse of the people around me, which makes me wish further that I was invisible at times like these or at times when am out shopping or walking aimlessly in the market or am in some café drinking hot coffee. Wishes, wishes and more wishes…
To my dismay, with a jolt the car started moving again. By and by, we were on the highway and the cars were roaring with insane speed. On my way to office, there is this huge temple which is always lit up brilliantly and particularly that day it was looking beautiful mostly because of the moon which gave, on the whole, an ethereal atmosphere. No sooner had my eyes finished feasting on such a wonderful spectacle, that I came across crowded roads, partly because of the much awaited metro train plans, and loud people. My eyes searched for hope but all I saw was congested by-lanes with shops trying to fit in. I saw people rushing everywhere, movement everywhere. Then I looked up and saw the moon, still as beautiful as ever, serene as ever and time was at a standstill.
It was only when I saw this tall McDonald’s post next to my office that I realized I was where I belonged, reality.