Twilight is nigh
And I must go
To the place that’s mine
So I may be whole.
All the parts of me
That are scattered hither and thither
Must come back again
For a summons has come.
My sister will turn 24 soon. And that means she is going through all the things that I went through when I was that age. It also means that I can offer her unique insight into how not to freak out and how to milk this so that she learns her lesson without inconveniencing herself too much.
The problem is – she doesn’t listen or want to listen to my advice.
She screamed
She wept
Till her throat was raw and eyes numb
But it wasn’t enough.
She tried again
She cried again
To find a way to express
The anguish and rage.
Hello, yes you, you over there, yes I mean you, are you listening? Are you ready? Come closer, a little more, no that’s it. Are you here or is your mind wandering away? Take a minute, take a breath, this is important so I need you to focus. Snap my finger, hello? Yes good.
No you do not need a pen or paper. This is not that kind of a story. You only have to listen to every word I say. And listen well because I will not repeat it. Once it’s told, it’s done. Then the tale is yours for you to do as you please.
Shall we begin?
You would hope, think, assume that the hardest part of being a writer would be writing. In case you missed the heavy dose of sarcasm in that line, let me tell you, writing is the easiest part of being a writer!
“Hey…psst…hey, where do you think they are? They are never this late. I was told they love us.”
Fire and pain.
Screams.
Did they belong to the people she had killed? Or did they belong to her? Where did she end and they begin? Was Abhor a part, perpetrator or god of this living hell?
It was the knowledge that Abhor was recruiting an army that finally pushed Shades to drop all pretences of being Sarla and once again take up the personality of her alter-ego. Suddenly she had access to not only all her powers but also her anger and the drive to make a difference. As Sarla she didn’t care what the world was going through. But as Shades, she couldn’t help but care…it was in her DNA to care and to do something.
Sarla was leaning over Gauri, feeling panicked. Though she looked okay, there was no way to be sure if Gauri was still Gauri till she woke up. She saw her stirring and felt relieved. “Lemon, how are you feeling my child?”
Gauri felt like she had just finished doing twenty squats in gym class. She groaned and twisted but recoiled seeing dadi hanging over her, thinking it was a…black…shadow…that had engulfed her. “Dadi…” she whispered.
“I’m right here baby girl, right here…what’s happening?”
“I…can I hug you please?”
Sarla had lost track of time. From the outside, the breach in the mountain had looked finite. The way Abhor’s general had described it, a place you could reach within a few minutes. Now it seemed like they had been on this path for eons and would never find its end. A panic set in her body but before it could take proper control of her, she received a resounding slap on her face.
“I told you to shield yourself,” Shades whisper-yelled.
