She tells me about the antics her pets did today, and the meal she had.

There was a visitor at home, she says, while Lionel Richie sings in the background.

She’s got a new lip shade; she wants my opinion on it. I tell her it brings out her electric blue eyes.

Another old man tells me about the days of his life,

When things were simpler.

He’s proud of his little town, away from the urban strife,

And the pond in front of his house.

He’s got fishes swimming there, beneath the summer’s heat.

He’s watched some of the movies I talk about.

“Dear friend,” he says. “I’m waiting for spring to arrive. My joints ache.”

A teenager says he wants to be a football player.

His eyes are bright with curiosity and wonder.

He reads, he plays, he plays the drums.

He’s got a poster of his favourite sportsperson up on his bedroom wall.

A lady in a blue saree cooks a meal.

Like every day, she is meticulous.

She dreams of having her own restaurant with her grandma’s recipes on the menu, a family legacy to manifest.

She wipes sweat off her forehead; the edge of her pallu is worn out, just like the grinder in which she grinds the magical spices.

In another kitchen, a son learns to make the best meals.

Every day.

Gender roles do not exist in his family, breaking the old array.

A confused teenager tells me about the crush she has and how she really, really wants to talk to him.

I see the twinkle in her eyes when her phone blinks and he’s texted her.

In the realm of young love, their connection begins to stir.

Someone talks about his day at work.

He has big dreams.

I tell him he’ll make it.

We all do, eventually.

And the other day, the boy next door talked to me about how he met his soulmate.

I roll my eyes and chuckle because it is the third time this month he’s found his soulmate.

In every person, countless tales reside.

Their lives, woven by dreams, big and small.

Their stories, uniquely theirs, in this vast universe we’ve known.

Isn’t it incredible that your story is yours alone?

This free verse poem is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023