On A Soul Search

 "Whatever happened in the past, it happened for the good; Whatever is happening, is happening for the good; Whatever shall happen in the future, shall happen for the good only. Do not weep for the past, do not worry for the future, concentrate on your present life." Bhagwat Gita 

Within seconds, streaks of twilight faded away and pitch dark set in the wide street that led to the nearby metro station. Saranya didn't turn her head to see what was beside her or behind her. Her walk gathered speed and sprinted on the lonely road. The trees on the either side of the road stood tall with their thickly grown branches that prevented light rays to lit the way. 

After waiting for more than an hour for the bus, she decided to walk to the nearby station and take the train. Heavy rains flooded the roads and there was traffic congestion at every nook and corner. People who used public transport started to walk to their residences. But people who rode their two-wheelers and four-wheelers were forced to wait and go with the slow flow of the traffic. 

Wading through the muddy water that gathered on the pedestrian platform, she could pass through the first half of the distance to the station. The connecting stretch of the road that started from the signal till it took a U-turn to the station turned out to be a night mare for people who were forced to walk down the road late after seven in the evening. Lacking the usual traffic on the road, eerie silence engulfed the place. The bustling sound of leaves sounded ten times more than the normal. 

Saranya slowed down to look at the big mansion that stood hidden in the dark at the right side of the road. Till now she could not tell why she decided at those fateful moments to stop and look at the mansion where no one lived. A small candle light flickered in the portico. Some homeless people found a place there for their night stay and escape from the rain that seemed not to stop for a while but keep on drizzling and drizzling. 

Heavy rains poured in much water that stood up to three feet around the mansion. Saranya usually loved to listen to the varied croaking rhythms of frogs. The joyful chorus of frogs now sounded as a threatening warning. Instead of croaking "bake, bake, bake a cake", it sounded to her 'run, run, run away'. 

The big banyan tree that covered the front yard of the place swayed menacingly at her. Saranya could feel the sudden shiver that went down her spine and increased her heart beat threateningly fast that could even trigger a fateful heart-attack. Apart from that, the darkness scared her with unnecessary thoughts about evil ghosts and bad spirits that may roam around the place. Though many ghost stories revolved around that mansion, she did not want to test her mettle by encountering a bad soul. 

Warnings, warnings, warnings. Based on her traditional beliefs, Saranya understood the warning signs that nature sent out before a natural calamity or a disaster. When cats, dogs, and birds could understand the meaning of those warning signs, it took time for men to understand and get ready to handle such situations. Even if it rained cats and dogs making roads filled with filthy rain water mixed with drainage, it has become the ethics to be at work without fail. 

"EEEEEE" Saranya screeched bringing everything around her to a stand still. Someone who was walking ahead her stopped for a while to see what happened. Instead of calling out to her or coming to her help, she hurried further and disappeared within seconds. From the headlight of a car behind her, she could see a slithering snake swinging down on the branch that spread across the road. Until she reached the entrance to the station, Saranya decided not to look anywhere except the road before her. 

Saranya felt safe after she reached the platform. An entire crowd awaited to board the train. Buses cancelled, roads flooded, everyone wanted to reach their place some how or other. 

"Hi" someone called her from the crowd. Before she could respond to that voice, rain started to pound on the roof with a heavy thump. For the first time, the sound of that heavy rain scared her. She now wanted to board the train and reach her home as quickly as possible. She could sense uneasiness in every one around her and there was a scare on everyone's face. Is death so scary than a life full of pains and struggles? Compared to the lives of people who lived decades ago, the present life looked comfortable and technology enriched. Yet, it took a while to get back to the normal, routine life even after a slight disturbance in the nature. 

Interrupting her thoughts, the train entered the station packed with people hanging out. Even after reading or watching freaky accidents, some people never hesitate to take the risk for they felt it adventurous and thrilling to travel like that. One slip may cost their lives, yet, what they wished to gain from that threatening ride remain unexplained. 

Saranya didn't want to take a risk by getting into a overcrowded train. She could never forget that nervous experience of travelling pulled, pushed and squeezed in the midst of working women who were unmindful of others and their safety. She decided to wait. 

Within seconds, the entire platform looked empty. The pigeons that usually perch on the railings of the roof were not there. But her nostrils could sense the unhealthy smell that soaked in the running rain water that stretched on the platform. The smell reached her vocal cords and she could feel the pain. 

Suddenly, a butterfly with flimsy wings entered the platform. Late in the evening, only moths fly into places attracted by the light. Rarely, a butterfly flies around in the dark. The butterfly with its wet wings could not fly as it wished. It swirled down and hit the watery platform. 

"Oh, dear!" Saranya murmured and bent down to lift the butterfly. Brushing her hand aside, a little boy picked it roughly. Before she could realize, the boy threw that butterfly high up in the air. Without having the strength to fly again, it swirled down and hit her right shoulder. 

"Good, you reached a safer place", Saranya smiled. Inside her folded hand she kept the butterfly until she reached her destination.

 "Drizzle, drizzle, drizzle" frogs around her destination place croaked merrily. As they predicted, drizzles made the floor slippery and cold. 

"Look there" someone screamed. On the steep steps of the railway station, hundreds of butterflies with different colors rested still. 

"Are they dead?" Saranya looked around for an answer. 

No one stopped to answer her question for everyone wanted to move away from there as soon as possible. She could see trails of ants making their way to the motionless butterflies on the steps. 

"Are they alive or dead?" Murmuring questions went around but no one stopped to check if they are alive and think about a way to save them. Cautiously they climbed down not to trample them under their shoes and slippers. 

Saranya opened her folded hand to see if the butterfly lived. Luckily, she could see some movement of the fragile wings. Streaks of colors from its wings colored her palm like a new pattern of Mehendi. 

"Will you please be alive until we reach home?" she whispered to the butterfly. 

The city always turns indifferent and mad after a heavy spell of unexpected evening rain. Saranya could not find not even a single auto or a cab to reach home. She could not see even a single bus without much crowd or some place at least to stand comfortably. 

Some auto drivers demanded triple the amount to ply, but most of them turned deaf to people for they also wanted to reach their homes early and safely. No one was ready to wade through the muddy water on the roads and risk their auto engines. 

Saranya decided to walk home. Holding the butterfly safely in her folded hand, she reached home safely in another thirty minutes. 

Every one at home could not believe Saranya when she shared how she struggled and escaped the ordeal without getting hurt. 

"Oh, what a surprise!" her mother kept on repeating for a while. "It is none other than your granny's soul that accompanied you as a butterfly." 

Saranya opened her hand. She could not find the butterfly there but only the streaks of colors from the wings. What a way to know how our beloved souls wish to connect with us. Believe or not believe; it is one more instance for her to realize souls live forever and souls never die.