SOME DAY

All the memories remain scattered; and I wish they would disappear rather than join to become the perfect puzzle. We were the odd piece, and now only I remain, staring at what could’ve been, if we two had joined. The impression of his head on my shoulder remains, as he moves away from my sight.

Few years of spontaneous and blissful reactions would be the perfect explanation of what existed in the face of humanity. Endless talks, priceless moments and piercing smiles. The tattoo of these remains still in my heart, as scarred as it is. The scar through which he escaped from my little sense of imaginations.

His old shirt still smell of detergent and perfume, with a speck of hair gel. It is wrinkled and covered in dirt. But the perfumes holds me like marijuana.

It was the first day of the tour; our little world tour. Backpacks and cameras hung on us, as our hands held onto each other. We feared the world, of course, for we didn’t know what awaited us. Us, just two wanderers, capturing the faces of humanity and beading it with words of mankind.

And now, I stand on the midway, staring at a Polaroid photo of ours. And the memories fade from the film, as you move away from me.

A moment of betrayal, that’s all it took. A sweet betrayal, to be precise. To surprise me with a red velvet cake with vanilla icing. You knew as I munched into it, my teeth would come across something hard, and I would poke around the cake. Then my hands would pop out with a ring, and you would say “Yes, I’ll marry you, but will you do the same?” and would laugh. Both our eyes would be filled with tears, and we would embrace each other as the three letters you craved to hear the whole evening spilled out of my mouth : Yes.

And my fingers would tremble, etching down a story of our journey, from a rickshaw, to horseback and furthermore. With the ups and downs, the essence and the defects.

Us, two flawed humans, joining to be even more flawed, so flawed, eventually we’d be flawless.

And then, I saw you again on the other side of the window; your chest, where I rested my head that morning, now covered in something that looked so close to the  batter of red velvet. And my fingers tremble again to the pace of the heartbeat. And as my heart quickens, yours stop. ‘One flaw down,’ I hear someone say.

Maybe it was my inner conscience speaking to me; or it was the maddening thought of being left alone after years of yes and elevations. Now images flash by my eyes, all the horse rides and the short walks under the lamp of the street where we captured the soul of the city hidden under the arms of monsters.

I see you move away from me, the Polaroid fading, and my eyes closing. But the memories remain close to my heart. And I know one thing for sure; we’ll meet again in some world, some day. 

AFTER LIFE

So the night ends, just like any other. Time goes on, as ruthless as he is. Can’t even wait for a minute so that I could say goodbye to those I love. To those I’ve loved. I feel like I should’ve kept a goodbye letter at this point, but I guess it’s a bit too late.

The sun is coming up slowly. I can see it from my window. The music from the nearby church begins, and a day begins. In the midst of life and afterlife, the prayers seem to be a joke. Here I am, waiting to reach a state of higher perspective, a state where someone is taking me to; and all are praying to that someone to not take me.  All I can think about is a good meal.

Hooked up to a machine and bag canteen food surprises me with a wave of memories, for all I can remember is my name, and that too barely. They say my brain is dead. I knew this would happen at some point when I was in high school, and I labelled all the parts wrong.

The machine laughs, and my heart weeps. There is a crisis going on, and no one seems to acknowledge. Nevertheless, the neurons are on vacation and I don’t sense any emotion.

I see the doctors rush in and my life line looks flat and lonely. I see them all staring at my body. And my soul feel inspired for the first time. The sense of weightlessness gives me a sugar rush to fly high, and I yell out from the top of my lungs. Though now I wonder if a soul has lungs. I shall check it out at the hospital made of clouds and candy canes.

I see them all shedding tears. Smile! I yell out. I am happy in this new world! Though I miss you all, my well wishers and my shooting stars.

I see my old friend Karan here. Karan left me three years back when he took a trip to a village. On the way, he decided to change his route to heaven. He is making cloud castles with his magical hands; he lost them in his time in army too. He seems happy! I shall chat with him after my exploration.

It’s so vast here, and the earth, my earth, seems lonely. He even looks blue. Then I remember from my textbooks that three-fourth of it is water covered. Could they be teardrops from heaven? I wonder.

I feel happiness, not that I was sad when I was home. I’m happy I got to meet Karan and I got to see my earth. I’m happy how my little accident closed my brain so I could store memories in heaven. There are people in love here, regardless of gender, caste, religion or any of the man made concepts. And I see turmoil in my earth, and a confused child looking for happiness. I used to be that boy.

I send my wishes down to my earth, and I feel someone is seeing it. Some are even singing it. I hope I can spread joy from here. 

NINE MONTHS OF SECRETS. 

There’s a cold war between us, a silent struggle on who will go first. Will we ever meet again? It’s been only nine months, but it seems like a millennium.

