He walked out of his home, smiled at the girl opposite door, but did not wait to stop and talk, after all
‘What would people say if they saw him talking to the girl next door?’
At the office, he cracked jokes and was a fun-loving guy, but only when his juniors were around, with his boss and seniors he was a serious guy, after all,
‘What would they think about him if he joked and fooled around?’
He reached home at a decent time, and hardly ever went out or had friends over, after all,
‘What would people say if they heard noises from his house or saw him coming home late?’
When the lockdown came, this pattern of living in a shell became deeper. With no excuse to step out of the house, he craved for his mind to worry about
‘What would people say or think?’
With no human interaction for weeks, the only thoughts were of
what he could have done and then what he could, would, and should do with his behavior patterns now.
Once the pandemic settled and life was to settle into its previous pattern again, he befriended the girl next door, became the office entertainer, and went out more, even after work hours. He was finally living for himself. After all, he had realized,
‘Who cared what people would say or think if you weren’t happy yourself?’ ‘What was life with or without lockdown, if your heart and mind itself is restrained and locked down?’
Thank you for reading. Do check out my other similar stories.
A Rustic Mind 