Prolouge

The rain drenched her frail body but she didn’t shiver. She could stand still on the wet sand and watch the great ocean rising to catch the raindrops, like a desperate lover trying to embrace his beloved…like a merciless beast trying to devour its prey…like a possessive mother trying to hold the hand of her hyperactive child …. To her it was the simplest definition of life….losing identities in the hope of finding love…an endless quest… She walked towards the sea. The roaring waves invited her, encouraged her. She was too polite to refuse. The waves caressed her feet gently. But she wasn’t reassured by the gentleness. Fear rose and ebbed within her as she watched the waves rising and ebbing. She was sure it was a dream. Not just because she wouldn’t dare to go to the beach without her Grandpa, but also because she was sure that she had had the nightmare before. This knowledge intensified her fear because she knew what would happen next. Omens of coming misfortunes cannot give comfort. They cannot give courage to face the calamity. They can just evoke fear. As she was watching the ocean a boat appeared out of nowhere. She got into it and sailed into the vast and furious ocean. After a while as she was surrounded by water, she looked at her little boat. Right next to where she was sitting there was a corpse. It was a gory sight. The sight of burnt and decaying flesh nauseated her. She wanted to throw it into the sea, but was afraid to touch it. She shivered when water touched her feet. She looked down and saw a hole in the boat…  She placed her palm on it in an attempt to stop the water from coming in. But, the force of the water pushed her hand away. She placed both her hands on it. She wasn’t ready to accept defeat. When she thought she had escaped death…that she had succeeded in saving her little boat from drowning, the corpse extended its decaying hands and grabbed her neck. She couldn’t free herself from the deadly grasp because she had to keep her hand on the hole. If she tried to free herself, she would drown. If she didn’t wish to drown she would be strangled. The choice wasn’t between life and death, but between two kinds of death. She began to cry. She didn’t wish to die. She knew she wouldn’t die because it was a dream. She also knew that nobody would come to save her because it was a dream.  She wanted to scream but couldn’t….because it was a dream…

When she opened her eyes, she was relieved. She was safe. She wasn’t drowning. She wasn’t being strangled by a corpse. She wasn’t dying. A stream of moonlight flowed into the room through the open window. In the silvery light of the full moon, she saw Kaushik’s innocent face as he slept. He was sleeping peacefully, ignorant of the torment she was going through. She looked at him with admiration, the way a child would look at a fragile toy. She admired the dimple on his chin, the stubble, his unusually thick eyelashes, the way he smiled in his sleep. Her Kaushik was handsome. Yes, her Kaushuik! The man she loved more than herself. What would life have been if she hadn’t met him? The thought frightened her. No! She wouldn’t think about it. She leaned and kissed him gently on his forehead. He stirred. She smiled. She sat up and her attention was drawn towards herself once again. She was alive! She was happy that she was alive. It was true that she had never achieved anything in life. She knew she was born to be a loser. A series of sorrows and failures awaited her. But, she was ready to embrace that painful future rather than death. It was just a nightmare! She wasn’t dying! She was so relieved that she began to laugh. Kaushik opened his eyes and looked at her, irritation evident in his expression.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked.

“Nothing”, she replied “go back to sleep”.

He smiled and enclosed her in his arms. When he began to kiss her, she had to face the painful truth she had been ignoring for a long time. His touch didn’t ignite her passion. His kisses didn’t make her feel like Cinderella. All she could feel was suffocation and…disgust. Her heart broke when she realized that she didn’t love him anymore. She didn’t want to be rude, so she didn’t resist. She closed her eyes and took solace in the nightmare once again. Sometimes fear is the only shield against pain…

“I must go now.” She said, getting up abruptly.

He didn’t stop her…she didn’t bother to give an explanation.

                  A few hundred kilometers away, somebody was as grief stricken as she was. It was raining heavily, but he was unaware of it. He was not aware of anything happening outside his room. He couldn’t hear the gentle noise when the raindrops caressed his window. He didn’t see the lightning cutting across the dark sky. He didn’t hear the roar of thunder that followed. He was too obsessed with guilt. Yes, guilt! If people can get obsessed with love, lust and friendship, what’s wrong in getting obsessed with guilt? After all it’s just another emotion which affects the individual who feels it and not the person who is the reason behind it. In the dim light of the flickering candle, he looked at the beautiful face of his angel. The smile, which had always been a source of comfort, suddenly seemed sarcastic. As if she was mocking him…his lack of courage.

“I’m sorry,” he said, holding back his tears.”I couldn’t keep my promise. But I didn’t give up without trying. I tried my best. “

She didn’t stop smiling. She wasn’t satisfied with the explanation. He wanted to give up. He didn’t wish to live anymore.

“Please forgive me” he said.

She kept smiling. There was no forgiveness for his sin.

     They were two kindred souls, suffering the same grief…the same loss. Both unaware of the pain they had inflicted on each other. They would never know. They would never know that their lives had been linked by destiny many years ago…through the love of the beautiful girl who dared to love the unwanted. She would never know that he had been punished for what he had done to her. He would never know that while he was praying for death, she had taken solace in a nightmare. She would never know that he was afraid to face life. He would never know that she was afraid of death. They would never know that they missed each other. They would never admit their mistakes. They would never believe in destiny…

 

Reviews

[The dark story]

This is really captivating and highly intriguing. I loved the way you have portrayed the description and. Myriad shades of emotions so vividly. It made me emotional at one time and frightened about the next move at the othertime. Loved it. So excited to read its next part.
Pen on!!

[Jwakefield]

I think this is really good. I like the short sentence structure and the really detailed description of the sea. I'd definitely read more.