Neither Awake Nor Asleep

I WAS NEITHER asleep nor awake. Somewhere lost in the middle but my mind was at work. I could sense the happenings around me. Yet not enough to stir me up into motion. I could feel the movement of the legs in the periphery of my bed, perhaps those pairs belonged to my wife or my son, who wandered there for reasons best known to them. I could hear the hustle and bustle of utensils, probably being washed in the kitchen, distant chatter of my wife talking to someone over the phone and that of the individuals from the Television - My son's habit to watch while downing his breakfast before his online school. Yet I laid motionless.

Suddenly, something purred and hummed. Aloud enough to catch my mind's attention. My first thought was, "how did a cat get into my house?". Not possible, never seen one in the vicinity. And I have no pets. The noise also created a slight vibration on my pillow where my head rested. The incessant humming and purring did not stop and voided my state - somewhere being in between asleep or awake. With some reluctance, I lifted my heavy head to figure the cause of this nuisance. The brightness of the sunlight hit my face or rather hit the pupils of my eyes which hid behind my eye-lids. For a moment, I was blinded by the glistening light that filled my bedroom. 

With my head still partly lifted, I scanned the sharpness of the rays that hit my gallery. I wanted to ascertain how far the world has moved or how late I was to start my day. The crispy texture of the rays falling on my gallery and the area beyond alarmed me. The blurriness and husk in the air caused due to the fog of winter mornings were clearly missing. Soon it was going to be noon. 

My head that still felt heavier, being the victim of the in-house revelry last night, warranted specifics to ascertain what my eye-sight had just concluded. With no other peculiar movements, I stretched my hand to fetch my phone. It sat on the dressing table placed next to my bed. The wooden edges of either - my bed and dressing table almost kissed each other. As soon as I picked the phone my hands felt the vibration, Ah, I figured the culprit - the cause of the nuisance. There were several messages and emails from my colleagues, and yes a couple of missed calls too. It felt as if the BUCK DID STOP WITH ME.

Then, a mere glance at the digits of my phone's clock shook me up. The reality sunk in and I shed my blanket that covered my body and sat upright resting on my knees which was still touching the mattress. With my eyes affixed on the ceiling, my brows knitted and my mind still working tried to contemplate my next steps.

"Should I rush to my desk and attend the pressing matters? OR Should I stick to my morning rituals, take a quick shower and then attend these pressing matters?"

Of course, I chose the latter. 

The COVID-19 pandemic had already brought offices to our homes. Here, rushing to my desk only meant a couple of flight of steps to reach the spare room which I had turned into my desk or workspace. So, the pressing matters could wait for a few more minutes. Had I chosen otherwise, my mind wouldn't have functioned effectively. It would have had been like a stale food that gets nowhere but certainly gets trashed. I didn't want to take that risk. 

A pour of quick shower did its work. The brightness of the light that poked my eyes erstwhile now appeared to be welcoming. Though, the major portion of morning was gone but the atmosphere was cold enough to give me an experience of the crispy and flaky coolant of the early morning air, as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom. 

I got ready and was indeed ready to roar. I rushed to my desk to find my laptop and its charger, phone and its charger, necessary stationery and to my surprise the tray loaded with food and hot beverage. Thought, the tray was not a regular member of my desk but I didn't mind its presence for what it carried - A couple of piping hot and lip-smacking French toasts and a medium sized cup of ginger tea filled up to its brim. The smoke as a result of these two items being hot filled my workspace with an irresistible aroma. The food and tea, indeed, didn't appear there by magic. However, they were my wife's doings who, like always, kept a close watch on my schedule and wouldn't want to start my day with empty stomach. 

I devoured the toasts in a couple of morsels and had just two sips of tea. I preserved some for later so that I can have a few sips while working and finally I set my fingers on the keyboard to begin.