The stellar reach

Do you know beyond the rising moon

A star awaits to sparkle soon?

Yearning to shine, unwavering

Far more than just a traveller’s boon

She dipped into the sea of night

Embraced the dark with much delight

A cold fire that burned with grace

Neither daunted nor out of sight

A guiding light, a gift so pure

A loyal friend, so firm so sure

A Divine sign for those who ponder

A lover’s hope, a poet’s lure

Beheld her, the child, eyes agape

A diamond on a smooth black cape

That child was I, a child no more

With life to mend and dreams to shape

Yet now I gaze into the sky

Watch her as eons pass her by

Untouched by them will she remain

While I will age, wither and die

The Dusk

Deep on the horizon, built of the hottest of fires

Burns with the last of its might like the fiercest desires

Layers upon layers of heavenly magic it weaves

Beckoning to the darkness, for the other side as it leaves.

Shimmering and languid rivers, like lava they flow

Bathed in soft saffron, trees like embers aglow

Orange in the forests, glittering rubies in the sea

Golden in your hair, as fiery eyes gaze deeply at me.

Hypnotic hues melt hearts by kindling fires within

Enrapture us with fables that don’t end, only begin

Surreal painted skies none but Divinely contrived

Gifting us a moment whence a mythical autumn has arrived

Come, revel in this wondrous, painfully short hour

Ablaze with all its beauty near the shift of power

If tomorrow’s promise breaks bringing darkness and gloom

With the last blazing sunset on our souls we will enter our doom.

The gift

As I got on the train that cool rainy night I felt apprehension for the first time regarding the journey we were about to undertake. I must have come to terms with the excitement, joy and curiosity that had eclipsed the prospect of travelling to and seeing a new place. Now I trudged warily into the compartment pulling my luggage behind me that suddenly felt heavier than it was. The atmosphere was filled with general excitement, confusion and noises as fellow travellers strove to settle themselves in their respective seats. Trying to shake off negative thoughts I determinedly attempted to blend into the environment. It helped that I had to focus all my attention on finding my seat and keeping my belongings in their allotted places. But as soon as we were all settled the apprehension came back. I said a little prayer this time to keep the worst of my fears at bay; the fear of all the possible things that could go wrong and uncontrollably awry. After a while as the train began moving, Dad struck up a light, humorous conversation that further allayed my anxiety. I did purposefully allow myself a little apprehension though, to prime myself in the face of adversity.

A couple of hours or so into the journey had passed and the cacophonic environment had changed into a slumber haven as we crept into the late hours of the night. To the one still awake the atmosphere could either infuse in one’s heart an eerie loneliness in the midst of a train full of travellers or a peaceful solitude, detached from the stillness of the world outside, together with a few people most of whom as an added advantage had wilfully surrendered to the realm of temporary death. I wished for the latter; to indulge myself in a sense of serenity. But the remnants of my impalpable fear had let the former reign for a good part of my waking hours. I knew my attempts to sleep at this point would be futile. So I just lay on my berth and tried to turn my mental loneliness to my favour. I kept glancing at my cell phone screen that, when network allowed, showed names of new and bizarre-sounding names of places whose reception areas we passed through. I held on to it like a lifeline that connected me to the outside world. Occasionally the cell phone chimed and I would find a message from a friend who seemed to be living in a safe part of the world, not gripped by the vice of uncertainty. Later I would find this thought to be preposterous because my rational mind then would point out the obvious fact that the world of events is a prime representative of perpetual uncertainty. With my heart tipping towards vulnerability, rationale seemed like its least possible aid. Consequently I began thinking about things that had occurred recently. I remembered the day when Dad announced the confirmation of our train tickets. When he added with great flourish that we would be travelling in AC compartment it drew a lot of cheer and relief from everyone except me. I muttered my disapproval over its boxed confinement, its heavily tinted windows with poor or no outside view, the pungent staleness in the supposedly conditioned air and the overall lack of freedom of openness. I expressed my preference for second class compartments.  I had to relent owing to the hearty approval of the majority. It was too late anyway to make any changes. The next day, the subject of our much anticipated trip came up once again and Dad announced that our return journey would be in second class compartment. Amid the mini-chaos that followed I was profoundly touched the immense consideration in this small act of his. He had promptly transferred the seat reservations from AC to second class at just the whiff of my half-heartedness. His concern and thoughtfulness overwhelmed me and the feeling was little affected by the hostile vibes of AC cab preferring enthusiasts.

Lying on my berth I smiled as I recalled the incident and my heart lifted a significant bit. The atmosphere started to feel much serene and less lonely. More thoughts and memories came flooding into my mind and I revelled in them. I was amazed at how a mere shift in the state of mind dispelled fears and lifted my spirits. Some amount of wariness still remained but it existed as a persistent by-product of my alertness. I glanced at the heavily tinted window. Even with the poor visibility I imagined a cool, ink-blue, star-studded night with a partial moon struggling to outshine other heavenly entities. The train was moving with a steady speed now. The tell-tale rhythmic sounds of hundreds of wheels turning over gapped metal tracks and the pistons and the engine and the occasional distant blare of the horn created an unprecedented  mechanical melody that dipped and soared as the sounds echoed off nearby and far-off valleys, hills, plains and houses. The melody filled me and lulled me and the steady swaying of the cab infused in me a distantly familiar calmness. As I slowly drifted away from consciousness I remembered a familiar deep but gentle voice that crooned age old lullabies and the strong hands that held and cradled me to sleep under the partially moonlit, cool, ink-blue, star-studded night.

