De-Hassled

It was a dew drop on his eye that was the primary cause for sleep to drain away from Arjun. He rubbed his eyes sleepily while pulling the torn bed sheet tighter and trying to adjust his position on the coir cot. It was not freezing but pleasant, with a slight coldness settling all around him. It was for the first time that he was sleeping outdoors and while the experience was not comfortable, it was memorable. A cock crowed in the distance, shooing away the darkness and welcoming the sun. Arjun squinted as the first rays of the sun hit his eye directly, as if pounding him to wake up. He sat up on the cot, admiring nature at the gates of dawn. For the first time, he was waking up without any schedules or plans for the day, and it made him smile.

He noticed the owner of the dhaba coming to him with a steaming hot tea in his hand. "I saw that you are awake, sir. Here, enjoy the tea", he said. Arjun thanked him and started sipping the tea, as the heat slowly spread across his chilled body. He felt like a man who had no responsibility and completely free of worries. As soon as he finished his tea, he packed his bag, paid the dhaba owner and went to his bike parked a few meters behind the dhaba. He had been a biker in his youth and he considered the bike a close friend. Ignoring the mild cold, the started his bike and gave a long look at the sun and rode along the road towards it.

And, after a long time, he felt happy.

2 days earlier:

"The manager needs the report in 30 minutes Arjun. Can we have it by then?" shouted Priya from the end of the aisle in his office. Arjun looked up lazily and replied "Yes, of course. It will be ready". He sighed. On top of finishing a client presentation, he had to get this report ready too. Though it was only a few final touches, the report still needed some work. He went back to his laptop and started typing vigorously. The client would be coming the next day and he had to prepare a draft for his manager. He had been working on it since morning and it was finally beginning to get some shape. He worked on a few pages, simultaneously thinking of why he was doing the work without even liking it. He liked to travel, he liked to see places, but all he did now was interacting with clients, making exaggerated presentations and all the while being holed up in a building.

"So Arjun, how about a night at the pub today? You are supposed to treat us for your birthday, right?”, came a voice from the next cubicle. It was James, his irritating colleague, to whom he had mistakenly promised a treat earlier.
"Yeah, I will give the treat but not today James. I am really busy and I think my fiancée would like me to go with her today", replied Arjun with a resigned voice.
"But Arjun, today is the best..." continued James.
Arjun frowned and rubbed his head with his hand. His headache was increasing and this idiot was rambling even after he told him no.
"...when you promised last week itself..." continued James.
Arjun noticed an error in his presentation and started correcting it with one hand while rubbing his head with the other. How could he not notice that he was working on a very important presentation?
"...so we all planned to go out tonight..." continued James, until he was rudely interrupted by Arjun.
"All right, I am trying to work here and I have to finish this by tonight. I told you that I would give the treat later, right? Not possible tonight", he shouted and suddenly calmed down when he realized that he was perhaps too loud.
"I am sorry...", he began when his telephone started to ring.

He lifted the phone, with irritation clearly showing on his face and held it to his ear. Suddenly, he saw Priya coming down the aisle. "Damn, the report. I totally forgot about that!", he mumbled.
"What report, dear?", came a sound from the other end of the phone. It was his fiancée Lakshmi.
"Nothing", he said with a fake laugh,” I was talking with someone else here. And yeah, I remember that I had promised you to take you to the exhibition today. We need to buy some stuff for the new house when we get married. I remember my plans well".
"Ah, I just wanted to confirm", replied the friendly voice. "I think you are busy right now. I will talk to you later in the evening then. So, I hope to see your motorbike in front of my house by 7:30 tonight?"
"Sure, dear. Bye", replied Arjun and put the phone down. He cringed abruptly, when he realized that he had still not got his motorbike from the repair-shop. It had completely slipped from his mind.

He started dialing the number of the repair-shop. "Did you finish the report?", demanded Priya. Arjun looked up, wide eyed, and shook his head sullenly. "I don't know what you are going to do. The manager is eating my head for it. I want it in another 15 minutes max", she growled. Arjun just nodded and turned his attention to the phone. He enquired about the bike and the expression in his face turned from a cringe to that of a worried-some look. They informed him that they are not yet done with it and they would only be able to give it on the next day.

"There's so much to do. And there's never enough time. I feel pressured and hassled all day, everyday, seven days a week....”, he thought, ignoring the splitting headache that he had developed. He put the phone down and collapsed on his desk.

