The New Beginning..!!!

Ron's work at California was relatively easy. He had to interact with the clients and pass on the implementation details to the team back at his workplace. He had been part of the project since the start and could easily translate the client requirements to the implementation team. This made everyone's work easy. However, Ron took a little while to adjust to the conditions in Cal. Accommodation, climate, food, travel, culture, people (a.k.a Jet Lag) - everything was a problem to start with. He had not been out of home for long, never had the necessity to cook his meal or stay alone at a place. Mom and Dad were part of his system. The easier nature of work helped him to get settled in quicker.

For the first few days he did not have much time to think about his dreams. He was too pre-occupied with the newer conditions & work. But once he got accustomed, he started thinking more about Laura and his dreams of Cal. He went to all places where he had dreamt of. He went up the East Bay hills on a misty morning, stood there till sunrise to see the Golden Gate Bridge in those new born rays. He felt a sense of happiness & pain at the same time. Tears appeared in his eyes. He went around Cal University campus, holding the imaginary hand of Laura, at times speaking to himself as if he was speaking to Laura.

He got friendly with a few people around his home (guest house of his company). They helped him get more social, for it was essential to be social to live at Cal. He admired the people he met; he wondered about their lives and the way they tackle their hardships. They were able to sincerely greet & wish luck to their ex-partners, take the pain of a dead partner and live the life the way they had imagined, move on after the death of their would-have-been partners, son/daughter-in-laws. Ron took a lot of positives from the western outlook to life. Ron had started to change, influenced mostly by the people around him. The part of Ron which wanted to die to be with Laura, began to fade away. He realized that to be truthful to the Love he had for Laura, he need to Live on and to show how much he loved her through his life.

He drew new energies from his social contacts he built up there. The touch of gloom was not too be seen any more. He was more pleasant, his interactions with people increased, he behaved as if he had a point to prove and a purpose in Life. His 3 months of On-site work ended in a flash & before he knew it, it was time to leave back. He thanked all his colleagues and friends there. Before leaving, he went once more to the East Bay Hills before sunrise & waited there. The view of the sunrise was magnificent. Ron had a smile on his face. He knew that lamp inside him had been rekindled. He thanked God for what he has gone through over the last 3 months.

He bought a few things for his mom, dad & lil sis, a few gadgets for his friends, and a box of sweets to distribute to his neighbours. He made a call to home, just before leaving and told them that he was starting back. His mom & dad noticed the change in his voice; they knew that they were getting their son back. He put his luggage into the cab, hugged his friends there & started off to the airport. After a bit of hassle with the clearance for the gadgets, everything was settled. Just before boarding the aircraft, he looked back & smiled. Thanks Cal..!!!