Pawanraj Sadhwani

His feet pounded the pavement. And thoughts pounded away at his head.

Age and stress had caught up with him, and exercise had been advised. So, he had started running. After all, he had a long way to go - many responsibilities to fulfil. Keeping fit was the reasonable thing to do.

Reasonable. It was a word that defined him. It was the word that had defined his life.

In school, he found he had a way with words. He dreamt of being a writer. But a writer's life was not predictable. It did not guarantee a well-paying, respectable job, said the parents. He had to be reasonable about this, they told him. He enrolled to become an engineer. It was the reasonable thing to do.

There he found that buildings fascinated him. He decided he would open his own design firm when he graduated. But it was risky, everyone said. Surely, any reasonable person would not undertake a risky venture like that? And he was a reasonable person. So, he applied for that government job instead.

He fell in love. Parents were not convinced. He wanted to try and convince them. Then he wanted to run away with her and start a new life - just the two of them. Don't be foolish, she said. Life doesn't work that way. He must let this go - he'll get over the heartbreak, she told him. It had to end. They must not talk anymore - it was not the right thing to do, she said. And so he let it go - let her go. After all, she was being reasonable.

He didn't want to marry any more. It wouldn't be fair to his partner, he thought. Parents told him that was stupid. He couldn't possibly spend all his life alone, they said. He'd learn to love the girl he married. He should not wait too long - because he'd be too old then. Be reasonable, they said. And so, he married a girl they chose.

And now, forty reasonable years later, he had a reasonably successful marriage, a comfortable life, and a decent social standing. His friends thought he was a wonderful person. He was the model son of his proud parents. To any reasonable person, he was successful. He had no reason to be anything but happy.

And there he was. Running. And he wanted to keep running. He wanted to run away from it all. But he was reasonable. And tired. He turned the corner, on the road towards home.