Swarnika Nimje

MP20CD7228 – Grey Hyundai i10 Our first car. The one Papa learnt to drive in. The one Mummy tried her hands at. The one in which I and my little brother, who isn’t so little anymore, learnt to drive. Our little elephant. I still remember the day it came home,  the joy and excitement that filled the air. When it was new, we’d double-check the locks every time, just to be sure. We remember how carefully we’d drive through traffic, eyes alert from every side, not a single dent tolerated. It witnessed endless family debates over whether the AC should be on or off. Its music system evolved with us, from CDs to aux cables to Bluetooth, syncing with our changing moods, our changing lives. Its windows demanded a bit of arm exercise, rolling up and down by hand, but it never bothered us. Most Sundays, we’d join the cleaning ritual, washing and wiping until it gleamed like new. And then one fine day, came the first dent, a small one, and with it, the acceptance that our ...

Between night and day,  the world paused. Winter chills. The first rays of sun. That sacred silence of 5 a.m. streets empty, the world asleep, one single soul running through the quiet. Scary. Yet freeing. No pressure. No one to bother. No eyes watching. No expectations. Just me, only me. That moment, when the air brushed against my face, heart racing, blood surging through every inch of me, reminding me I was alive. Then the music comes on, and I’m gone. Steps syncing to the beats, breath aligning with rhythm. Running. Breathing. Flying. Closer to myself. Farther from everything else. And that, that’s what I miss. The bruises and pains. The mess, the sweat - all of it. The chaos that somehow felt like peace. The stillness in the motion. The freedom in the fatigue. The quiet joy of being just me. 07.10.2025