This short story is participating in Write Story from Picture India 2012 – Short Story Writing Competition.
WSPI-2012-02
Photo credit: Nevit Dilmen
I still remember it very clearly. Just as clearly as the water in the lake used to be, transparent, almost, that sometimes, I could even see the little fish that used to scatter and swim away as soon as I stepped into the water, onto the pebbles and the rocks. Why I was so fond of the lake was also partly because of its interesting history. The Skeleton Lake, it is called. Many years back, more than two hundred skeletons, actual human remains, washed up on the bank of the lake. There was a huge investigation, made headlines for many days, but till date, the two hundred sets of human bones remain unidentified.
That particular day, we, Cousin Nikki and I, went to the lake, just as we did every single day, once the chores in the house were complete. It was not very far from our house, so we ran till the lake, passing the little market on the way. Cousin Nikki climbed up the rocks, and sat right at the edge, farther away then we usually did. I stared at her.
“Mother said we’re not…”, I began but she cut me off.
“Don’t be a baby! Come on, it’s hardly anything.”
I believed her and very carefully, went up the rocks, sat beside her, shaking a little bit. Cousin Nikki was not really my cousin, but it was hard for me to call her anything else, at least in my head.
“Feel amazing, hun?” she asked.
I smiled and nodded. The water looked so peaceful, forming ripples and gently breaking on the rocks. It had always been blue and clear, but today it looked especially so, looking deceptively cool. Is it why this is the Skeleton Lake? Because it is so deceptive? Holding two hundred dead people in its waters?
We stared ahead, and saw a little white fishing boat off in the distance.
“Hello!” Cousin Nikki yelled, waving her hand. “Hello, hi!” she said.
I gave her a stern look, but she didn’t seem to care, and after a bit, even I joined her. We did not know whether the fishermen were old or young, or whether they were fishermen at all, but we just kept waving and laughing; it was rare to see boats on this side of the lake.
“Will Babu come today?” she asked me.
“He always comes when his father goes off for work”, I reminded her.
She always asked for him, and I very proudly answered on his behalf, because he was my friend first. He was in my class at school, and during these holidays, he would always come over and we would play all sorts of games. Cousin Nikki, after a few days, started joining us, and I could tell, even though she pretended otherwise because she was a bit older and tried to act superior, that she really liked hanging out with us.
“How far do you think this lake goes?” I asked her, because right then, it seemed endless, stretching out incessantly. It was a vast lake that was true; we had never sailed across it fully, at least as far as I could remember.
“I don’t know”, she said, lost in boundless amazement. Her huge eyes gave away her thirst for knowledge, her inquisitiveness, for they always shone in wonder at the sight of something new. And every now and then, I could feel her getting restless, to move out and explore.
I admit it; Cousin Nikki always had a profound influence on every aspect of my life. I followed her in whatever she did, and she was forever coming up with new things to do. I started to speak the way she spoke, and walk like her, the new walk she had acquired, the one in which she would sway her hips like she did not care about anyone in the world. I looked up at her for everything, to the extent that my mother started to worry. Don’t lose your identity, it is the most precious thing, she said to me always. And I kept that in mind, I did; I would realize when Cousin Nikki would go overboard, and consciously stopped myself from doing the same. Perhaps this is what saved me in the end.
“What do you think is on the other side?” she asked me.
“People, obviously- maybe a village or a town. Children just like us?”
“Could be” she said. “Or maybe.. Civilizations. And kings with horses, and subjects. Their people enslaved under ancient agreements, and plans for rebellion against the royalty…”
‘Shut up!” I said. “How can that be? I bet there’s a tiny village, with no running water or electricity. That Nikki, is the reality of our lives. No kings or civilizations.
She gave me a hard look; “Suit yourself”, she said. “But the day I do find such a land, you will be the first person to know. “ I considered the possibility of such a land in existence; it seemed bleak.
“Say, what do you want to do? When you’re older. “I asked her.
“I don’t know”, she replied. “ I don’t understand it. Why do we have to live life like everybody else? I want to make my own rules, not follow some million year old standards, defined by narrow minded men.”
I thought that was quite fair. “Maybe we should join a circus!” I suggested, giggling. “They have the best life, don’t they?”
At that very instant, someone shook me by the shoulders and in a moment of horror, I thought I would fall off the edge, straight on to the rocks below and the water, so I opened my mouth to scream loudly. But before I could get sound out, a hand pressed over my mouth, and I heard the sound of laughter. I relaxed and turned around-
“Babu!”
He was doubled up in laughter, and Cousin Nikki, who was first watching him with a raised eyebrow, also joined in. Both of them continued to chortle, and I narrowed my eyes and stared ahead.
“It’s not funny” I told them, severely. He nudged my shoulders with his, still snickering.