It was 7'O clock by the time Arjun left office. He had finished his presentation, submitted the report to his manager, somehow pacified his fiancée about his lack of transportation and shoo-ed away his irritating colleagues. He waddled wearily to the nearest bus stop and sighed. It was the peak time and there was a huge crowd, possibly waiting for the very bus that he had to get on. There were people of all ages, in different colorful dresses, with the only common thing on them being their tired and stressed faces. A red colored bus slowed down near the bus stop, which he soon realized was his. Immediately, about 20 passenger started shoving their way in order to get into the bus. Arjun somehow managed his way in and adjusted himself next to a seat, sandwiched among a hundred other passengers. The bus started moving and as luck would have it, the person in the seat next to him got up to get down in the next stop. Arjun hurriedly sat down before other competitors could vie for the seat. The tiredness kicked in and the slow wallowing of the bus introduced him to the land of dreams, by singing a sensuous lullaby.

Arjun woke up, startled to see that the bus was empty, with only the driver guiding the vehicle at the front. All the seats around him were mysteriously devoid of people, and he could hear no sound except for the whirring of the engine. He blinked twice and explored the bus again with his eyes. No, it was not completely empty, as he could see a lone passenger sitting right at the front of the bus. Arjun stood still as a rock when the lone passenger turned, looked at him and gave him a wide smile.

Arjun had not yet moved from his seat, when the mysterious stranger walked towards him and sat in the seat next to his.
He looked simple, dressed in an unattractive but a neat shirt. His face was glowing, like a strange aura exuding off him.
"Do you know that a human brain can process information about six to seven times faster than real time?", he abruptly uttered. Arjun quizzically looked at his face and was about to speak when the man explained, "That is, the actual event could take up to an hour. But, you just need a few minutes to recollect all of those moments!".
"What?", questioned Arjun, perplexed beyond limits. The man replied, "Isn't the brain a very busy part of your body? See, even now when you questioned me, unable to understand this moment, your brain would have processed a lot of thoughts simultaneously. They say that stress can destroy your brain cells". He came close to Arjun's face and whispered, "Do you want to destroy your brain?".
"Who are you? How do you know me?", asked a bewildered Arjun.
"Well, some people call me God, especially when my advices are advantageous to them. If my advices act negatively against them, they call me Satan. It is up to you to realize who I am. If you want you can just call me your conscience, instead of raising me on a holy or a diabolical platform", answered the man, with a charismatic look in his face. "But, why I am here is to give you an advice, like I always do. You have been in your worst day of your life today. This is not what you wanted to do but have been forced to do. Now tell, me what is that one thing that you have always wanted to do but haven't done yet? Think, that one precious thing!'
Arjun adjusted himself on his seat, all the while looking at the face of the stranger. It was a look that a hungry dog would give to a complete stranger offering it food, not knowing whether he would capture him or help him. "I....I....", he started pondering when the man stood up and smiled, "I don’t want your answer. I just want you to think. Good bye, and nice meeting you. Remember, every action has a price. it is up to you to decide whether you want go down a particular path".

As abruptly as he came, he strutted down the aisle and got down the bus. Arjun had not even noticed the bus stop, busy with his own thoughts. At the last minute, the man turned his face, gave him a reassuring smile (or a grin; he couldn't make out) and alighted. The bus started again with a jolt.

Arjun woke up, gasped and found himself in the same bus, now overflowing with passengers. He looked out when he realized that it was almost his stop. He jumped up and shoved the people, to rush to the door. With great difficulty, he managed to alight just as the bus was about to start again. His headache seemed to have reduced, but it was his home which beckoned him now. He walked silently towards his home.

Arjun woke up the next morning, fresh but still tired, happy but still worried. He had spent the entire night thinking about his dream the previous night, which had come as a rainstorm during a parched summer. He had a huge schedule ahead of him that day. First, he went to the repair-shop and got his motorcycle, after making the mechanic apply the final touches to his bike in front of him. He then packed few essential stuff in his carry-bag, making sure that it was not very heavy. He then started working on a huge mail to his manager, explaining to him that he is taking a month's leave. There would be repercussions, but he was willing to pay the price. Finally, he called his fiancée. There would be repercussions here too, and he was willing to pay any price. After a lot of convincing and arguing, he made her agree that he would be left to his own for a whole month, after which he would devote himself to her completely. She finally agreed and questioned, "So, what exactly are you going to do?". Arjun replied, "See, I am stressed to my limits right now. I needed some time to relax, enjoy, and have some time with absolutely no responsibilities. So, I decided on doing something which I had always wanted to do but couldn't for lack of time".
"And, what is that?", she asked.
Arjun answered that, with excitement pronouncedly visible on his face, "A solo motorbike trip across India".