As I slept dreamlessly, hours passed and miles were traversed of which I was blissfully unaware. From across the bridge of nothingness a voice called out my name, faintly at first but gaining strength with every call. The voice was same as the one I had remembered as I had drifted off to sleep. It grew louder but not uncomfortably so and as my mind broke through the realm of sleep, I realised someone was gently waking me up. The voice spoke my name again and I slowly opened my eyes, registered the all too familiar face through the early morning gloom and smiled sleepily at my Dad.

The contest VII

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 The blog contest is back. Show your best on the July edition of the Blog contest.
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The shower

The day hadn’t begun remarkably. All the joy and the positivity that comes along with a brand new day went hurtling out my seventh floor window when I swore loudly as soon as my bleary eyes registered the time on my cell phone screen. I was late. Again. I had to be somewhere important but I had overslept. Again. And so the first word out of my mouth on that brand new day was a curse. And yet I wonder why my day hadn’t begun remarkably. By the time I threw on some clothes and made my face look like it didn’t belong to a constantly oversleeping person, my self admonition had ended and I happened to glance outside the window through which joy and positivity had recently jumped and met their premature deaths.

Patches of threateningly rain-laden clouds were scattered all the way till the horizon but it seemed like they had temporarily let the sun peek from its hiding place. The daunting downpour of the previous night had washed the city thoroughly and it gleamed brightly in places where sunlight had nervously managed to reach.

A glance at my wall clock (that conveniently hung over the window) shattered the rosy description of the outside world and shifted me back to my oh-shit-I’m-late mode. I was about to curse loudly again when Mother called me for breakfast. Ugh! I was too late to even think of breakfast. As I entered the dining hall I saw Mother holding a plate with slices of bread smeared with butter and jam on it. “Eat fast. You’re already late,” she said, like I needed any reminding. I was about to rush of the house when she called again. I turned, only to find her shoving an umbrella into my unsuspecting hands. It looked old, dusty and barely used, rightly indicating my irrational aversion towards umbrellas. Naturally I opened my mouth to retaliate. She gave me one of her stern-mother looks that always made me back down and brought to my mind a picture of a puppy whimpering and retreating with its tail between its legs.

Tapping my foot impatiently on the ground and looking at my wrist watch occasionally like some Big Shot I scanned the sea of infuriatingly slow moving traffic and felt a feral urge to curse again. Oh stop it, dirt-mouth! As if that’s going to help, said a small but firm voice inside me I’d like to call conscience. Its sane, no-nonsense words were still resonating in my mind when I sighted an unoccupied rickshaw approaching me. Without even having the need to flag it down it slowed to a stop right in front of me. The driver was kind enough to only give me an amused smile when I blurted out a thank you for stopping for me and saving my day. As he drove me to my destination I reminded myself I had to visit the library later, a prospect that immediately squished my near hysteria. My lateness was pardoned (yet again!) which further relieved most of my ridiculous tension. By the time I set out to go to the library there was positively a spring in my step.

The grey clouds had gathered over the city again after it seemed fit to them that the sun had shone enough for the day. Consequently they began their promised onslaught as it began pouring heavily; the sound of falling rain reminding me of a large crowd bursting into a hearty laughter all at once. I smiled widely even as I grudgingly opened the old contraption of spring, steel, plastic and nylon (or whatever. No way am I mentioning the name again!). I really didn’t want to end up sopping wet in the library and drip all over the books. As I issued a few books and headed out I saw the rain had no plan of relenting. Humming a tune of no song in particular I walked gleefully on the sidewalk stepping purposefully on the flowing rivulets of rain water that gushed noisily as they ploughed into things on their way and drained into gutters. The black canopy over my head was serving the purpose of keeping the books that I carried fairly dry. Meanwhile I happily splashed my way through the puddles and streams completely wetting my clothes well up to the knees and almost all of my right side. The books were tucked inside my bag that hung for its dear dry life from my left shoulder. I looked around and it was like seeing through a clear silver-grey glass. The usual din of the city was drowned out by the orchestra of raindrops of every size pelting themselves on any exposed surface.

 The vibes I felt of the general disapproval, annoyance and impatience were reflected by the scene around me. Pedestrians huddled under their, well, devices they use for ‘protection’ against the rain, skipping and prancing over puddles and streams vainly, while some just hurried along wading through the water (although they had an expression on their faces that looked like they were being forcefully made to swallow something bitter!). Some people had taken shelter under trees or awnings of shops or anything that bore even a slight semblance of a roof. On the whole, everyone around me was doing everything they could to get away from the rain and its wetness while I promenaded on the sidewalk revelling in its freshness. I was so content in my little bubble of joy. By the time I reached home I was dripping and sopping wet from waist down and my sandals were making a squishy sound with every step I took. I giggled giddily like a five year old on a sugar rush and punched the door bell. Mother smiled despite herself as she took in the sight of my silly grin and my crazily flapping wet clothes. Still smiling she let me in and said, “You look quite like a very wet crow, dear.” I chuckled at her comment and opened my mouth to reply but instead gave out a sudden almighty sneeze. Mother burst out laughing and the day was remarkable again.

