Breaking Out

I stood at the window, looking out, at a distance I could see new buildings being built. The big cranes lifting materials up to the top. I wondered, what might be going in the crane operator’s head. I thought of him as being on top of the world but at the end of the day he was just a worker. As I was lost in thoughts, staring at the crane, I realized something, wasn’t I also the same in some way or the other. 

Lost in thoughts I stood there not knowing what was going around me. I was taken back to reality by loud chatter of people, talking with each other. Their language felt alien to me, I spoke the same language though, but I heard and understood nothing. People now had formed a circle around a table. Someone placed a cake in the center. I was still gazing at the cranes, when I felt a hand on my shoulders. I turned around and the hand gripped my shoulders. I was pushed into the center of the circle. I saw the cake with my name on it. 

It was time for drama to being. Expressionless faces of people now had smiles, fake smiles to be precise. People praised me. There was some kind of artificial excitement. Some even hugged me. For a brief moment I was treated like celebrity. Now it was my turn to be dramatic. I too put on fake smile too, laughed, got excited. The cake was cut. People had their share. They then carried on to their usual work like nothing had happened. I was left alone. 

I turned back, and looked at the crane far in the distant. It stood on the top of incomplete building making the building taller, day by day. When the building was complete, crane would be taken out as if it never existed. It would be lost in the glory of the building. People would admire the building not the crane that helped to get it that high. 

That night, I could not sleep. Was I the crane?