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Thursday, October 11, 2018

THE FLOATING DIARY (Short Story Journal – 29): A trip to Wonderland

If you don’t know where you are going, any road can take you there”, I read this quote when I was a little boy. At that age, the lines of the book and the fantasy of “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland” struck my world of imagination with a huge knock-knock to dream about the impossible!

Today, as I sit and write my journal and look back at those days, I feel amused by the amount of energy and enthusiasm I had to dream about a trip to the Wonderland! I won’t write about any experience today. Instead, I would write about a dream journey that my heart truly desires!

Today morning, I found the copy of the book amid my belongings. Baba had gifted it to me when I was about ten years old. Yet, as I grew up, every time I read the book, I had a different realization. Throughout my life I had dreamt of traveling to so many places, to experience so many cultures, but deep within my subconscious, there is one place that I yearned to visit… Alice’s Wonderland!

In the morning, I sat at my desk and read through the book. I, Pravin, victim of an impending amnesia, a man who captures his life in his journal to live it all over again when time will wipe away all my memories! A peculiar fact about life is that it is so unpredictable, so chaotic, yet so rhythmic and lyrical. I sat and wondered about how so many things happen around us that is beyond our control, yet we wish to control it with our mortal powers. Alice’s Wonderland is all about that chaotic saga and unpredictable journey that makes our lives worth living.

I loved the line, “If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t…” As a child it amused me. As an adult it fascinated me.

The line is so relevant. Deep within my heart I, too, want to visit the Wonderland and make everything a “Nonsense”! My losses, my gains, my love, my worries… everything would become a nonsense! I want to meet the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, the King of Hearts, the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit and every crazy character in that world which blooms in the innocent mind of a young child… the world of dream, the Dreamland, the Wonderland!

In that world, maybe, the Mad Hatter would tell me, “The is a place like no place on earth. A land full of wonder, mystery and danger! Some say, to survive it, you need to be as mad as a hatter. Which, luckily, I am.”

I want to be as mad as the Mad Hatter! I want to go as crazy as Alice and live a few days in that world of pandemonium and confusion. Perhaps, that is what we all need to be truly happy! Those who don’t believe in magic, would never find it. That is the reason why I wish to be there, in Wonderland and believe in the magic of LIFE.

The Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad?
Alice: I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.

I can’t go back to yesterday, because I was a different person then”, I read, realized and felt a rejuvenated energy within myself to face my pains. I never had a BucketList for myself. I never thought that I will run out of time! Yet, we all do so. That is the reason why I want to visit Wonderland, where anything is possible. I want to believe that there are drinks that make you shrink. There are foods that make you grow! And there are animals that can talk! This is so maddening, this is so crazy… and I want to be a part of it!

My mind is in a completely different state of ecstasy now. I must end my journal entry here, tonight. Perhaps, because I am going mad with my imagination! However, the yearning to see the beautiful world of Alice remains strong within me. I don’t know whether this dream will ever come true. I don’t know what I will understand when I read today’s journal after another year. However, this chaos, this confusion, this cacophony is perhaps what life teaches us! It is sweet, it is sour, it is a tasty tangy jumble of all flavors.

I am sure, when I will read this journal again, there would be glint of a smile (maybe like the Cheshire Cat) on my face! Good Night, and happy dreaming. May we all are able to visit Wonderland, someday.

****



N.B. This is an entry for #TheBlindList – A Blind Date with the World. It is Lufthansa’s exciting new campaign contest on indiBlogger. #SayYesToTheWorld.

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