I was out for a bath. As i came back to my room, my cell beeped. Was a message from Frikol. Dude if you're reading this, man thanx a lot for the message. I'm surprised you remember today. Yes today it was that we landed in the village of Orsha. I still remember the wintry cold night. I remember the snow covering the whole landscape, glistening in moonlight. Yes we were happy, for we'd finally reached the blue planet. But it was also a time of parting for us. And the hour was sad.

Its been 20 long years from then on. And today is the twenty first time i recall that night. 20 years of disillusionment is all i can claim them to be. I have seen the hate that tears apart this world and i've seen heartening solidarity in whole nations coming together in times of grief. Its been a mixed time for me here. And humans are very complex creatures. Most of all today as i sit back and think of all that has passed me. I feel old, i feel like the better times of my share of time here on this planet slipping away.

Today is cold and dank. The streets are wet and as i was walking back from class i saw the neon street lights reflected off the wet road. I was smoking a cigarette. It was a romantic experience. No i don't mean that i'd have loved to walk down the road with a female. I mean to say that the feeling of walking dwon the way i was, alone and lost in the picture was complete. There was sheer joy in the whole setting and it required nothing more to fulfill its completeness.

Today is your birhtday, yes and i'm happy the way it has been till now. Its very different now, not like it used to be when you were a kid. You'd have all your friends come over for a birthday bash. It used to be a day looked forward to. You were the hero that day. The guy of the moment. Everyone form your aunt, to your grandmother to the even the driver doted on you today. All your friends got together and you'd play hide and seek or darkroom, and run amok. Turn the house upside down. It'd be a day of gifts. And i remember your first Moby Dick and The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer. And i remember your mild crush on Aditi. Ofcourse it was so innocent then and so harmless. I remember all the birthday games too. Tailing the donkey and others of the sort. I remember that one in particular when you'd looked up the recipe of butterfly sandwiches in The Telegraph and asked your mother to make them for your friends. And she made the most beautiful butterflies you'd ever seen.

Happy Birthday son...