The contest VI

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June contest is here. Post your best on the Blog Contest.
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The crumbling bridge

If misery had a face I’m ready to believe it is smiling smugly right now. It knew all along that I’d inevitably choose to drown in its lightless and hopeless abyss without even putting up a fight to try to get to the surface. Now there just remains a painful wait to finally reach the bottom which, a good part of life has taught me, would never come. I should try to get out of this misery, one might wisely suggest. But the fact that I’d willingly walked into it has made it that much more difficult to get out. Not that I want to. Hopelessness has blinded me and I perceive nothing but a stark gaping void that mocks me with its perpetual presence. Misery has filled the void to its brim like dark waters encroaching dry low lands at the start of imminent floods. And I’ve welcomed the floods.

I had never imagined the lack of physical presence of certain souls would have such staggering consequences. I have no idea for how long I had convinced myself that I’d eventually learn to live with the void before sadly realizing I had been fooling myself.

Life has shifted its wheels to an unfamiliar terrain on which I tread warily. New and unpredictable commitments demand my reluctant attention and mutter disapproval at my attempts to look back at the times when different lives crossed paths regularly and intertwined easily. A few familiar voices assure me, coax me, and encourage me in vain to take things as they come, be grateful and move on. Some of those voices are laced with concern, some with impatience and some with exasperation. But they are all drowned out by the by the incessant, unfamiliar chatter that corrodes the peace of my mind and tests my patience. It is relentless in its purpose to prod and pry. At this point all I want to do is run away to a place where all my problems become redundant. I wish for all these distractions to just vanish forever. I crave for solitude not realizing it has already infested the dark waters of misery. My craving strengthens it as I slide helplessly into the clutches of loneliness. The mindless chatter prevails but it is the least of my problems now. Life goes on like a slow pointless dream as I struggle to conform to the new reality while my mind wanders aimlessly in the hopeful past. My struggle is futile, I’m taking all the wrong turns and misery smiles some more. I’ve inadvertently built for myself a world of cruel irony where loneliness that I’d once so fervently craved for has become the ultimate distraction.

The contest V

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The transgression

Often into memories the soul does wander,

To reflect, reminisce, learn and ponder,

Fickle beliefs and choices on the loose,

Easy to follow and difficult to choose.

Delusional hearts promise to beat forever as one,

Then misunderstand while speaking the same tongue.

Ignorant minds meet, share thoughts and flourish,

Then selfishly fail to remember and cherish.

Life takes falls in fallacious times,

Unsaid apologies, broken promises add to the crimes.

Guilt is ignored; there is fate to blame,

Rather than face the demons and give in to shame.

The soul still wanders with sadness and regret,

With mistakes it can't undo or forgive and forget.

Silently it laments over the passing of each breath,

Searching for peace before the advent of death.

The passing glimpse

It was indeed strange that I found myself sitting on a stone bench by the side of a road when I came to my senses after what felt like an unintended dose of sleep or a bout of unconsciousness. The mind was momentarily disoriented as I instructed it to gather recent memories. It came up with hazy images that muddled things up a bit more. I gave up and started focusing and my surroundings instead. When I saw the familiar houses and buildings and shops I sighed with overwhelming relief and crossed off “amnesia” and “drugged, kidnapped and dumped in an alley” from my recovering mind. Besides I didn’t think I looked “dumped”. I felt fine and my clothes were in good, almost pristine, condition. The sun was beating down with vengeance but I wasn’t sweating. It was probably because the bench I was sitting on under a gigantic, sprawling banyan tree. My brain was still sifting through memories and it found one that showed myself in the mirror getting ready to head out. So that was how I ended up here, not far from my house and the heat and the seemingly slow moving time of the early afternoon had lulled me to sleep. As if on cue a bus arrived and stopped right in front of me and a couple of men got off it. Automatically I got up and got into the bus, my actions propelled by an indescribable urge to get moving. Since my conscious mind was still meandering in uncertainty, my subconscious had seemed it fit to take over and guide me to my destination.

There weren’t many people in the bus and considering the ungodly tedious hours of the day I could understand why. All the window seats were taken and so I moved to the last row of seats which was currently occupied only by the bus conductor. He was dozing fitfully which struck as slightly odd to me. What if someone got off the bus without paying? Then I saw the helper standing on the footboard of the rear entrance. He had placed a whistle between his lips and was looking out with a bored expression on his face. It wasn’t one of those common sights where young men like him dangled off the footboard. Barely holding onto the poles for support, with the wind hitting their faces and buffeting their hair and clothes wildly. Deciding to pay the helper if ever the conductor failed to wake up before my stop arrived; I settled back in my seat and began gathering my recuperating thoughts. Then the first wave hit me with a shocking force.

