Entry #55

Fresh Air
by Navatha Rakeesh


It had just stopped raining. The clouds started to clear out and the sun was about to set. Nina strolled her way through the pavement and approached the edge of the road. Scattered earthworms lay everywhere on the pavement, most of them half crushed by the pedestrians, rest just glad to be alive. She got on to a pathway leading into the woodlands. First, it was just a few trees but then it was getting quite dense. She kept strolling until she abruptly reached a small clearing and stopped in her tracks to observe the surroundings. Mystified by the bunch of pine trees that rose around her, she dreamily pulled a twig out of a fallen branch and made random impressions on the ground. Her lips broke into a smile. Sun rays were beaming through the canopy and penetrating their last chances into the rain drops that discreetly remained on the grass. Birds were hustling back to their nests. The smell of moist earth lingered still very fresh in the air. Nina wished this moment would not seize.

"Hope you all enjoyed the transformation to the most serene place in your mind. Now you can all open your eyes!” With the instructor’s voice, Nina came back to reality of 50 other people squatted on their yoga mats around her. A deep breathing exercise later, she made her way out to the tube station and into the humdrums of her daily life.