An arm’s length: This fixed yet variating distance was all that stood between Anant’s life and death.
Ribs protruded through his vest as he lay motionless on a couch. His stretched out hand pointed towards a silk shawl that was on the coffee table inches from him. His hand betrayed him yet again and knocked a photo frame to the floor shattering its cover glass.
Anant looked at the picture with tearful eyes. He was smiling; hands wrapped his wife who resembled an angel.
Perhaps she is with her own kind now; he thought.
He couldn’t remember if the background was Srinagar or Ooty but narrowing his choices down to two seemed an achievement in itself for the ninety-two year old man.
He reminisced how Ruchi warned him
“Don’t take mango showers so lightly.”
Cold winds rushed in through the windows.
“At least cover yourself with a shawl”, she always said.
He started losing conscious as the hypothermia took control of his body.
There was something written at the bottom of that photo frame; but his frail eyes refused to help him.
Just looking in that direction gave him a sort of strength .His hand shivered more vigorously than a drill machine in its final propulsion.
He felt the smooth silk rub against his fingertips this time. Just as he was about to clasp it, his body felt a jerk and his arm contracted.
Darkness engulfed him as the minimal motion in the room ceased.
Birds chirped outside as Anant woke up in a surprisingly cozy room covered with the silk shawl.
He picked up the photo frame from the floor whose cover glass was now fixed.
He strained his eyes to read what was written on it;
‘We may not always be together but we will never be apart.’
P.s: You may visit our judge Neelima Vinod’s Facebook page and have a look at her upcoming novel Unsettled.
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