Myth: Being Aloof

I felt desolate when he waved and took the last turn into the lounge, away from us but moving on to the next exciting phase of his life...I saw my parents cringing to catch a last sight of him as he departed and tears forming in my mother's eye. Till that moment, everything was hustle bustle with running, screaming, hurriedly packing, cursing and as it goes emotions haywire...but the journey back home was unusually quiet with each person absorbed in their thoughts, not wanting to disturb the serenity...the only soul to catch up some sleep that early morning was me...the woman open with her emotions and the man unusually quiet with a lost look...no words from me could get rid of their anxiety.

Then came the so much expected call from him...gone were the hours we could chat but now it would be just few minutes but more precious than ever....we tried deciphering the undertone of his conversation to sense if he was happy or not...we assured each other that he was fine when one felt the doubt...my dad would not let go of his phone, what if the son called and he missed it...the atmosphere was gloomy and i had no power nor the zest to cheer them up.

I felt they would remain as such, missing him and constantly worried about his wellbeing...but as every cloud has a silver lining...he called home one day, excited about the new life there-college, home, friends and the beautiful country...at that moment, i saw the flow of energy in the family...my dad's voice recovered its usual strength, my mom could smile and their excitement was abundant when they discussed about him...they felt assured and happy. Though i was not there to see it, i know my uncle would have gone through the same emotions probably missing him more than any of us did.

Then it striked me that we can lament about being independent, growing up and taking responsibilities, working and moving on from one phase to another leading us away from our family, caught up in the excitement of our yourthful life, success and failures, relationships and friends but what keeps us going is the knowledge that we are not alone in this world. There is always a family, perfect or not, calm or noisy, cohesive or broken...doesnt matter how it seems...but the family is always there to love and forgive you instantly, protect and care for you and more than anything else, make you feel worthy and truly blessed.

we can be of the sternest nature, not wanting to be vulnerable and remain aloof but emotions cannot be held back, whether expressed or not, when it concerns your loved ones...yesterday, while conversing with my brother, he expressed how life would change for him now...find his place in this world. His constant need to know if the family is fine and constant assurance that he is happy there though he misses home showed the transition from being just my kid brother to a man of responsibility...then it happened...i felt the tears in my eyes and the true distance between us...i realized that remaining aloof is a myth and no human can be a character in the book of ayn rand...what made me realize it, well...

we ended the conversation for the first time in our lives saying we miss each other:)