Rise From The Ruins

 Tick-tock, tick-tock. The seconds flew by like drops of water dripping on, and on.  A second, a minute, an hour passed. He still gazed at the clock.

His room was dark and he was in no mood to illuminate it. To illuminate the room would be to say it out loud, crystal clear and make it irreversible. He got up from his chair, loosened his tie, and looked at the glass of water on the table. A second later, there were pieces of glass littered on the floor. Water on the floor. The storm building up inside him was finally coming out. He narrowed his eyes, and looked around the room one last time. It looked neat and clean. Two cupboards on either side. A photograph frame on the table had him and his wife in arms, with an aura of love around them. He went in to the washroom, and looked at himself in the mirror. His face had a weary expression, and his eyes tired yet alert. The eye ball set in a bright red background, a clear amalgam of fury and sorrow.

Two hours ago, he had been sitting right here, in this very room, with a beaming smile on his face. It was his son’s birthday. Ricky was turning 9 this year. He and his mom, had gone to get Ricky’s birthday gift. Ricky had insisted that he would buy it himself this time. Life couldn’t have been better for Jason. A great job, a loving family, and praise from all his colleagues at work. He had everything he had ever wished for. That was before the phone call came in. He had been tirelessly working on a presentation he was going to show in a meeting later that day. The phone rang.

“Hello.”

“Hello. Mr. Jason Ledge?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

“This is Niki Cuddler, from the Oxford Hospital. I am sorry to say your wife and son met with a car accident and are admitted here. Your son has only suffered a few bruises, and is alright, but your wife has suffered a severe hit on the head and there has been a lot of internal bleeding. You would better come here as fast as you can.”

He didn’t care to hear the rest. He moved out, into his car, and was by Maria’s side in fifteen minutes.

“Promise me you will take care of Ricky.”

“We will take care of him, Maria. You are not leaving me alone. I will not let you go.”

‘Don’t act like a kid, Jason. You and I both know very well that there is no hope now. It’s too late.”

“No, its not. We can still get you through. I wont give up hope.”

“Meet Jason Ledge, the Optimist. Bulls are down 95-110 against Lakers with 10 seconds to go, and yet this guy will back up the Bulls to win.”

“Ha-ha. Very funny.”

Just then, Maria started to breathe heavily. Jason dashed outside and started looking for Niki. She came rushing in and Jason followed suit just when a nurse said, “Am sorry, but you will have to wait outside.”

Seeing no way through this, he accepted his resignation in silence. After what seemed like a quarter of an hour or so, Niki came out. “Am sorry Mr. Ledge, but Maria couldn’t make it.”

“This… this is a joke right? You are not serious, are you?”

He went into the room and gave Maria a push. “C’mon Maria, stop this silly joke. You better speak up or am not gonna talk to you for a long time coming.”

Niki walked in silently  and put her hand on his shoulder and said, “We tried our best.”

His eyes blinked. He was again standing in the washroom, and only time seemed to have passed by. He walked out and looked at the photo frame again. He picked it up and took a long breath. Then he walked up to the window, and threw it outside. He searched for his purse in his trousers pockets and found it on the left side. He went into the washroom, and searched for all the things that were related to Maria, in his purse. He found two photos, and a piece of paper. He felt for his lighter, and then took it out. He struggled with himself for a second, and then burnt both the photographs. Then he looked at the piece of paper. He kept the paper back and walked out leaving silence to reign in the room again.

 

“If tomorrow starts without me,

And I'm not there to see,

If the sun should rise and find your eyes

All filled with tears for me;

 

I wish so much you wouldn't cry

The way you did today,

While thinking of the many things,

We didn't get to say.

 

I know how much you love me,

As much as I love you,

And each time that you think of me,

I know you'll miss me too;

 

So when tomorrow starts without me,

Don’t think we're far apart,

For every time you think of me,

I'm right here, in your heart.”

(I know I will always be right beside you, but just in case am not, remember me through these lines---Maria).

 

Tick-tock, tick-tock…

 

Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Ananya, for providing me with the poem, that I have used in this story. Thank You.

Reviews

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this one got me tears....