I am standing in the Far East corner of the prestigious Parthenon Hotel; its restaurant section, to be precise. I could scan the entire room from this location, as people moved in and out of the hotel to dine.
I never felt neglected by any of those coming here for a wonderful evening. After all I like to think that way. Every person, good or bad, barbaric or civilized, meets me twice when inside the hall. They come in to the hall coated in the night air, they hand me over their coat and hat.
And when they are done with their dinner, before going out, they shake hands with me, taking back their coats and hats.
Tonight is no different. Only the crowd has grown a bit thicker. There was a hustle in the portico. I could make out the shadows of comfortable sedans and limousines outside. And I could feel the faint aroma of all the cologne and perfume emanating from the guests coming in. The soft halogen lighting adds to the subtlety of the place, ambient to satisfy each and every guest. I witnessed the waiters ushering guests to their tables. When they are properly seated they receive their menus. I can also see them rushing in and out of the kitchens to make and fetch the orders. It was much like a synchronized dance form with a beautiful rhythm of its own.
There were busy people with eyes moving meticulously between their plate and their PDA. There were garrulous people who found it more comfortable to talk than to eat. There were newlyweds who try to pamper each other over a plate of custard or adore each other’s mannerisms so as to win the other’s hearts. There were old couples who sat there and ate, and promptly left the place afterwards, without uttering a word. Even if they did make any sound it must be to the waiter for extra wine or salad.
There were corporate bigwigs sitting round a table and discussing anything and everything below the sun and fixing a monetary value for them. And there were friendly gatherings; the most enjoyable of them all being reunion of old pals. There would be one hell of a bash all over the place.
Today was not particularly interesting as the regular pack of guests showed up like always. Nothing lacked though, all including the usual sentiments ran through. No reunions. No wedding parties. I hate it when things are as ordinary as tonight. Yet like any other day I needed to be a part of it all. I meet and greet each and every one who comes into the restaurant. But I feel like things pass right through me. I feel like I am no longer the part of this world, that I’ am invisible to everyone.
My vision was briefly blurred by a giant fur coat someone handed over to me. I wonder why can’t anyone notice what a humble gentleman, I am. I have a handful of fancy Derby hats. I have a handful of expensive tweed jackets and coats. But none pays any attention to me. I think those are the things people often take as a face value to judge people, instead of knowing what is truly inside.
I readjusted myself to get a good view of the oval table at the middle of the hall. The waiter was ushering a middle aged couple into it. The man had met me at the entrance as usual. I couldn’t help but notice his self important glance and his wife’s helplessness. Now that they are seated only a few tables away, I could get a fairly good picture about them. The lady was fair with sturdy black hair and civilized looks. The man clearly represented the upper echelon of the society.
Plates arrived. Food arrived. They started eating. The gentleman meticulously gobbling in arithmetic chunks of the cuisine, while the lady finding it hard to eat anything at all. Her face said something. Was it neglect? Or was it guilt? I wasn’t sure.
Her eyes reflected unspoken arguments. Those eyelids blackened by lost sleep, covered impeccably by makeup. There was a small grayish black scar on her forehead, covered by her unkempt hair, yet revealing the pain and sore of last night’s fight, I guess. This man, sitting neck deep in silence and eating, had the guts to beat his wife? Humans are the best impersonators, I guess.
What could have possibly made such an elegant lady to raise her voice in the house and made her the prey for shear masculine nerve? My thinking was not that rational. Yet all I could think of was the most rational reason for such a thing. The lady might have raised her voice against this man’s going with another woman. After all, the lady might have got fed up of herself being a silent witness for her husband’s atrocities. After all she might have thought once as a normal emotional human being rather than the tender middle layer of the society. The price for silence is silence only.
The man was busy finishing off his food. Not even once he glanced away from his plate towards his wife. These kinds of men need their wives as an insignia only. I could do nothing about that.
After he finished his dinner, he took off paying a handsome tip. He did wait a millisecond for his wife to catch up with him, but that seemed like a crumb of bread thrown to a stray dog. Now that they were approaching me, I could not help but look away from them.
The gentleman took off his coat and hat was gone in a minute. I wanted to comfort the lady. My hands never reached her. She too went out into the night taking off her robe from my outstretched hands. I could only gaze upon her hair as they reflected the lights from inside the hotel, before she disappeared from my sight.
