He strained his eyes further to pierce the veil but to no avail. As desperation quickly turned into utter helplessness a sense of calmness pervaded his body. The warmth of his chanced solitude soon thrust him into the intricate web of emotions and suppressed memories. It had become even more complex with time. As the stranger inside caressed him a smile smeared his face. The blissfulness was however short-lived; the envy of time shattered the silence in the room. Pulling over the cloak of darkness on his semi-naked body he lit up the last cigarette. The sudden bright spark evoked a swift reaction as the shy darkness succored it. Taking a few quick puffs he headed for the balcony and quickly settled on the reclining chair. As his eyes settled on the distant faint light, the subtle delineation of nightly creatures mesmerized him. The streets were empty except for the odd soul occasionally filling up the void. Does filling up a void implies leaving behind a void elsewhere, he wondered. Disturbed by the thought he closed his eyes but it only conjured up images which left him bleeding. As he closed his eyes, his mind traversed down the deep trenches of memory and made a rude halt at an almost forgotten event four lost souls involved in a passionate discussion in the wee hours of the morning. "Don't you feel the pangs of disappointment? I mean…" The forlorn youth enquired. Turning back the guy in black and white with a dazed look answered nonchalantly,"Reality is like a fistful of sand. the more you try to grasp it the more it slips out leaving you bleeding. just dismiss it!" The words seemed to pierce his heart. Infatuated with an unknown desire he had madly pursued it. All the animate and inanimate objects he had come across were testimony to his relentless pursuit. Yet as his pursuit came closer to a finish, the only realization he had was that of the pursued becoming the pursuer. Yes, it had consumed his very existence -even the thick smoke spiraling out nodded in affirmative. He looked into the window pane -an unfamiliar face looked back at him; a face toughened with time. Warm tears flowed down his cheeks. Perhaps the madness for success had made him a stranger even to himself. 