It caught me off guard with such intensity that I bolted up from my seat. With nothing to hold on to, I fell back on my seat again but the shock still remained. The wave was not physical, not tangible, not visible. But it might as well have been a solid onslaught of iron blows on my face; such was its effect, its determined presence. It passed as quickly and unpredictably as it had arrived but it left me dazed and wary with a sense of sense of unease and fear settling in like ashes on a burning city. Once I could think steadily I began wondering what it was. I looked around and everything seemed normal enough. The conductor was still dozing fitfully, the young man still stood on the footboard whistling feebly at bus stops. I tried making sense of the event that had occurred, that had taken only for a few seconds. The second wave hit me then, but my wariness had anticipated the uncanny happening this time. As if sensing its inability to catch me off guard the second time the wave rushed towards me with relative slowness and great deliberation. This time the shock came with the realisation of what the wave really was. And this time the wave didn’t recede. A commotion of thoughts, emotions, sounds and feelings that made up this wave had washed over me inexorably. My senses were being drowned and the unwitting culprits behind it were the people in the bus. It dawned on me with sudden and much needed clarity that the feelings, emotions, thoughts and sounds were of the poor unsuspecting souls around me. I’d have laughed with relief if it wasn’t for the simple logical fact that strange things like this never happen in the real world. What was the explanation then? Was I dreaming? Should I pinch myself? Or had I suddenly turned clairvoyant? I quickly dismissed these questioning thoughts as soon as I realised how downright silly they sounded even in my head. I looked around once again, my eyes sweeping over all the people in the bus beginning from the partially obscured driver in the front to the dozing conductor at the back. The effects of the wave still lingered and there was no beginning or end to them. They were in me and around at the same time. They played with my outer senses, tingled every nerve in my body, probed my soul and dared my mind to unravel them. My mind did dare and they all but willingly unravelled. The thoughts and sounds came to me as swirling murmurs and whispers. The feelings and emotions were like shimmering revelations.

I looked at a middle aged man in the first seat of the left row. He prayed for a profit this month. He had worked hard in the garment shop and his third child would be arriving soon in to this world. I sensed his elation, his anxiety, his hopes, and his joy as he thought of his wife and children.

A young woman sat in the first seat of the right hand side row. She wasn't exactly enjoying the bus ride. Maybe she should go to those driving classes like her mother-in-law had suggested. Or take the driving lessons her husband had offered to give. She smiled and blushed at the thought. Six months now. Who would've thought arranged marriages worked out so wonderfully? I felt her disapproval of bus rides, her sweet shyness as she thought of her husband, her prayers thanking God for blessing her with such a nice family. 
A teenaged boy was sitting next to his best friend in the third seat. The best friend, a girl his age, wondered if it was okay to have feelings for her best friend. The boy wondered if telling her he loved her would ruin their friendship. I felt their blossoming love, their loyalties towards each other, their fears, their dreams.

A young man in soiled clothes sat in the last row on my right. He thought of life ahead now with his only sister married off. He had spent almost all of his hard earned money on her wedding. He wished for her happiness. He loved her more than his own life. I felt his loneliness, his pain from the bruised knuckles, sun-burnt skin and blistered feet that he got from working at the construction site all day long. I felt his immense love for his sister, his only family. 
I saw two young men in the third seat on my left. They had both been recruited by a company at the same time. They had known each other only for a few days now. The one next to the window talked animatedly, with sound effects, about a new video game. He hoped he wasn't boring or annoying his new found friend. But no one else bothered listening to his video game stories. His friend actually listened more out of pity than interest. Sure, he talked a lot. But he was a good guy, kind at heart. His narration of the stories amused him more than the stories themselves. Somehow both knew they were going to be best friends for life. Every person in the bus had a story in their lives, a lesson that could be learnt, an experience that would become a part of my soul for an eternity.

A girl sat alone in the only row of seats beyond the front entrance, on the driver's left hand side. She seemed lost in thoughts as she looked out the window. She didn't have to support her family. She was enjoying the bus ride and she preferred it, although she knew how to drive. She thought she was in love once, but now she knew she wasn't since she had learnt there was a lot to take, lots more to give and even more to understand and sacrifice in love. She had had her share of loneliness and pain that was more emotional than physical. She had many friends, but only a few she really loved and cared for. She seemed content with her thoughts for now and I couldn't feel much from her like I did from the others. She turned then, to look at the conductor it seemed, and I saw her face. Thus began the greatest realisation of all.

I saw her and it was like looking at my reflection. She smiled my smile when she saw the conductor dozing. Someone let out a scream and she frowned just like I always did. She turned around to look ahead. The realisation was crashing on me now. I wanted to yell, reach out, do something! But all I could do was stare helplessly as a monstrous truck, a speeding harbinger of destruction filled up the whole front view before I was wrenched out of the fabric of reality. The wave finally receded as I was pulled into an unknown oblivion. And I finally realised in the fullness of that moment that in the slowness of that day, that life, death had come quickly.

The message

When I opened my eyes I realised my entire field of vision was filled by an azure sky dotted with almost comical looking white and grey clouds drifting lazily from one end of the field to the other. I was lying on something soft and wonderful and I was comfortable enough to believe that this must be a dream. Such a sense of bliss can never be perceived in reality. I lay there for a long time gazing at the clouds, feeling the cool breeze against my skin. It felt so wonderful; I wanted it all to be real. The breeze felt real enough, so did the sweet smell of grass and the wet earth that washed over me and surrounded me like an exquisite silk blanket. Yet I continued looking straight ahead at the gorgeous blue sky. As time passed, the soft sapphire of the sky began to pale and the ever drifting clouds started acquiring an orange tinge on one side. West, I thought, that side is west. The sun was setting. The blue wasn’t only paling but changing to orange as well. The scent of earth around me became heady and inviting and I finally gave in to my urge to get up and look around. I did so slowly, afraid that any sudden movement would shatter the perfect setting and wrench me away from what I had decided was my wilful delusion. I wanted it to last as long as possible. I wish it could last forever; that this was the predestined reality and the world where I had fallen asleep had just been an elaborate dream.

