Akhand Singh

She hammered the very core of negativity and found the light that took her into his arms, nurtured her and taught her to stand on her own for the very first time. Noticing her courage even the sky fell and cried so loud that she was drenched, she was not offended but happy that the rain washed away all her tears, and brought her the sensation that she never felt since long. The emptiness was fading as she walked on the street, droplets striking her face and washing away the burden from head to toe, she stops for a second and looks around, the beauty of silence and the quietness in the nature around grabs her tight and whispers the promises of keeping her strong and that she would survive no matter what. She kept walking until she reached home, her feet hurt yet there was this happiness that she couldn’t ignore, something inside her was playing the radio of all the good songs of life, she was cherishing it and her heart was dancing like never before. She jumps on the bed and hugs the pillow like it was her own soul, she could see the eyes and feel the face same as hers, it wasn’t the pillow in reality but the very image of herself that she was hugging, she found the way in, she found the self in her eyes and this was the one thing that she needed since long.

It wasn’t too long that she found out about him, he has been cheating on her even after everything she did for him, for the love she provided and for the miles she ran for him. She found out this in a very wrong way even if there is a right way to know this? it shook her foundations, broke the belief she had in love and about caring someone, this left her to rotten. She felt like she didn’t had anything left in her life to give her a meaning and a purpose. She felt like everything was gone, no hope, no desire and no more love.  Her life was strangling and she needed a reason to get back to living.

That day when she was travelling on a subway:

She was waiting for the train like every other day, feeling miserable and not talking to anybody, not even looking around to find someone, she was just lost into her thoughts, memories about past and about him.  Subway arrives and she gets in. Noticing the vacant seat she grabs it and sits with silence.

People get in and get out as the subway moves on to the destination, she doesn’t notice anybody not like she used to. The one thing she loved about subways was she would meet so many people, would see so many new faces, some blank, some worried, some happy and some just bursting with life. That always used to make her happy and feel alive. But today it didn’t matter anything to her. She was just like another face that she once saw.

“Excuse me, can you spare some change” He asked.

She looked up, and found this old man standing there in front of her. The questioning look on her face suggested the old man to plead again.

“Could you spare some change, I have not ate anything since 3 days” He says.

She takes out a dollar ten and gives it to him, without a word.

“Thank you Helen” he says and gets out of the subway as it stops.

“How did he knew my name” she thinks and the thought occupies a room into her mind that she was forced to get out of the train and follow him.

He walks slowly, the rusty bones struggles to walk but he doesn’t stops and keeps walking. After about a mile, he stops and turns around. She hurries and hides to the corner of a shop, trying to be unnoticed. He buys something to eat from the food shop and starts walking again and keeps walking for another half a mile. She follows him throughout keeping a distance. Nothing was going on her mind except the sense of finding the truth as how did he know her name?

Later the old man stops near a bridge and walks down through stairs to the pavement around the lake. She does the same but walks with caution. Her eyes couldn’t stop the tears when she finds the old man feeding the old lady covered in blankets, she seemed sick. With no second thought she guessed this old lady to be his wife. She kept watching as he fed his wife, the feeling of someone taking care of someone rose from death inside her own soul, the battle ground of emotions inside her was flushed with the chemical reaction of this new feeling. She observed every of his move with silence until he turned back and said “Are you going to hide there forever?”

She walks to him and asks “What happened to her?”

“She has been sick from last 3 weeks, her fever is killing her” he says.

“Can I help you?” she asks

“You’ve already helped me, by providing me food” He says.

She listens to her heart and calls for a cab. “Let’s take her to the hospital and get her well” she says

In around next fifteen minutes the cab comes and in about another thirty the old lady lies in one of the hospitals bed. Doctors treat her, luckily she just had flu, but due to lack of food, rest and medicines she grew weak and could have died if was not in the hospital today.

“Thank a lot” old man says.

She just shook her head, indicating that the thanks were not needed and that she was really happy that she could help. Staring at the old lady a very different feeling rolls on her heart, she feels the loneliness fading and realizes that her happiness was never bounded to him, but it was always her own treasure. The smiles on the old couple’s faces brings her the lost strength and confidence, she could see the beauty in life again.

“I would leave now, please take care of your wife” She says and walks to her home.

 

“Life isn’t about you and I, it’s about us, and it’s about the tiniest creatures and about the huge one as well. Life is about the nature, about love and about everything you can see around. So when you feel wrecked, you are hurt or you are lonely, all you need to do is grab your heart and throw it to see the beautiful world around”

 

~An Empty Glass