Heard someone yell – “quo vadis?” It did not take long for me to recognize the voice – Abinash, my ex-colleague, was trying to catch up with me from behind.
“Hi! Nowhere to be precise,” I responded while turning back, with an almost yelling voice, considering the distance I saw between Abinash and me. In fact, I was not going anywhere as such. I was out on a stroll after a long afternoon siesta, and considering the weather was good, I intended to walk a bit longer. Now that Abinash had joined me, I was worried that my solitary walk would not last any further.
As Abinash caught up, I asked him the same question – “quo vadis?”
“I don’t know,” Abinash replied in a whimper, “I have been trying to find out that for the past decade or so!”
We both laughed as we continued to walk together. We were catching up after a bit of time, and we spent the first few minutes of our walk going over the developments in each other’s lives since we last met at our graduate school reunion.
And then, quite abruptly, Abinash asked, “Don’t you think it is quite difficult to answer that initial question we asked each other a few moments ago?”
“Quo vadis?”, I tried to confirm.
“Yes!’, said Abinash.
“Ah! Of course,” I said as I tried to maneuver around a small pothole while taking my next step. “For ages, several people, including the wisest of the wise, have tried their best to find an answer to that question. While some might have succeeded, to the best of my knowledge and belief, most of them have failed,” I stopped and waited for Abinash to respond. Abinash was good at winning elocution and debate competitions, and I was curious to see how he would engage in this particular discussion.
Abinash, however, said nothing. He walked on, eyes fixed on the horizon where the sun was slipping behind the rooftops.
“Perhaps,” he said, “the question was never meant to be answered. Perhaps it was meant to be carried.”
“Carried where?” I asked.
He smiled, a strange, unfamiliar smile. “That depends on who is asking, and from which direction.”
Before I could respond, he stopped at the crossroads ahead, glanced at his smartwatch, and said, “OK, Brother! I have to take my turn here, as I am sure where I am going today! And, unless I go this way and complete my work, I will not be allowed to enter our home by my Srimati Ji!”
We both had a hearty laugh as Abinash said goodbye and took the left turn.
I stood there, my solitary walk restored, yet somehow I no longer knew which way I had been going.