As I looked around the sight that greeted me was an apt representation of all the smells I was breathing in. All around me, at a short distance away were gently swaying trees, their wet leaves dancing gleefully on the branches and sparkling like a million rubies in the dying sun. A stream gurgled nearby but I couldn’t see it since I was sitting in the midst of tall yellowing grass. With every gentle gust of breeze the grass swayed wildly and the tips teased through my hair and tickled my face. I heard faint chirping of crickets and saw a couple of them to hopping and balancing themselves impossibly over the thin blades of the grass. I listened intently to the happy gurgling of the invisible stream trying to ascertain its location and I was suddenly thirsty. I welcomed the feeling since it convinced me some more that I wasn’t dreaming. As I rose slowly to my feet I looked around searching for the stream and I realised that I was in a glade of some sort, with tall yellow grass dominating almost all of the area. The stream was nowhere to be seen but the incessant and inviting sound of flowing water elevated my thirst and urged me to move. I took a couple of steps in the general direction of the sound, my eyes still searching and they caught a sudden movement a few meters ahead slightly to my left.

I stopped and looked harder but whatever had caused the movement was gone. Instead I noticed that the grass ended abruptly to give way to a narrow trail that snaked its way through the grass and disappeared behind the line of trees that marked the boundary of the glade. I began walking again intent on finding the place where the trail began so I could follow it out of the glade. It was hard making my way through the tall grass. My thirst was rising steadily and I wished I could find the trail soon. With every step the sound of flowing stream increased and so did the hope of quenching my thirst. I was still wading through the sea of grass when I heard someone calling my name. The voice was very faint, almost a whisper, but it cut through the wind so cleanly that I wondered if it was all in my head. After all a significant part of my mind insisted that this was all a dream. I looked around turning my head this way and that wildly. I resumed walking, now with renewed determination. The mounting mystery of this place and the sounds and sights were driving me to inexplicable frustration and the only to tackle it was by dousing myself in physical activity.

I was gathering speed now but before I could take any satisfaction from that fact I slipped on a wet patch of mud and fell face-first into the grass. There was a splash and that was when I realised I had finally found the stream. Luckily I had stuck my arms out in front of me as I fell. Now my arms were all wet and muddy. Great. Resisting an urge to curse loudly I pushed myself up with my hands on the ground. My hands slipped and I fell again, this time on my back. I gave up then, sighed and just sat there breathing hard. I wanted to make rude hand signs. Really. But then I realised that gesticulating wildly with my muddy hands would only send flecks of mud flying on my face and clothes. Instead I got on my knees and moved towards the stream. I began washing my hands in the cool, crystal clear water. I let the muddy water flow and was about to dip my hands again to drink from the stream when I saw the reflection of a hand right next to that of my head. I gulped, turned and looked up slowly at the hand and then its owner.

He stood there, with his hand held out, the wind teasing through his hair that glistened coppery brown in the light of the dusk. I could barely see his face but I didn’t need to. Somehow I just knew he was the most beautiful person in the world. The beauty surpassed the mere physical visage. He was a good and kind human being and he cared for me deeply and I just knew these things. I felt them and their truth rang through my existence. He smiled at me then and although I couldn’t see his face, I felt his smile, the warmth and the genuineness that came along with it. Here, let me help you, he said and again it was that faint voice. Yet, the words were clear. They sounded deep within my mind and yet it felt like they surrounding me from the outside. The voice itself was magically sweet, warm and reassuring. I slipped my wet hand into his outstretched one. He barely applied strength but I lifted up as if I were made of feather. Once I was on my feet I felt the wet mud rise up between my toes. I looked down and found that he was barefoot too. I looked at his face again. I still couldn’t see it but it didn’t bother me. I knew all about it and I was content with just staring at it.

I’ll find you a way home, he said and the words sounded like they had been made up by the wind that was gently blowing all around us. Still holding my hand he stood beside me and took a step forward. I did too and we began walking along the bank of the stream. I continued looking at him like my life depended on it. He was looking straight ahead and after a few moments I felt his smile again. You are not thirsty anymore, he said. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. I felt I should say something but I suddenly realised that I was indeed not thirsty anymore. I didn’t bother myself with trivial questions like ‘how did he know about my thirst?’ or that it had disappeared. I couldn’t care less. He was with me and nothing else mattered. We walked a little more and soon came to the trail hidden between the grasses. We were moving away from the trees, deeper into the glade, with the sun breathing its last for the day behind us. By this time I realised I should probably stop staring at him like a dazzled damsel. I concentrated instead on the trail twisting and turning in front of us. He spoke again and this time his voice seeped into every fibre of my being and reflected on every living creature around us.

In this land of mystery and all possibilities we will depart, maybe never to meet again. The fortune of our paths crossing is immense and rare and you must not entertain disappointment in the event of our separation. I will meet you again, but in another land, much far from this one, with as much mystery and fewer possibilities. You will not see me there the way you see me now. However you may feel all that you are feeling right now and, unlike in this land, in the other one that feeling will come with lots of lessons, experiences and cherishable memories. I cannot tell how long it will take you to find me. It is neither in my hands nor in yours to preordain the duration. But know this, my dearest. The one person who will capture your heart, stay in it, share your life, sorrows, joys, thoughts and promise you unconditional care and support without saying any words, in that person’s heart you will find me and in his face you will see your world.

With those final words he turned to face me and I felt his yearning to find me again in that distant land he had spoken of. Then, as if to finally reveal his identity he began turning towards the fading light of the sun. That was when I woke up.

