Some Unfulfilled Desires

How I longed to wear a bright red sari, slip my hand into yours, and ride through the city in a rickshaw with the hood down. We would have our own little room. I would gaze at you endlessly, drink you in with my eyes. I would want you madly, cherish you with such tenderness, hold you like something precious.

What strange longings people carry, don't they? The very desires that will never be fulfilled—those are the ones we dream of, hanging framed wishes on the walls of our hearts! We know full well that these impossible yearnings we've carefully arranged will never come to pass in this lifetime; yet still we ache for them. We dream that one day, suddenly, miraculously, our wishes will come true! That somehow, through some divine intervention, our heart's most secret longings will take perfect shape!

That beloved sari you've kept folded so carefully in the wardrobe, waiting for someone special, saving it for that particular day when you'll wear it before that particular person—that person will probably never come, or the one you're saving it for doesn't really care much for saris at all.

The person you've imagined taking to some special place, dreaming of wandering there together—they have no desire to visit that place, or perhaps they've already been there with someone else!

The person whose hand you've dreamed of holding while watching the sunset—they feel no stirring of interest in such things!

That special dish you've planned to cook, imagining them sitting before you as you watch with rapt attention while they eat—they might find it inedible, or worse, they've already fallen in love with someone else's version of that very dish!