The wind tugged at my coat;
First gentle, then fierce.
I knew it was useless to fight
And so I gave in.
It swept me off of my feet
And pushed me back into long lost years.
Not sure how far back it threw me,
But once I got over the queasiness
I found myself back in my old school grounds
Among old school friends,
During old school days.
The old, better part of my life.
Laughing, talking, teasing
As though we never parted ways.
I saw boys steal glances at their first crush,
Girls still naive and sweet and kind,
Best friends exchanged inside jokes,
Whole groups of kids burst out laughing
Not at someone- but because they were happy.
Happy and free.
I lingered in their midst- watching them,
But then I found them watching me.
Looking at me the same way I look at myself–
Confused.
One of my friends, who I haven’t spoken to in years,
Walks upto me and says,
“You’ve changed. Are you fine?”
With that I was thrown forward once more,
Back to the balcony I was standing in.
A solitary tear trickled down my cheek.
Tears of joy or pain?
One tear led to another
And before I knew it, I broke down
As though I was a child.
But I knew I wasn’t-
I had changed.
For better or for worse?

That question remains.