Ahaan was 39 and always running late. No, not to work. In fact, he was the first one to reach the office every day. Even at his yoga class, Ahaan would arrive before anyone else. It was life where he was late. Especially, when it came to achieving the milestones of his life, he was always running behind, trying his best to catch up.
Ahaan earned his first penny at the age of 25, much later than most people his age. At 33, he had his first breakup—at a time when most of his friends were either married or had become parents. Some were even tying the knot for the second time, while others were busy planning their next vacation. But even six years after his break-up, Ahaan was single, stuck in the same city, and in the same job, which he had planned to quit long ago to pursue his greatest passion—write stories.
Ahaan loved stories, where, thanks to the power of imagination, anything can happen. It was his dream to write stories that could leave people hopeful and inspired. But for him, this was an impossible goal. Although Ahaan believed in his imagination, he lacked the skills of a writer—someone who knows how to turn fleeting thoughts into captivating words. How can I compete with so many talented writers? He often thought.
It took him two weeks to finish the story. Soon, he wrote another, and then another.
Two weeks before his 40th birthday, he decided to write something for himself. After all, there was no one more hopeless and in search of inspiration than him. Ahaan started writing a story about a character who was his age, and like him, always late. Page after page, he wrote about the character’s weaknesses, failures, self-doubt, self-pity, and strengths that made him unique. It was difficult to tell if Ahaan was writing or venting. Ahaan’s protagonist was a character just like him, who managed to find happiness despite all odds. He wanted to believe that it is never too late to start anew.
It took him two weeks to finish the story. Soon, he wrote another, and then another. In a span of two months, Ahaan finished an anthology of eight short stories, all featuring the same character. The rights to one of them were bought by a producer who wanted to adapt his work into a feature film. In the years to come, he wrote tirelessly. He pursued milestone after milestone. Not to catch up anymore, but to live life!