Time passed. People passed. The centre table was empty again. My eyes were not fixing upon any particular guests thereafter, as my mind roamed around upon unfamiliar faces and robotic smiles.
A breeze of cool night air brought me back to reality as a new guest entered the hall. The air outside was soaked with beautiful smell of perfume. I could make out a girl to my left winking with wonder into the flamboyant ambience of the place. I was not able to see her face. She stood there just inside the hall, dazzled and unsure of what to do next. I could make out her approaching a waiter and asking for the table she was supposed to take. He escorted her to the table in the middle and seated her there. It was then that she turned towards my side, and I saw her face in that golden yellow lighting.
It was worth a sight. A pristine smile hidden away behind those beautiful lips, always ready to pop out, lighting her face up. A caring look in those wide eyes, sharp enough to rob your senses. And a few mischievous locks of hair flying out of place, to mesmerize any onlooker. I was petrified that very moment itself.
She sat there alone for another half an hour. By that time I was lost in her eyes.
An eternal feeling crept through me. A feeling that is so much degraded these days as a tool for betrayal and patronizing. Love, as some call it.
I didn’t care about the whole universe around me, and time had its own way to creep in and out beside me, watching her take breaths of hope and waiting. I prayed that she looked to my side, fix her gaze at me. But who am I to long for such things?
Yes; she was waiting there. Most probably for her boy friend, I guess. Or her fiancé. Her eyes would commute around watching everything else on the room, later pausing again and again into her watch. She denied a drink, respectfully offered by the waiter. She was practically counting seconds, for that lucky one to come to her, to hug her and have dinner with her.
Another hour went. The smile found it harder to pop up out of her lips. The eyes lost their grace as an unsaid melancholy crept in. now they visited her watch more frequently. It’s a bit harsh to say, but I enjoyed it all more now, as she looked more beautiful now.
Now she had her cell phone dwindling in between her hand and her ear. Every time she withdrew her hand in despair, her smile sunk deeper and deeper inside. That face was no longer an angel’s retreat. And someone was responsible for that catastrophe.
Another miserable hour went by. Her eyes now had the gloom of the setting sun. Her mobile phone was finally taking a breath of relief and resting on the table. I could no more take her silence. It was too heartbreaking.
Her sunken eyes sprung back to life when she glanced on the ringing phone. I could see her attending with a face lit up like full moon. I could also make out her smile at its best almost lighting the entire hall. But it didn’t last too long.
Smile faded, eyes drooped and eyebrows sank as she withdrew the phone from her ear. She was all the more sad now. How could have that heartless prick at the other end of the phone break her heart like that. Possibly he has got some other girl to hang out with. Or maybe he was not putting her under any of his priorities. There was enough reason in this world to justify him deserting the girl who loved him. I think reasons are only for those who need them to cover their lies. Maybe he was afraid of her eyes, that he could not resent her looking into her eyes. I could only pity him not knowing what he missed.
She waved to the waiter, paid him a small tip and got ready to leave. She was straining hard to smile formally at the waiter. With slow footsteps she made it to the door. Now she was only a feet away from where I was. I was trying hard to look away from her, but my eyes were glued on her. When she was about to leave out through the door, she paused. Now she was looking directly at me. I was shriveling like a dry vegetable. Yet I couldn’t look away. Her eyes were soaked with unshed tears. She let out a painful sigh. Did she see me ogling her?
I wished I could place my hand over her shoulder and console her. Nothing of that sort happened. She was out through the door and gone into the darkness. I felt a strange vacuum when she was gone. As if a part of me went out through the door. But things are meant to be that way. Humans made it that way. Those who need true love and care are ignored. Those who can genuinely offer true love and care are ignored. I cursed every happy person in that room, that their smiles never had any happiness, that theirs were smiles crafted by the impeccable mechanics of human mind.
I never had a face to make a beautiful grin. I could see that kind of a grin all around me. A grin that could be affixed without any emotion. I never had a heart. Humans with heart never cared to use them, never loved anyone truly and never ever saw their fellow being’s tear. I never had any tear glands. Humans forged tears to make fun of the dead and exploit the weak. I never had legs. Humans had two sturdy legs, yet never had they come closer enough to love or console anyone. I was made of wood. I had a dozen outstretched hands. I never shifted places.
I was a mere coat stand. People hung their coats on me. People left their hats to me. And yet I felt superior to any human.
