Life Comes A Full Circle

Walking towards the shore at a leisurely pace, their footsteps in a rhythmic unison, they were quiet. The need for words was lost in the gentle yet compelling roar of the waves. Rahi took a swig from her beer bottle, and looked at Trishna who cheered at her, in the air, with her own bottle. Trishna's short black shift dress had “BE THE BITCH” sequinned across the chest. Arya had a disapproving frown. For a split second, Rahi’s face showed guilt. Pretending not to notice any of it, Trishna reached out to tickle Arya and the tension seemed to diffuse.

“Doesn’t taste that good anymore.” Rahi told Trishna.

“Yeah, after a while it stops feeling the way it used to. You drink just out of mortal habit or desire maybe. Or maybe to never forget that you can drink all you want to.” Trishna's sing-song last sentence mocked Arya.

“Well, I gave up vices by choice.” Arya replied with contempt. 

As if unable to make her mind up, Rahi put her bottle down and walked towards the shore. Her oxblood dress billowing about her. 

The blackness of the sea tried to lure her deeper and deeper, into its mysteries. It wasn’t choking her anymore. She felt liberated.

Rahi stood there, breathing in the cool, salty breeze. She marvelled at how therapeutic the waves felt, as one by one they washed over her feet. Her hair was berserk and ominous. The golden sand turned fluid with every retreating wave. Her feet sinking a little more each time. Eyes closed, she felt exalted. She looked up to the moon, her palms stiff and outstretched. Despite her taut frame, she exuded composure, every muscle in her body, now free of the pain she had borne for so many years now.

“Your pose reminds me of Dominique’s statue” Trishna chimed absent minded, as she drew circles in the sand.

“But your hair…eerily enough, reminds me of the ‘Ode to the West Wind..’ said Arya nervously, fidgeting with the fringe of her ivory lace dress. 

Rahi said nothing. She simply lay down in foetal position as the waves now washed over her frame and the liquid sand gently sunk her body a portion of an inch at a time.

“You must not forget..” said Arya in a tone that was half pleading and half authoritative.

Trishna just rolled her eyes.

“As if both of you are going to let me forget”, said Rahi finally, rising to sit, holding her knees close to her chest. “Your little tug of war gets on my nerves sometimes, you know.”

Trishna laughed as she rested her body on her elbows on the cool beach sand. 

“How can you always be so comfortable in your skin Trishna, how do you go to sleep, doing what you do?” asked Arya irritably, shifting her focus now.

Trishna just shrugged in reply, threw her head back and closed her eyes, relaxed.

“No, really, I wanna know” persisted Arya.

“Okay”, said Trishna, opening her eyes. “If you really must know, I have given up on my job this time and am enjoying my vacation in the company of you two.”

“Yeah, right”, said Arya, the sarcasm in her voice unmasked.

Rahi just shook her head and smiled. She was standing again. The chiffon dress now clung to her to skin.

“What now?” asked Trishna. “Arya, you really need to let loose, dude.”

“I second her”, came Rahi’s voice from a distance.

“Recruitment is a tough job, you know”, Arya said solemnly. “You have so much responsibility on your shoulders that you just can’t ‘let loose’, she said, making air-quotes in thin air. She got up and began walking towards Rahi. “Why haven’t you decided yet, haan? What’s stopping you?” Her voice was laced with exasperation.

“I have decided, am joining the henchmen”, said Rahi with a finality.

“What?!”, the other two cried out together. Trishna’s did a little jump, followed by a happy clap whereas Arya’s eyes looked like they could pop out any second now.

“But why?!”, whined Arya. “After so long, don’t you just wanna be peaceful and happy? What sense does it make? You even got cured of depression now. You forgave yourself for every time you wronged. You really don’t crave peace?” She was clearly exasperated. “You really wanna join that bitch?” she added as her last line of defense.

“I never got cured Arya, it was a riddance I got after my suicide”, Rahi started. “All my life, I spent in that blue box of gloom. Do you really not understand my choice?” She asked, looking Arya straight in the eye.

“The world will hate you. Just like you hated it all your life. You died too young and now want this! Haunting people?! Why can’t you just choose eternal love and peace instead?” Arya tried to reason with her, parroting her tagline.

“Coz then I’d have died for nothing…”, Rahi said. Arya had no comeback for this. “And FYI, I’m not going to haunt anyone. That’s such an obsolete way of revenge. Theirs is a much more thought out and methodical approach, don’t you think?"

“Yeah I give you that”, admitted Arya, finally accepting defeat.

Trishna was quietly sipping her beer and listening to their banter all this while. “Ahem, ahem”, she cleared her throat conspicuously. “Now now Arya, if you’re done…” She approached Rahi with a spring in her step.

“The Karma family is happy to have you onboard Rahi.” She said as she extended her hand out for a handshake.