The lost heart
It was a hot Sunday afternoon in Mumbai. I was somehow managing to keep myself from sticking to my T-shirt and then to the seat in my car. ‘Humidity’ was kind of an understatement for water that was magically appearing on my skin. The blow of air-condition did not dare to cool off the angry sun peeking through my windscreen. I started worrying about the tan that was going to show off on my skin. I was trying my best to enjoy this ‘relaxing’ sunbathing and hot sauna of my car. I stopped the car at a signal and started adjusting the AC when my eyes fell on the road divider next to me. My heart stopped. A little boy, same age as my son, was sitting on the divider. His body was frail and dark, shoulders sinking and eyes lost in the eternal traffic ahead of him. The hot blistering sun seemed to make absolutely no difference to him. My struggle to cool off in my AC car seemed extremely futile. I kept looking at him and then he suddenly looked back. His dark black eyes pierce