City lights....

I looked at the picture incredulously. Was it me ? Did I actually look like that ? The mirror said a different story altogether.
The picture showed a happier time , smiles without a million crows feet around the eyes, teeth instead of pink baby gums and wispy hair. Ah time....it plays havoc - gives so much and takes away all the bounty!
I slowly turned towards the balcony and headed for the chair, now warmed by the fleeting winter sun. Renu brings me my cup of tea and the book marked midway. The skyline looks almost the same except for a few more highrises  raising their heads and blocking the view of the flyover that used to be clearly visible a few years before. I still remembered how I felt when I first moved in almost half a century back - my first view of the city at night from a highrise , with its shimmering lights and traffic trails. In my mind I was in New York, though I hadn't ever been there. Baba had laughed when I exclaimed childishly "This is like New York !!"
And yes I never visited New York - it still remained in my dreams.
I turned the pages of the book and strangely it was a story based in New york - a multi city tale of love, ambition and mystery. And I wondered why New York ? Maybe it came from the pictures in the calendar that I had as a child of places and the glitter and glamour it reflected. In my mind it was posh and smart and fun! With its nightlife and theatres! And shimmering lights dotting the sky scrapers.
Even now when I placed the sofa I arranged it so that I can watch the lights and moving cars through the huge glass doors. It still reminds me of New York, though I have never been there.
Some places are best in one's imagination like the yarrow visited and yarrow unvisited.
The evening looked good with the last rays of sun brushing the sky = and the pigeons cooed and I just let time slip through.
The picture reminded me of a time long ago...and the night made  city  gradually look pretty with its light.
"Like New York?" I could almost hear Baba's voice laughing.
"Like New York!" I am resolute.
And some dreams are best left as dreams.....