It feels strange. Not the same feeling all over again. Gone is the sense of relief. Gone with it is also the feeling of familiarity. 2 years. At the risk of sounding cliched, I would say they passed pretty quickly. Not quickly like a speeding ferrari, but quickly like a mumbai local. The one which involves a lot of effort in getting in. One which is crowded with experiences, a whirlwind in minutes. The last day of classes felt a bit awkward. There, that went the last lecture in a proper classroom. It was as if you have completed the sentence. Full stop. A feeling that the paragraph of life has changed. But the book was still the same.
I did not feel out of place when I left for a short vacation. But now, its different. I already feel as a stranger. The words are already past tense, the jokes nostalgic, the sights count memories, the sounds number moments. Any and all attempts at normalcy are stillborn. The breakfast does not feel the same. Nor does the tea. It has changed. Or I have changed. Perhaps the times have changed. It almost feels like an alumni meet. The questions today are markedly different. The whys and the hows have been replaced by the wheres and the whens. And this is what marks the final goodbye. A goodbye which already happened, when no one was looking. Its time now, to start a new book.
