Remembrance

                              REMEMBRANCE

Arun, lazily walked up to his balcony after dinner. It was a beautiful night, he thought. The moon resembled a perfect circle and not even the tiniest cluster of cloud was visible.

      He sat down on the easy chair lighting a cigarette and gazed up at the depths of the space; the sky looked like a bride to him, ornamented with millions to diamonds and silvers. The moon to him looked like a groom, as handsome as ever sitting on a divine steed and tendering its lunar love to its bride. He could almost hear the terrestrial music being played at this auspicious wedding night.

      The gentle breeze had almost glued his eyelids when a soft feather touch on his forehead woke him with a startle. "How many times have I told you to give this up?" It was more like a statement than a question. Jaya plucked the cigarette from between his fingers and threw it over the parapet. Her voice was soft and kind. There was no indignation but a timber of implore. She turned around and walked slowly to the stair case and sat down. He too followed her by her side. She looked grim and sullen. Tugging her hands to her knees she bent forward to place her chin on her knees. She gazed endlessly at the stairs below, sulkily.

        He gently placed his hands on her shoulder and said, "sorry" almost in a whisper. She turned her face towards him, replacing her chin with her cheek on her knees. Her eyes looked like a shallow lagoon. There were droplets of water on her eyelashes like stringed pearls. Her eyes were the most striking feature of her body. They were lovely but powerful. They were deeper than the sky. They were the eyes that could speak. "What difference would it make, if she was an aphonic", he often thought.

        But that day it seemed to say a different story. There was pain, fear, sorrow and pity in her eyes. He couldn't really make out what she wanted to convey.

"Are you OK ?", He asked.

Silence was her answer.

She kept gazing at him endlessly; as if it was the last opportunity she had with her to see him. Her looks were piercing. They were sharp enough to plunge through his soul.

         He let her hair fall that was made into a bun. They were long and dark. Soon the locks came dangling across her face and seemed to perform 'salsa' to the tune of the breeze.

"Would you like to drink some water?", He asked.

Ignoring his question completely she said," Promise me, to be with me forever".

He was completely shocked by her statement. He recomposed himself and said, "Of-course! I will always be by you, as I am now. We are destined to be together and even death cannot part us".

She smiled with a sigh of relief and dropped her eyelids causing a water drop to fall from her eyes and disappear into her 'saree'.

Running his hand through her long silky hair, He asked, "Now, would you like to drink something?"

She nodded with a smile and said. "Water"

He stood up and went into the room and when he returned with the tumbler, she wasn't there.

     

         He looked around helplessly calling her by her name, “Jaya…Jaya...” but she was nowhere to be found. All of a sudden, he spotted her on the road in the dark being dragged away by someone.

        

          He rushed down the stairs and ran after her. She was screaming and yelling, trying hard to break free; but she was too tiny before that black and huge beast. He couldn't see his face, but he was dark and enormous. He hit him as hard as he could, but only to hurt himself. It swung its arm towards him, which sent him flying. He could feel the ground missing from under his feet and not knowing where he would land, he closed his eyes in fear, until he landed with a thud. As he opened his eyes he could see his easy chair still rocking, or may be chuckling in its own strange way.

          The sun was peeping through the horizon. A bugle for a new day was about to be blown but his dreams seemed never to go asleep since his wife's death two years back.