Do you ever wonder how different we all are? Not just as a personality but with everything in between. How one’s trash is truly an other’s gold. How one’s winter is another’s summer. Strange indeed. If everyone could be described in the three basic colours, none of the others would exist. The colour blue might mean nothing but the sky for you while it might mean the colour of her dress the first time he saw her, for him a dish might just be an expensive meal in a restaurant but for her, it might be a reminder of a home she can never return to.
A phrase as simple as ‘ ti amo ‘ might mean little to you but for them, it might be the only thing they can tattoo on their body and heart to declare their love for each other. The rain might just be a reason for you to bring out an umbrella and find shelter but for her, it might finally mean letting go of all the things that held her back. The book you read two days ago might just be another one on your shelf that you might one day forget, but for him it might be the only thing keeping him afloat.
The song you heard in the store might just be a noise that disturbs you and your lover as you shop on by, but for her it might be a blessing for it might cover up her decaying thoughts for a while. The peanut seller might mean just an ‘annoying seller’ to you as he offers you hot, roasted ones as you rush towards your train, but for her it might be the only warmth she received that day. A handshake might just mean an introduction to you and your friend, but for them it might mean a new beginning and a possibility for the future.
We seldom know how important one thing is to another, we cannot gauge how important a particular feeling is to someone, all we can do is appreciate that they like the smell of the leaf than that of the flower, even though it doesn’t make sense to us and that ‘their summer’ is sitting by the fire on a winter evening roasting marshmallows and not swimming by the river and having an ice-cream.
–Anagha Bharadwaj
