LEMONS

'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.' But life always gives you lemons, but not a chance for you to make lemonade out of it.

Such was the mindset of Prakash as he woke up in the middle of the day. Feeling a sense of dread and unease. He looked around in his crammed room, and not a soul was in his vicinity. Craving for some kind of warmth, as he tried to find the courage to move along with his day. But like every other person grinding through life in the world, his family was too far away for him to reach, so he had to make do with what he had. Nothing.

So he looked in the mirror, which he stationed just opposite his bed for this particular reason that when he woke up, he could see himself, a man who was on the verge of losing everything, but someone who needed to carry on for the sake of the people who depended on him. So he sprang up and decided to gulp down his bitterness and push the thoughts of his miserable life deep into his gut and make a move.

Prakash was living in quarters where there was no running water. So every morning, he would go down when the water tanker arrived to fill buckets of water to use later. This task required more precision than it seemed. No matter how early he went, people would already be there queuing up by placing their own bucket in line and waiting. If he hadn't placed his bucket in time, then the water tanker would empty up before his turn comes. So, timing was important. Luckily, he had enough water for two days stored up to start his day. So he heated up water on an induction stove that he had recently bought and used the same by carefully balancing the cold and hot water until it reached an adequate lukewarm temperature.

Prakash put on his clothes and flung his laptop bag over his shoulder, and made his way to the office to start his mid-day work shift at an MNC. His office was a tiny cubicle amidst the sea of others where countless people were working on countless projects, hoping that one day they would break the internet or the industry with their talent. He looked at the heads that were perfectly placed at a 45-degree angle, typing away into their laptops and scoffed. "Fools", he thought. Ironically, he put his own head down and got to work as well.

The only time of the day when Prakash's life brightens is when he approaches the coffee machine during the evening snacks break and catches a glimpse of Maya. A woman, out of his league but always in his mind. Every time Prakash spotted Maya, walking and chatting with employees of her own project. He would loiter around her like a fruit fly, walk around her, near her, up and down, to and fro, but never towards her.

One day, he thought she had noticed his supposed 'coquetting' when he saw her waving at him, only to realise a moment later that she was actually waving at someone behind him.

"Today is the day", thought Prakash as he waited near the coffee machine for her. But she did not come.

Disappointed by this, Prakash made his way back to his cubicle with a cup of lemon tea in his hand. That is when he saw Maya storm into the office with vigour. She slammed a bunch of papers onto the desk of her superior. This startled Prakash as he had never seen Maya that way.

Like him, many others were also watching eagerly, trying to cash in on the much-needed entertainment from their daily routine.

Maya came out screaming! "This place is a shithole. A prison for everybody who wants to strive for greatness in this world. As long as we stay here, these pigs in the upper management are only going to take advantage of hardworking people like us and make us play at their whim. If YOU, any of you, want to truly succeed, then join me. Because I sure as hell am done being a slave to these faceless bosses. It is time to take life by its neck and write our own destiny."

Prakash was moved. He saw her storm out of the office. He knew that this was the motivation he had been waiting for. The person he had admired took a step that he had wanted to take for so long. Prakash knew this was a sign. Slowly, shaking his head. He spoke to himself, "You know what, I quit", and stormed out of the office, the same way that Maya did.

He walked out of the office and stood on the busy road. He spotted Maya. Standing by herself, smoking a cigarette. Prakash decided to walk up to her and tell her that he had made a decision to quit as well. But just as he took a step towards her, he noticed that Maya was slowly being surrounded by her colleagues, who started praising her for her courage. Then she got into a Mercedes AMG and left.

And just like life had given Prakash a lemon. His heart skipped a beat. The moment, although small, made him realise his own place in the world around him. His pumped-up adrenaline started to sober up. Things that mattered more in his life, his family, his stability, and his ambition, began to take preference in his thoughts.

Prakash stood there, realising that 'quitting' is for the privileged. Men like him had to endure the grind. The grind that would take him somewhere in the world, otherwise, he would end up being nowhere in this world. The final thought he had in his mind as he walked back into the office was, "Maybe this isn't so bad. Maybe monotony is life's biggest virtue. Maybe... I will quit some other time." With that, he walked by a roadside vendor, who was making lemonade to quench people's thirsts, with the same mechanical monotony that is required to master a job.