SLEIGHT... avery short story (?)

SLEIGHT

If I stared at it long enough and hard enough, I could write a story about it. Or maybe fill a page describing it.

I could conjure its history. I could give it a life. A form- an entity- all imagined.

I could make it soar in the sky. Swim in shallow waters. Sing to its sweetheart. March onwards tirelessly. Row a boat gently over meandering waters. Blush. Savor the first rays of the rising sun. Reap a harvest. Devour mangoes. Play in the fields.

I could make it rest in its mother’s lap. Chat with its father. Be Superman. Tend cattle. I could show through it, the history of man. The futility of war. The grace of dolphins. Scavenging vultures.

Sailing boats. Screeching gulls.

The warmth of friendship. True love. Anger, jealousy, suspicion.

Truth and deceit. Valor and cowardice. Joy and tears.

If I tried hard enough, I could do it. And you would never know I was only describing a portrait of a steam train.

18th October, 2000.
In compartment C2 of the Shatabdi Express to Chandigarh.
Venkat