Its been 3 months since I went for a rollercoaster ride. I was literally waiting for the lockdown to ease and the rollercoaster operators to open up!
I booked my slot first thing this morning!
Being a Saturday, I expected a long queue! Was prepared with a mask and of course for the social distancing as well!
Fortunately, there was no queue. Was the first person to get on the ride!
The moment I sat on the dreaded seat, the operator politely requested me to remove my mask as it hindered his rollercoaster! I wondered why, but obliged!
He then pushed a couple of levers. The seat went up; I buckled up. I was moving in my seat uncomfortably. He asked me to relax and let go of the fear!
What followed next was nearly a 15 mins non-stop turmoil within. The edge of the seat thriller! The squeaking of the metals; the water splashes in between; the hot air blows; the butterflies in the tummy.
Literally, the feeling of just stopping everything in the middle and running away!
… but finally it was over! What a relief! I felt a little lighter… a lot lighter in fact… almost as if couple of tons of weight has been offloaded from top of my head. I wiped my sweat. Finally, I could feel a slight breeze in the gap between my head and the ears. A slight tickling sensation at the back of the neck as well…
While getting down from the roller coaster, I gave a thankful look to the ride operator. He gulped some water. He gave back “Gala Sabka Sooktha Hai, Darr Sabko Lagta Hai” kinda look.
The feeling was mutual 
PS: Not that going for a hair cut was any less fearful before lockdown! But after lockdown, the experience is quantum times higher! Earlier, the fear was whether the hairdresser would understand what I would say! But now, its “Damn it, do what you want to do with my hair, but don’t dare cough or sneeze when I am around”! 
#LockDownStories#CoronaEverywhere#LivingWithTheEnemy#SummerOf2020 — 
feeling relaxed.
(Published on FB sometime in the middle of 2020!)
