I remember this one night, not so long ago. It was late, much beyond Cinderella’s deadline. You and I sat on the beach, making patterns in the sand with our feet. The sea was pitch black, stretching like space into oblivion. Dark, yet not menacing. When all of a sudden we saw a light emerge out of the blackness, an aeroplane in the distance. Just one light in the sky that kept inching closer, an orange light. Hypnotized we sat, watching not just the approaching light but also its reflection in the water. The eerie orange shadow that danced a slow Tango while we sat mesmerized.

When did ‘us’ become a paper boat
That sunk inevitably in the overflowing stream
While you and I stood on the banks helplessly
Knowing that our destiny was inexorably to drown
Will you then for the last time wrap the blanket around me?
As you leave me behind huddled in the cold
Will you let me rest my head once on your shoulders?
And let me weep my final weep?