The Stranger – Mukul Raisinghani

Theme: I was about to cross the road when …

I had a perfect day today, right from the beginning it was exceptionally beautiful. But it is said that everything in life has beautiful ending and if it’s not beautiful it’s still not the ending. So I will leave it on you to decide whether it’s a beautiful day or not….

I had this sweet smile dancing on my lips, shining eyes whistle on my lips and jumps in my walks….. I was on my way back home in the cold wintry night of Delhi, but as I WAS ABOUT TO CROSS THE ROAD I saw this crumbled shadow, all cuddled up within herself. I continued walking towards her, and realised that she was a girl and she appeared to be a girl from good family.

It was kind of strange sight for me especially at that point of time of night when everyone would have been sipping tea or coffee beneath their quilts, there was this girl crying her heart out all alone in the chilling darkness. I had to return back to home as soon as possible because it was already 11:30 pm.

But there was a voice coming from inside that said no. I wanted to help, I wanted to be there, I had no idea how to help and what to do, and what to say at home, but yes despite all the doubts I knew I had to be with her. And so I did what anyone would have done or say what no one would have done.

Without thinking much about anything I kept my hand on her shoulder.
I knew the consequences, I knew she would yell and she would be mad like hell, I knew she too will be having some old story of betrayal and broken trust and it would be very difficult to soothe her but yet I did …. I had to….

And like always nothing that was expected happened
Shockingly she just surrendered her body and her soul in my arms, she was trembling like hell as she broke down completely in my arms. She entangled her arms around tightly, may be that’s what I should have expected, unintentionally she did what I wanted her to do, unintentionally she helped me in helping her .

And after crying her tears out she started crying her heart out. She finally allowed her words to come out, and she started like this…..

He and his friends have made my life a living hell, whatever I do wherever I go his friends and their comments follow. I love him, he will never realise this … even I don’t… I don’t care why he do this to me and I really don’t want to be loved back but the way I am being treated is unbearable. I just can’t live in this hell. Even though he hurts me so much, I don’t understand why the hell I love him?
People smile in love but I cry in love, people smile and fall in love but I am crying and falling apart in this love…. May be that’s why they call it sweet poison….

As she was saying all this, she grabbed my collar and started yelling at me …
Why the hell you have to do this to me ?

Who the hell you think you are ?
And god knows what eles
With much more pain and insanity, she started yelling
“Nothing at all you’ll get except my death “
“Nothing at all you’ll get except my death “

And while saying all this, her voice and she fainted. I took a sigh of relief, I have never been treated this way, I have always seen this in movies but this was the first time I experienced it.

But now as I had this time of peace I realised that I was getting late and I had to do something, so I tried waking her up. I was able to feel the complete silence surrounding me, and the coldness of her cheeks…

She was not at all responsive, there were no sign of breathing. In my heart I knew it, I accepted what was exceptionally unimaginable….. My heart started beating at a rate faster than ever, knowing that he has been entangled with a deceased.
I sensed it that she is no more, I was absolutely helpless. I was totally terrified, anyone would have been in the arms of the deceased.
As those cold winds touched my drenched body, moist started freezing and all I could say that it was a smouldering ice feeling.
Anyone would have felt the same wave of terror, but it was me who felt it…. I forgot all the smiles and every memory that was created…..

I gathered some faith and hope and held her by the shoulder and kept my head on her head and tried waking her up again….
My helpless and hopeless heart convinced my hopeless and helpless eyes to look into the eyes of the deceased…..

I wish I had never done that, but I did. And the impossible just happened, she opened them. I totally regret that unavoidable decision that I made. Those were the scariest eyes I have ever seen, so terrifying and so daunting….
like the flash of lighting and like the flash of welding she opened them momentarily and my heart sank down completely and I almost stood up in fear.
But as I moved up I heard her whispering, and I realised that it was just a dream and I was imagining things and I had not even seen her.

I heard her saying “I love you, please don’t do this to me and some more unclear words”. I was a bit less perturbed and again I held her by the shoulder and looked into her eyes, her pretty face. I told her that I love you and I am sorry and I’ll always be there with you…..

I tried saying something more but before I could say anything locked were my lips by her lips and it lasted for 3 seconds
Three seconds gave me the wonderings of a lifetime,
Mind and heart stopped working at the same point of time….

“THOSE THREE SECONDS LASTED FOREVER AND ENDED SO SOON”

And instantly she unlocked her lips and entangled me tightly in her arms.

And I realised….

“What would have been a softest moment, became the tightest and strongest ….”

I tried to forget about those three seconds,I worried about the running hands of second’s. I tried to recall something about her, So as to help her….
I tried to recall something that she must have said…
But all I could remember,Was she yelling at me…
All I was able to recollect was,
She never said he or him or anything like that…..

May be it was me who was assuming it from the beginning…..
May be She misunderstood me for someone else….
I knew I had nothing to do with any such thing, But still the reason she was sleeping peacefully was my apology.

What was bothering me was
If I had nothing to do for what I apologised??
Why I apologised??

It was okay if said I’ll be there
But why sorry???
Now everything turned obtuse and riddled
I
Suddenly I was reminded of her face,
It was pretty and had that beautiful gaze…..

Her face seemed familiar, I tried to recall harder,but I remembered instantly who she was,
She was the girl of my recent dream,
The one who died….
The one was dead in my dreams…..
How can I imagine the face that I haven’t ever seen…..

I just couldn’t believe what was happening
How can she be the same girl, Horror again started to swirl…..

I was afraid,
More than I’ll ever be
If I survived….

I was just wondering can anyone be punished for a mistake that he has not commited,NOT EVEN IN HIS DREAMS……

And I realised who was in my arms, and what she meant when she said “nothing at all you will get except my death”

As i was thinking of those daunting eyes I heard some noise and some vibrations, weird and a strange feeling. I was not able to think of any possible reason why she started crying again.

But it took me less than a minute to realise that it was my phone that was ringing and it is till now the best feeling I have ever had, as I picked up my cell I realised that I was still in the Metro. And I saw that it was my station only, so while telling my mother that I’ll be there in 10 minutes I came out of the station…..

And I started walking down the street that I have always known, it never seemed so familiar to me you all know why……

And as I was about to cross the street I realised the perfection of my dreams………………………………….

That crumbled shadow was again perceptible…..