The Gift
It was a brand new Nike cap. It was a gift from Susheel’s wife on his birthday. Jet black with a white streak on the front. A head turner for sure. But it was out of Susheel’s league. Susheel has been a sincere boy since childhood. With hair parted sideways neatly, he would dress in formals and go to work. It had to be a Friday to get Susheel dress up in semi-formals. Wearing a cap would be out of character.
Susheel’s weekends were mundane. His routine for a Saturday would be to sleep till 9 am, go out for a walk in his pajamas, water the plants in his balcony, cook lunch, and sleep again till evening. At times, may be call his parents and listen to his wife’s banter. Susheel was happy but he felt the absence of something in his life. He didn’t know what it was.
It was a Saturday when his birthday gift was delivered by Ezdelivery. Susheel had been unwrapping the gift reluctantly thinking it would be another formal shirt for his office wear collection. He was a little surprised when he found out it was a cap. Surely, he liked it in the first glance but readily wrote it off as he was sure it wasn’t meant for him. When his wife Shikha asked him if he had liked the gift, he lied saying he did.
It was drizzling that Saturday when Susheel got up from his afternoon siesta. Shikha was out with her friends. The cap was peeking out of the delivery box sitting in the corner of the table in the bedroom. Susheel picked up the cap and stood in front of the mirror. When he put the cap on and stared at himself, he could see the colour of his eyes had changed. His skin was glowing. He could hear his heartbeat. He could hear the drizzle outside. He could hear the conversation his neighbours were having one floor below. Susheel decided to go out for a run.