The contest IV

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The April Contest is here! Post your best post to The Blog Contest.

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The baring

Come night and the deafening silence instills in me

A loneliness I believe only you can dispel

Like the lone moon I am, dimming until dawn, bleak and grey

Like a star I become, with you beside me, never alone, delightfully sparkling away

Hush my love, the seas have calmed at last

The tempest has abated, your worries are now things of the past

The pain has faded, your heart is now undone

Bare your mind and our thoughts will set sail as one

A conscious riot of battling words define my waking hours

People are a blur as life surges ahead alongside daylight

Dusk arrives with the promised slowness that finally lays thoughts bare

Until darkness beckons and I surrender blissfully to the night

She had walked inadvertently into the haze of his mind

Uncertainty plagued her and there was no night and day

But his heart did turn to her leaving qualms far behind

Illuminating his famished soul and lighting her way

Through the mist they saw each other and he finally found himself

Their thoughts unravelled relentlessly and all barriers were slain

A world they build where inevitably met and dwelt

Where hearts opened up and they fell in love all over again

The contest III

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Cheers!!

The prayer

I prayed fervently today. I experienced one of those moments when all kinds of bad thoughts come to my mind about people I care about the most, the people I cannot do without. And as I prayed, I realised, with much shame, as to how ungrateful I am to God and how I take things for granted when they are going about nicely and uneventfully; how my prayers lack conviction and dedication when these special people are blending in happily and giving meaning to my life. Yet, I prayed, for I wanted God to banish all these black thoughts from my mind and give me strength so that I never dwell further in any of them. They began to dissipate then, like shadows under the advent of light, through the recesses of my mind. But they did so slowly and painfully, rightly reminding me of my reckless impudence. I was strangely sapped of all the strength, both physically and mentally and still there were vestiges of fear and self-doubt meandering in my heart. But I didn’t care. All I wanted was the prayers, that desperately asked for protection, forgiveness and happiness to those people I love, to be heard. I was humbled by the unconditional gifts He has given me in the form of such marvellous individuals. I was gripped with selfish terror of how shattered by life would become if, God forbid, something awful happened to any of them. And so, I prayed. I made no promises but I asked for guidance to help me remember Him and thank Him for everything, especially for blessing me with the dearest people I could ever wish for. I thought of their smiling faces and every little moment that I had the privilege of sharing with them. The bad thought s faded into an unknown oblivion taking the last of vestiges along with them. I lay there exhausted but thankful and suddenly an inexplicable wave of merciful relief washed over me like a sweet scented breeze just before the first rain. And then I cried...

The declaration

A treasure of memories that would never fade away

Of days I laughed with you and cried while you wiped tears and it was okay

Of nights I spent silently praying begging God to make you stay

Of times we talked about thoughts and dreams until there was nothing left to say

I don’t have many eloquent words like the noble poets of yore

To describe all that I feel in embellished phrases and more

My feelings were lost in a tempest of uncertainty before

And you shone your beacon until they washed up safely ashore

I’m smitten by the idea of you in my life

Your mere presence in this world of struggle and strife

Your assurance in my heart, your helping hand by my side

I’m smitten by your lasting courage when sometimes hope died

With you everyday is an adventure about to start

Every thought is an epiphany, every action is an art

Every fault is a lesson; they all set you apart

Every soul stirring word inspires me, lingers perpetually in my heart

My love for you is silent but it would never begin to end

Some say its fate is pain and sorrow, some say it’s a foolish trend

Yet my heart is selfless, to such incredulity it would never bend

Let all of the world lament, for my love is blessed with a fierce friend

The dedication

The Girl By The Window...

The cool night air blew very gently, its presence made perceptible by the lazily swaying leaves on the rows of trees that stood on either sides of the road. A lone dark figure stood under the wide canopy of the trees, resolutely still, almost blending into the night, although a few stray shafts of moonlight fell on the unmoving shape and gave away its incongruity. It started moving then, not along the road but away from it, away from the shelter of the trees into the open space on the right side of the road. The dark figure, now bathed completely in moonlight was dark no more, revealing a disarmingly handsome young man.

He moved swiftly across the open field, almost gliding over the soft untended grass, his steps barely disturbing anything that came in their way. He had never ventured this far into the field before. For him to be in the open for this long and hence exposed without the shelter of the canopied road and the woods beyond was highly unusual and fraught with risks. But tonight his intentions too were very unusual and worth every possible risk. The field ended abruptly with a sturdy concrete fence topped with barbed wire mesh. The fence actually belonged to an old two-storey brick house and covered the entire perimeter of the property except for an imposing wrought iron gate that occupied a part of one of the edges of the fence. The house marked the beginning of a small sparse civilisation that became more prominent as one moved further, away from the woods. The young man however stood next to the barb-wired fence gazing up at the brick house uncaring of the rest of the civilisation in that area or the world for that matter. He was still exposed but least bit worried about being seen since he was sure he wasn’t. He took a step towards the fence and then hesitated. For the first time in a very long time he was plagued by an inert uncertainty. Like the others that had preceded this feeling he wanted to ponder over it. But now was not the time. Besides, this uncertainty was, unlike the others, less persistent and least bit daunting. It was no consolation though. They had become recurrent, these sensations, intangible manifestations that left him brooding for hours with no significant success of coming up with explanations. They arose deep within his perpetual and carnal coldness; his inherent, prevailing and tangible coldness. They questioned his frigid resolve and he was at a loss for answers. They washed over him like unpredictable waves and left him helplessly drenched. It took him a while to accept the inevitable and give in.

