Daddy told me once...

Are you sure about it?

Yes.

I think you should give it a second thought. You can take your time. I will be fine with it.

Thanks Sam. But I don’t really need to do that. I have thought it well and this is precisely what I want.

Alright then, I will put your papers for process. The only thing I would want to tell you is, you have a lot of talent. Don’t let it go waste.

Thanks Sam. I will always remember your words. By when can I expect my relieving letter to be issued?

By five this evening. Are you in a hurry?

No. Not really. No more!

Sam was the HR person who more so served the purpose of a scarecrow at my employer’s. If Sam had booked a meeting with a junior employee, he probably should sign his resignation before the meeting took place. For seniors like us, if there was a meeting booked with him, it was a danger signal for all the subordinates. As I walked out of the meeting room, my steps felt light and head relaxed. My inner self kept yay-ing and why not? I had just embarked upon the journey of my life. A life that appeared straight out of my dreams.

I recall a similar feeling when I was eight years old. One night I dreamt of a doll that was walking. I woke up startled the next morning for I had never seen a doll that could walk (my dragging them across the room was a different story!)  I narrated the spectacular dream to my dad while he shaved in front of the sink I had just started reaching up to.  Brimming with curiosity, I had asked “What are dreams, daddy?”

“They are God’s messages, baby! Now rush in for a shower and get ready for school. Mom will be chasing you any minute now.”

When dad returned from work that day, he bought a big parcel along. I ran to grab the first look of the parcel. Dad gave it to me saying it was for me. As I opened the box, a pretty doll lied with her eyes shut. Charged up with excitement, I freed her from the magnificent box to seat her on my study table but her legs did not move.

She does not sit, daddy?  

No. She walks.

Really daddy? Please make her walk! Fast daddy, fast!

As the doll walked around like everyone else in the room, I hugged daddy tight and kissed him a thank you. 

That was when dad had told me, Dreams do come true and yours did, too.

I grew up with all my fancies fulfilled, was blessed to have everything I could ask for and probably, that too, without dreaming of them. Maybe that was the reason why the charisma of dreams lost its meaning to me.

“Hey! You have put down your papers, I have been told. What’s next?”

This was JD, the recruitment head.

Yes JD. Going for a sabbatical. Purely for pleasure.

Oh damn! And I will have to close another position, now. You are merciless, pretty lady!, he said with his signature grin that could at best make me command him to get lost. But the corporate life sucks at it. You work with people who don’t match up with your IQ and exchange greetings with people you wish to kill right away. Corporate is merciless. Either you adapt or they terminate. Getting hold of my critical analysis, I smiled bright thinking this cruel world will only belong to my past now. Another round of yay-ing and why not!

As the day drew closer I was brimming with energy planning what all I would do during the sabbatical period. Writing down my experience, however, topped the list. As I walked out of the office, I could feel the spring in my steps. The cool October evening felt like an open sky where I could swim and glide, enjoy the storms and tide and set my own world.

 Yes! The world awaited and I had just arrived!