21st of April

A Story by shoaib rafi

And as I am typing away my mind (high and feverish) on Writer’s Cafe:
I feel like a reversed bubble

drifting downwards...
...
It was a mistake. I was just walking through the dirt-dry road of midsummer in front of my home, when the sudden realization hit me like a psychotic storm. Sudden and vile.
It’s your birthday! my mind shouted.
...
And I wasn’t excited. Not at all. It’s been three years since I’ve been trying to forget this day. 21st April. I forget too,
but the very next day when the date appears,
my miserable brain whispers the date to me like the night.
And I went home.
To sleep.
To forget.
...
And Roni calls me (my buddy).
I pick up, even though I had no desire to do so.
" Where you at!
" Home." I reply.
" Man, this chick I’ve been talking to... I told you, you remember?
I say nothing
" Well! We’re goin’ on a date. (In an excited voice) You think she’ll let me hit?
" You see Roni, I gotta sleep... I’m dizzy.
" Oh yeah, Nuri called--"
Suddenly there was this grenade that burst inside my heart.
A thousand butterflies were caged in this rusty dusty box.
And suddenly the box shattered and the vibrant and melancholic butterflies
started hitting like a wild car running through the highway.
The acidic butterflies almost pierce through my stomach and cut my skin.
My head starts to feel dizzy.
Like those drunken trips I used to have.
With her... Nuri... My ex.
" What did she say?" My voice cracks.
" Oh nothing! Hey I was wondering... it's your birthday right?..if you could lend me.."
I press that red button like I’m killing a memory. A painful one.
...
And as I am trying to ease myself (from this pain! from this ever-nearing melancholy!)
by typing down whatever comes to my mind,
my eyes fall on this picture near the computer that I’m typing with,
and my eyes are melting and falling all over the keyboard...
that sweaty liquid that feels warm on my skin...
Nuri, she was beautiful that day.
It was raining.
She forgot the umbrella.
And I wanted to see the rain gliding on her smooth skin
and wash away every bit of melancholy inside me.
I pulled out the phone and took a picture.
Of her...
It was my birthday
and the rain looked heavenly
because she was outside, that day.
...
And every time I see this picture I think about reaching out to her and
make everything okay.
...