Once upon a time Aab used to live in the biggest city of the country …. and the busiest. He used to work hard, but not too hard. Towards the end of the day, he would sit quietly at a roadside corner (space on corners is also limited in big cities – you have to pay for it) and watch everyone rushing by. He would see people getting angry when traffic comes to a standstill, he would see human beings literally bumping into each other and pushing their way through. “They are all in a hurry”, he would muse “obviously they have greater purpose of life than I do”. For Aab hardly every seemed to be in a hurry. He would always adjust to time, but would never expect time to adjust to him.
Aab loves all creatures, because he believes there is something inherently nice about each and every living being. He has a soft corner for human beings, partly because he is one (though many a time he still doubts whether he genuinely is, for he never seems to fit into the mold others expect him to). Yet sadly (or happily?) he has never loved human beings so much that he could get pulled down by their behavior, nor can he feel the ecstasy of being loved and adored. For deep down he has learnt the hard way that humans don’t really love other humans – they love the desire to love, they love the fulfillment of being in love, and they love possessing (even mentally) the object of their love.
The clock tells Aab that it is time to get up from the corner and move on. His body knows where to go, but his heart does not.