It seems as though it was just yesterday we met. When did we meet really? I can’t remember much. We communicate in a language of our own. All around is red darkness; and some days we hear the sound of a man singing. He also goes by the name “Papa”.

“What do you think will be out there?!” she asks me, all excited. She is few minutes younger than me. I also heard Papa say I am a boy. I wonder what this is like.

“A mysterious world...” I tell her with a booming voice, and I notice her eyes spark up. “Papa will be a nice guy, and the woman in whom we are now in is also going to be nice. I think her name is ‘Mama’.”

“Such a sweet name!” she says with a glee. “I wish I could go first...”

“I called dibs! You can’t just take over,” I giggle. Sometimes, I wonder what is out there. Will she and I ever meet again? Will the people out there call us names? Is it a scary world?

I listen to the news too, about the killings and fights. I don’t know what they mean... but one day I heard Papa cry. He was sad, and he whispered to Mama to keep us safe. We haven’t heard from him in a long time; but the last time he was here, he touched the wall and kissed it. We were happy too! I thought it was funny, about how we are separated by a wall.

“I bet there is going to be a candy town out there,” she says as she kicks on the wall. Mama slightly touches her belly; we can feel it too. She kicks again.

“Stop doing that! It might hurt Mama!” I yell at her. Our language is so fun.

“It’s so squishy!” she laughs. I wonder how Mama and Papa are going to put up with her. I sometimes wonder if she’ll be safe out there, which was also the reason why I told her I would go out first. I want to make sure everything is perfect for my princess. And that she’ll be loved by all. She is beautiful.

The walls are colliding... I hear Mama scream to. I wonder where Papa is; did he leave us? Is he fighting and killing? I need to learn those words as soon as I get out there. The walls are coming closer. She is getting more scared. I hug her tightly. “Be strong princess! I’ll make everything out there just perfect for you. You just stay here for a while, okay?”

She looks at me with watery eyes; I can tell she is scared of being alone in such a small room. “You will survive,” I tell her with a reassuring smile. “See you on the other side!” she says out loud as I leave.

The walls are getting more closer, and I feel like being strangled. I kick the walls as I go, so my princess wouldn't be hurt. I hear Mama scream loud and some guy say “push.” I hope that is Papa.

Everything around is white, and my eyes hurt. I feel as though I am going to burst; so I yell out loud. They all clap and smile, and I wonder why they are happy in my misery. They take me away from my princess, and I keep on screaming. “Take her to me!” I yell at them, but they just keep on laughing, pampering me with a towel. I kick one of them, and she just laughs. It is a weird world. I loved being in the red wall room.

I see my sister emerge, and she is crying too. Finally, my princess and I reunite. Everyone around us is happy, and they keep playing with us. We feel like film stars, and it is the best.

ONCE UPON A TIME

Once upon a time, there was a man. A man, who was dark as night and his heart white as day. So silent, he seemed to be in between present and reality; a vulnerable portal.
He had a lonely life, with zero scope of interaction. He owned a chat room, where he stayed online day in and day out, night in and night out. He stayed, hoping that his help would be needed by someone some day, and that day would be the one he stepped out of his comfort zone. Every night, he plugged in his earphone, sometimes with no music. He would read a good novel, or imagine his life in an alternate universe.
He craved for a ‘beep’.

His love was sacred, but the fear of rejection hooked him back to a reel, a reel of the mightiest fisherman.

One day, he heard a beep pass through his ears. He kept hearing them. His heart beat on, to the sound of the music and the rhythm of alert. Yet, they all seemed to be the same. He read the lines on the computer screen. “Help me! I’m locked in a garage by two men!”
The warrior in him woke up. In the midst of day’s mask, he put on his cloak of wisdom. His heart raced, blood pumped to his fingers. ‘Be fearless,’ he told himself. He saw the stars below him, and the earth above. In the portal, in this little life, he became the hero.

He ran, he walked and hitchhiked. Her phone signal was low, yet he was able to track him. A lonely woman in a garage haunted by the past of the men. All around he saw none. The streetlights shone brighter than the mightiest star, and he knew he would outshine them all. ‘Be fearless!’ he told himself.

Be fearless. He climbed down the stairs and reached a latch. He opened it, and saw two men; their face of the colour of rage and fear.

“I demand her release!” he said out loud, as his voice echoed around. The woman saw a speck of hope in him, and she called upon all the stars that was below her.

“Fight us! And she shall be free!” they challenged him. And the war began, with him feeling the punches and slaps, and his hands making the fastest of the moves. He jumped, kicked and punched. In the end, they ran. And his face smeared in blood, blood of victory.
He, a gentleman, took her home. On the way he saw fireworks, trucks and vendors. And he saw the world outside the four tiny walls. Outside the walls lied the real life, he realised. His iris reflected his new phase of life, and his heart beat on to the song of the wind. Slowly, but surely, he lived happily ever after. The end.