Monday, June 22, 2009

A Fantasy

I am dreaming about giving up everything and moving to Goa.

I want to live near the sea, in one room with a bathroom and a small kitchen. A bed to sleep in. A table and chair, if possible. The laptop.

We will have little money, of course. We’ll sell off the house and car – and get nothing out of it after paying off the home loan. But how much money do you need to live?

We will cook spare meals. We’ll go to the beach every morning, swim in the ocean, walk on the sand. I will sit in the shade and write, while he sleeps. We will come back when the sun is high up in the heavens, and have lunch. It will be too hot to do anything by then, and of course we won’t be able to afford an AC, so we’ll sleep. We’ll get up in the early evening, before the sun sets, and race to the beach to catch the last rays on the water. We’ll frolic and get wet again. Then sit on the beach sipping tea and letting the wind dry us out, while the stars turn on one by one.

We will hold hands and look at the sea, and talk. There is always so much to talk about. There will be peace, away from the noise and the never-ending race of the city.

And I will write again, and the Guy, perhaps, will get bored and go home. By the time I finally gather up my laptop and walk home, it will have grown quiet. But I won’t be afraid, because I walk down this path every day, and everyone around here knows me.

I will go home to a dimly-lit room, and the Guy will be working on dinner. I will put my arms around him and he will push me away so that he can concentrate.

And then we’ll eat, from one plate, sitting side by side on the bed. Our food will be simple, but lovely. We’ll wash the dishes and then go to bed and make love.

This we will do for many days, maybe a year. I will earn a little, maybe, through freelance writing projects, maybe by sharing my experiences in Goa with the world.

I am not quite sure what the Guy will do in all this while. He will get bored of reading and lazing around. He will take up some kind of work, perhaps. He might open a vegetarian eatery – he loves cooking. He might just work for a few hours at someone else’s. He might take up a more regular job at the nearest town. I can’t quite imagine him happy in any of these roles, and I feel a bit selfish imagining him there, in my dream.

But tomorrow I must go back to my nine-hours-a-day five-days-a-week job, and I don’t know whether it’s made more bearable, or less so, because of this fantasy.

(Written a few months ago)

13 comments:

mindspace said...

beautiful, Unmana. I enjoyed the visual trip in your words..
~Tara

Unmana said...

Thanks, Tara!

dipali said...

This sounds like a fabulous fantasy!
I have friends who are able to run their communications agency while living in Goa, thanks to the Internet:)

Unmana said...

Dipali: I'm afraid I don't have the courage or the smarts to start a business... Do you think your friends might hire me? ;-)

Chicu said...

oh, unmana.
that is so close to a fantasy The One and I share..maybe we will end up as neighbours in a decade or two?

Unmana said...

Chicu: That would be amazing, but I doubt it... as the Guy doesn't share this fantasy! (Though he would do it for me, I don't really want him to...)

But I am living one fantasty now, and grateful for it.

Site manager said...

Ahhhhh that sounds so peaceful and lovely.
I think I want to live in Goa!

Site manager said...

Ahhhhh that sounds so peaceful and lovely.
I think I want to live in Goa!

Unmana said...

Grail: Welcome to the club! ;-)

anumita said...

wow!!
i had similar dreams till i realised i get bored very easily... give me the best and i will start looking for something else in some time...

Unmana said...

Anumita: I'm afraid I'm rather like that too.

Amit said...

'And then we’ll eat, from one plate, sitting side by side on the bed. Our food will be simple, but lovely. We’ll wash the dishes and then go to bed and make love'.

How nice and sweet. Considering that we (me and my wife) have not really made love for now, nearly two years. Boo hoo. Do energy levels go down that much?

Unmana said...

Amit: Now you've got me confused. I thought you were an Amit I knew in real life: but he hasn't been married for two years yet, unless I'm much mistaken!

Two years? Really?