Floating Worlds

"Aren't you tired of running by now, Ruby?" "Shiv, there is a difference between running and staying. Also, sometimes you run out of fear and sometimes you run because you finally can. Like a horse running wild on a field. Merely because it can." Ruby Khanna, a former scriptwriter and Empty Nester is going through a mid-life crisis. Her coping mechanisms consist of conjuring up sexual fantasies, escaping into imaginary worlds and self-sabotaging her existing marriage. But Ruby has always been an escapist, even as a child, seamlessly travelling between past and present and unable to differentiate between reality and phantasm. Infatuated with Shiv, a younger psychiatrist, she continues to mentally unravel till her frustrated husband, Kabir demands a divorce, Ruby is then forced to begin her healing journey, guided by Raghu, an adman turned spiritual guru. In order to move ahead, Ruby must first stop running away to face her fragmented selves. She finds a sense of acceptance at her aunt's home in Mashobra, where she meets the free-spirited Riyaz, who teaches her how to live without judgement. When she attends a spiritual retreat on reclaiming the Feminine Goddess in Narkanda, Ruby bonds with other women just like her and learns to release her past trauma. But things get precarious once again when she is forced to make a difficult choice. Will Ruby continue living in imaginary worlds or finally confront her reality? Cover Art © Anita Saran. All rights reserved.