Yet another Sunday. The thought of a holiday gives immense pleasure. Without jotting down, I tell myself, I am going to take a break from work. There are no prior appointments, there is no alarm, and there are no ringing phones.

I wake up on a fresh note. And I smile to myself. “It’s Sunday!”

The day begins well. Taking more time than usual, I relax with the newspaper and enjoy the music playing in the background. A little later into the morning, I walk into the kitchen. I set my agenda for the day, mechanically. Daily chores are taken care off. Cooking, clearing, and cleaning follows naturally.

The listed shopping, outing and meeting with friends happen along the way. The day progresses as desired. There is ample time in hand. So we decide to sort out some of our weekly plans ahead. Mentally take note of weekdays and organise the “what to cook” and “what to wear” bit of necessity. Further, the books, games and television fill in.

Time still seems to have granted us extra hours. That’s when realisation hit me. Staring into the bleak evening sky, I rewind the day’s events. The alarm did not ring. I did wake up at my usual time. The day might have begun differently, but the routine remained the same.

A beautiful illusion my body and mind agreed upon. Convinced that I have taken a break, I relaxed to the lovely Sunday. And I hear myself humming, Just an Illusion (Imagination)

Never let your feelings get you down
Open up your eyes and look around
It’s just an illusion, illusion, illusion.