He gazed particularly at a lone open window of the upper storey on his side of the house. A soft yellow light emanated from between the curtains that obscured most of the window. A whirlwind of thoughts still dominated his mind. He thought of how easily he had been relinquishing his cold demeanour and inner rigidity and surrendering to the unexplained, all-pervading warmth, lately. How uncomplicated, how much better this surrender was. The sight of the dimly glowing window only fuelled his strange resolution that had so successfully conquered him tonight. All hesitation, reservation and stray misgivings forgotten, the young man bent his knees slightly. With surreal grace and agility he jumped straight up in the air, high over the fence, up till he reached the window level and then landed lightly on the thin strip of ledge that stuck out of the wall just below the window. He crouched on one corner of the ledge so that the shadow fell on the wall and not inside the window. He was still for a while, listening. The breeze gained some strength and fluttered the curtains opening them up a bit wider. The moon was hidden by a stray cloud for a while blanketing everything with momentary darkness. The cloud then drifted away and the moonlight fell upon the house, the curtains and found its way through the gap into the dimly lit room. The silvery white light fell on things closest to the window inside the room. One corner of a purple rug, a pair of white fluffy bunny slippers and finally the bed on which lay the reason why the young man had broken the pattern, broken the unwritten rules, forgone caution and reason and was crouching on the thin ledge listening to the slow breathing and the rhythmic beating of the heart. So strange, yet so familiar were those musical sounds of life. A warm life, a mortal life, a life that belonged to this beautiful creature curled up on the bed.

She looked serene and peaceful in her sleep, her dark lustrous hair curling every which way, entangled and tousled. He gazed at the face he had seen so many times in the past few weeks and yet it gave rise to a surge of warm sensations as if he were seeing this beautiful human for the first time in his life. Her features weren’t the most perfect; he had seen far more beautiful and perfect faces before. Yet, none of them had broken through his coldness so powerfully without even trying. For him she was exquisite. He had witnessed a lot of expressions playing across her face before. She enthralled and intrigued him. That one night he had ventured to the edge of the field near the canopied road had changed things more than he had expected. It was late yet she had stood by the window, staring into the moonlit night not unlike this one. He had just glanced in her direction fleetingly and gone back to his meticulous way of closing in on his sighted prey. Her face, then displaying an unfathomable sadness, had sprung up before his eyes while he was trying to concentrate on his prey’s furtive movements. Distracted and vaguely irritated he had turned to look at her again just in time to see a single tear sliding down her cheek, sparkling in the moonlight. The prey was instantly forgotten. His visits to the edge of the field had become frequent after that. He stayed at the edge each time but he could see her clearly whenever she came near the window. Each time her face captivated him. Sometimes it was riveted as she sat next to the window and read novels (many a times The Twilight Saga, Vampire Diaries... how ironic...), sometimes anxious as she pored over text books, her lips mouthing words soundlessly, sometimes joyous as her melodious laughter rang out when she talked over the phone twisting a stray curl absently with her finger, sometimes relaxed as she listened to her favourite songs and sometimes wistful as she gazed at the stars and sighed thinking of her mysterious wishes that he would give anything to know and do whatever he could to fulfil them.

He continued gazing at her face, her curling lashes, her small nose, the curve of her cheeks, her majestic chin and the slight smile on her soft lips. He breathed in then and along with the faint homely smell of her room there came the smell of lavenders, roses, her hair and the heady sweet human scent tinged with the unmistakable metallic hint of warm flowing blood. He revelled in it as it added to her extraordinary inner and outer beauty. The moonlight was casting an ethereal glow on her skin but she seemed to glow with innocence and goodness from the inside. He wanted to give this lovely girl a name. He had heard other people in the house call her name a couple of times. The voices were muffled and from the distance he had heard only a part of her name. Her true name could be anything; Elizabeth, Elise, Lizzy, Eloise... but the partly discernable name he had heard sounded perfect for her. He decided then that that was what he would call her. Not loudly, but in his heart and mind, whenever he remembered her, because he wanted to keep her memory afresh even though her body would eventually grow frail and wither away. He wanted the name for this fascinating girl with so many expressions, thoughts, hopes and dreams. He wanted the name as it would remind him of the precious and fragile humanity that he possessed before he was mercilessly plunged into perpetual coldness. He wanted the name that gave way to that strange warmth which won over his frigidity. Sitting on the ledge he smiled too, mimicking her and marvelled at the intensity behind the simple expression. He continued looking at her, breathing deeply again, absorbed in her beauty while Liza slept on...

The contest II

Hello there! Entering the Blog Contest was truly an amazing experience. I didn't win but it wasn't about winning as much as it was about seeing my blog post among so many prodigiously creative blog posts. What an incredible boost! I personally encourage all the bloggers to enter The Blog Contest. It's truly worth a shot. Click on the link to enter.

Cheers!

