Another cigarette was quietly meeting its end between his fingertips. He was seated next to a huge glass ‘wall’ and meanwhile, the Sun was slowly but steadily melting into the horizon. His mind was in a tumult of thoughts centering on and around the pros and cons of the ‘year-that-was’; the ‘maybe’-s and ‘what-if’-s, decorated with a few ‘I shouldn’t have’-s, closely followed by a series of silent ‘sighs’ of regret.
But, then, thankfully, there was loud music playing in the background.
A welcome distraction, under the circumstances.
“Would you like another drink, sir?”
He nodded in approval.
A number of uniform-clad men strutted up and down the length of the floor shouting complex instructions into their mouthpieces.
Everyone was ‘rehearsing’. This was just a trial run.
Soon this ‘hangout’ would turn into THE ‘place to be’ this new year’s eve.
There would soon be a thousand-odd strangely dressed ‘wannabe’s crawling all over the place, trying to ‘move wit’ da beat’!
Trying to be ‘somebody’ in an alien crowd…
And then, he broke into a wry smile…
The very thought that people would burn holes in their pockets to ‘pretend’ to be ‘happy’ for just a short while seemed quite amusing.
It was all one big hoax… a drama… an illusion…a…
He glanced at his watch and then promptly finished his drink.
A rather nervous, middle-aged gentleman in an ill-fitting black-suit walked up to him rather anxiously.
“Sir, we’ll be opening the gates shortly… and… well, perhaps you should…”
“I know, I know… relax”, came the response.
The Sun had now all but vanished, leaving behind an interesting multitude of colours. The cigarette lay crippled and crumpled in a pile of ashes.
He picked up his jacket and made for the door that led to the green-room.
An hour-and-a-half later, he would take centre-stage…
5,4,3,2,1… Happy New Year!
