The Theory of Nothingness
It was a cold winter evening. A woman, in her late thirties, walks down a street in New Delhi. She took a mobile device from her bag and opened an e-hailing app on it searching for a ride. After fiddling with the mobile screen for a few moments she dialled a number, the cab driver picked the call on the other end and told her that he would be reaching within 10 minutes.
After a few minutes the cab arrived. She opened the door and entered the cab. The driver, a young man, who must be in his mid forties, greeted her while lowering the volume of his cab radio and requested her to enter her destination in the app. She did as she was told and then she asked him about the estimated time to reach the destination. The driver glanced at his mobile screen and after a moment of calculation he gently replied, “25 to 30 minutes utmost, ma’am.”
“Okay!” She uttered.
The driver pulled the gear and the cab was now set in motion again. Out of the window, one could see the increased fog which reduces the visibility on the streets and locals were seen to sit around a bonfire on the sidewalks to get some relief from the cold.
“What a cold day. I’m not sure how you Delhiites deal with its extreme and bizarre weather.” She spoke.
“We are used to it, though it seems a bit scary in the beginning.” After a pause he asked, ”So you are new to this city, Ma’am?”
“Not really. I visit here occasionally for my science conferences.” She told him.
“Oh, you are a scientist?” He inquired.
“Yes, I’m a physicist, a student of quantum mechanics.” She answered.
“Quantum! Does it mean the ones who study the origin of the universe, black holes, big bang and stuff like that?” He was inquisitive.
“Yes kind of, but basically it deals with behavior of photons, electrons and other particles on the atomic and subatomic level that make up the universe.” She tried to clarify.
“That sounds mystifying.” He chuckled a little. “Study things that are not even visible. You really find that interesting?”
“Yes, very much. As for myself, I have been researching a hypothetical particle called Tachyon, which is believed to move faster than the speed of light and also forms a basis for the theory of time travel.” She explained.
“Oh! So is it really possible to travel in time with that Tachnon particle? Pardon me for asking, I am just curious.” He expressed.
“That’s okay. Actually it’s just a theory for the present and maybe, it will be possible some day to travel in time or to send messages to the past, but it surely will be nothing sort of a miracle you know, because when science creates something, it is done with a proper logic and hence making it quite obvious. For example, 100 years back, imagining a device using which we can see and talk to a person hundreds of miles away would be considered impossible, but for today’s generation smartphones are undeniable. Isn’t it?” She explained.
“Yeah, Everything’s impossible until it’s done.” He quoted.
“Exactly.” She agreed.
“Well, I wish you all the best, your family must be proud of yourself.” He said.
On the Mention of the word family she noticed a picture on the dashboard of the car, it was the driver with a woman and a little girl of about 10 years and she knew that they were his wife and his daughter.
“Thanks. I hope they are.” She said with a regret in her voice.
“Why do you say so? I’m sure they are.” He probed.
“Well, actually they are not in this world anymore. My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was only 7, my father worked hard, day and night, doing multiple jobs, but couldn’t save her. He has sacrificed so many things in life just to see a smile on my face but he too left me 5 years back.”
“I am very sorry.” He said, feeling contrite.
“It’s alright. Remembering them is in itself a journey to the past. It’s like going back in time to investigate an event, only to find that you were the cause of that event and not sure where it originally came from or what created it resulting in this situation.”
He didn’t knew what to say, so he chose to remain silent.
She sensed that he was getting uneasy, “Can you please up the volume? I like this song very much.” She requested, pointing to the radio.
He increased the volume of the radio,
When you were standing in the wake of devastation,
When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown,
And with the cataclysm raining down
Insides crying, “Save me now”
You were there, impossibly alone...
Both were silent for those moments, and maybe both were thinking about releasing all the bad memories of their past, fears of their future lives and just trying to let it all go.
A few moments later, the cab reached the desired terminus. He turned back slightly and said, “Here’s your stop, Ma’..”
He wasn’t even able to finish the sentence when suddenly his eyes were opened wide in shock. There was no one sitting in the back seat. He opened the door, quickly came out of the cab and looked all around but there was no sign of her.
“How is it possible? How did she leave so fast?” He was thinking.
He was baffled. He checked the app, but to his surprise there was no record of this ride, no record of her call. The app was even showing that he has not moved from the spot for the last 53 minutes.
For once, chaos started rising up in his mind, he slowly got back in the cab and was breathing deeply, his heart thumping loudly. He was staring at nothing, thinking nothing and filled with nothingness.
After a moment, calming himself he once again stared at the passenger seat and noticed an envelope lying there. He picked it up and opened it. It contained a card with a smiley drawn on it, which said, “Thanks for everything, Papa. I love you, always!”
His mind was now slowly coming back to its normal dimensions, the chaos was gradually beginning to settle down.
’Iridescent’ (The song) was arriving to its climax,
Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure’s all you’ve known.
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go.!
Let it go.!!!
He looked up with tears flowing down his cheeks, and whispered slowly,
“I love you too, my child.”
***