The pleasant surprise

I’ve a compulsive habit of observing and analysing people, mostly the ones I get to see often. The best place to do this, the ideal place rather, is on a bus. I take enough pride in saying that most of my observations on my fellow travellers are very close to being accurate. Yet, certain people have surprised me in unexpected ways occasionally. One such person is a college girl who travels everyday in my bus. The first time I saw her, the words that came to my mind were ‘small, timid, frail, quiet, shy, sweet...’ I then wondered how she managed being a medical student. She looked like she’d swoon over a paper cut. The big fat medical books that she carried barely let her climb the steps of the bus. Whenever she sat beside me I had enough space on the seat to keep my bag beside me. Well, you get the picture. One fine morning in the bus she surprised me good. I was awed. My manner of looking at her with kind pitiful eyes changed to that with respectful admiration-filled ones. She was carrying an umbrella along with the usual stack of bulky medical text books. Her journey from the bus entrance till the seat next to me was one filled with precarious and unsure footsteps. She flopped down beside me and sighed and I hoped my sigh of relief wasn’t very audible. I resumed minding my own business of staring out the window and somewhere along the way she got busy with her cell phone. I realised it when she started speaking to someone over it. I had no problem with not eavesdropping since she spoke in a soft voice, thus tipping my observations of her towards accurate.

There is another person who also travels by the same bus everyday. Many words come to my mind when I look at him too of which the politest are self conceited perverted midget. I’ve refrained myself from observing him since he himself has the habit of looking around curiously, especially at the female faction. He could perceive my observation of him as a sign of reciprocation that could further lead to wrong (involuntary shudders inducing) conclusions. I’ve not heard his voice either since he has not thankfully come close enough for me to hear it. That morning I looked in the general direction of the bus entrance long enough to know he’d got in. Then I went back to my looking-out-the-window-but-not-actually-seeing-anything routine. The girl next to me talked away on the phone softly. There came a bus stop where there’s a considerably more influx of passengers compared to other stops. So the bus stops there for a few minutes. It was the midget’s stop to get down. I guess he dozed off; I’m not sure and I didn’t care. He was sitting somewhere behind us. Anyway, that day he didn’t realise he had to get down until the bus started to move again. When it did he scrambled hurriedly towards the front entrance. He could have taken the back one but unfortunately (for him) he didn’t. The girl still talked away, oblivious. In a hurry to get to the entrance he ignored the poles that people use to keep them from falling in a moving bus. Seeing him run, the bus conductor realised that he meant to get down. He whistled, the driver hit the brakes, the bus lurched slightly. Now, I can’t say if it was an accident or if the midget was perverse opportunist extraordinaire. On his way to the front entrance he stepped to his right where the ladies’ seat were, scrambled onwards and brushed against the side of the girl next to me. What happened after that keeps playing in my mind in ultra slow motion over and over again. I’m sure it didn’t even last for a second. After brushing against her the midget kept moving ahead aided by the momentum and partly due to the inertia caused by the sudden braking of the bus (er... pardon the technicality). The girl, however, until then talking in barely over a whisper, whipped up her umbrella in her left hand and swung it hard against the front of the midget who’d committed the atrocity of brushing against her. Whack! Her reflexes were amazing! The time between the contact of his arm to her side and the resounding whack was less than a millisecond. The phone was still in her right hand. I’d seen the guy come up from behind from the corner of my eye. By the time I’d reacted and turned my head fully to my left, the brushing, the whipping up of umbrella and the swinging was already over. My head turned towards the scene just in time to see the full fledged whack! I was stunned. And I wasn’t the only one. Many other people in the bus witnessed the incredible incident that had lasted for one whole second. The midget was swung sideways by the force but the momentum kept him moving towards the entrance. He stumbled once over his own foot, but maintained his balance and almost flew out of the entrance. It looked like he was fleeing for an instant. And in that instant I thought that was the wisest thing he’d ever done. Stick around for one more second and you’ll get another whack, I thought. Serves him right! I was elated, pumped with girl-power confidence. I wanted to thump the girl on her back and say “you go, girl!” Frail, timid, shy my ass! More like: calm until you mess with me, then, I’m Xena and I’ll make you regret. Still grinning I turned to look at my new hero (or heroine)...

Only to see her talking on the phone in that soft voice again, the umbrella back on her lap, smiling faintly as if nothing at all had happened. My grin was gone, wiped away. I looked at her for a second or two. Then I turned away and looked out the window, a faint smile spreading on my own face.

The contest

Hey people! I've come to know of THE BLOG CONTEST from a friend's blog. It's been organised by The Colors Magazine. You've to submit your best blog entry that you made in the month of January and submit it according to the simple procedure that is mentioned in the site. For exact details just click on the link. I hope you all take part in it. It'll be fun! :)

The unforgettable

ONCE UPON A NIGHT…

A cool ethereal beautifully pleasant night

Calls me to its irresistible velvety embrace

The lone, yet mighty, moon reflects serene light

Casting a silvery glow on my face

Under the moonlit, cloudless, starless sky

Everything seems to be so quiet and calm

Only the night-birds hurriedly fly by

Their silver wings weaving through silvery charm

A soothing wind blows, Oh! So gently

Afraid even to rustle leaves that greet its way

As if, in its stealth, it is listening intently

To what this particular silent night has to say

I close my eyes and savour this breeze

That caresses my skin and teases through my hair

Undaunted by darkness, unhindered by trees

Regardless of the moon that still shines on with flair

As the minutes and hours melt into this enigmatic night

And the blackest shadows get bathed in a silver haze

The darkest of corners are rendered bright

The sinister figures diminish as if in a daze

Witnessing this sight my soul is comforted

As the wonders of the night never intend to cease

Soon, day will arrive, reminding decisions regretted

For now, nonetheless, I’m strangely wonderfully at peace