“Come on, do you want to see a trick?” he asked, and although I wanted to remain a bit angry, I decided to get over it and squealed yes. Babu was always learning new magic tricks, and every day, he would come and excitedly show us. If any one of us did end up joining the circus, it would be Babu.
Cousin Nikki and I faced him as he sat down opposite to us. “Okay, look carefully, right?” he instructed us. I nodded and looked at Cousin Nikki, who was staring at him with full concentration.
He took out a coin and placed it on the back of his palm. Then he flipped the coin up in the air, catching it with his other hand and made it into a fist. He pretended to crush and crumble the coin, which was in his fist, opened it up, and the coin had vanished!
I exclaimed with delight, clapping my hands, and even Cousin Nikki stared at him in amazement.
“But obviously,” she said, “it must be in your other hand, it has to be.”
He showed us his other hand, and indeed, there was the coin. He started flipping the coin from one hand to another, then started to make it dance on his knuckles, as we struggled to follow his movements with our eyes.
“Woww” I couldn’t help but say it out loud. “Teach me also!”
“But my darlin, a good magician never, ever reveals his secrets,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows dramatically.
I giggled in response, and he, laughing, came to sit down beside me, and the three of us sat facing the lake. We threw little pebbles in the lake, seeing who could throw the farthest.
“Do you remember that song, we sometimes sing in school, in music?” he asked me.
“Which one?”
He started to sing “The only girl I’ve ever loved, was born with roses in her eyes..”
“But then they buried her alive”, I joined him. “One evening, nineteen forty-five.
“With just her sister at her side. And only weeks before the guns, all came and rained on everyone”
“Now she’s a little boy in Spain!”
I was getting in my element, when Cousin Nikki interrupted, “What are you singing, which song is this?”
“Playing pianos filled with flames..”
“It’s a song they taught us at school, it’s, uhh, about-“
“All sing to say my dream has come”
Babu continued singing, looking at me, smiling, suddenly bent over and kissed me lightly on the cheek. Taken aback by this unexpected gesture, I stared at him for a few seconds.
“And now we ride the circus wheel..” he sang in a very low voice, grinning almost mischievously.
I looked at him curiously, but out of the corner of my, saw Cousin Nikki’s silhouette.
At that instant, three things happened simultaneously- I quickly turned my face away from Babu’s towards Cousin Nikki, and this sudden movement shook the uneven surface beneath me a little, as I slid a little further towards the cliff.
“Nik-“
I began, but she pushed me away, and I, trying to balance myself, attempted to rest against a rock, but that rock itself rolled forward, gliding me along with it. Babu tried to grab my hand, but I was already too far off. Within a matter of seconds, the most confusing and alarming moment of my life, I fell off the cliff, as I heard Cousin Nikki scream and Babu yell,
“NO!”
Before I even had a chance to comprehend or process what exactly had happened, I had gone down and went straight into the water, crashing on the bedrock. The fall itself was not much, hardly eight or nine feet, but the surface on which I fell was completely rocky. I felt the rocks pierce my back, my arms and the side of my face, and I opened my mouth to scream but just gulped in water and choked. Thrashing my arms and legs wildly, I tried to rise up, and realized that the water level was not deep, and if I stood upright, would only reach my abdomen. I was blinded, by water, and my drenched hair, which completely blocked my view. I felt like a thousand knives had been thrust inside my body, and I couldn’t think of anything but the pain, and cried out instinctively. The lesions on me held me paralyzed, and interfered with my ability to think of what to do next. I tried to stand up, but slipped again and fell on my knees. In panic, I looked around and right ahead, saw somebody climbing down hurriedly. I saw him running towards me, splashing in the water, and then realized it was Babu.
Babu. No name had ever sounded more beautiful in the world. For a second, I forgot everything and focused on him- why did he look so frightened? He started looking bigger and bigger and it dawned on me that he was getting closer,
“Babu!”
I called out to him, just in case he couldn’t see me, which was stupid, because he was right there in front of me. Suddenly, a sensation of reason.
I felt his arm around my shoulders and gave in completely, abandoning all attempts to stay upright. I concentrated on the support around me, and shut my eyes slowly, trying to adjust myself to a better position. I could hear him screaming my name out, hysterical, and wanted to reassure him, but was not able to gather enough energy to do so. He moved his hand around my back, to lift me up, but it stung my wounds even more, and I screamed hoarsely.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
He yelled, almost beside himself, and I tried to smile to let him know I was fine. I saw the red in the water, and it was kind of fascinating, the way it mixed with the water, going around in spirals, and I couldn’t help but think of the skeletons. I could hear Babu singing, but it was only in my head, that very same song.
”And now we must pick up every piece, of the life we used to love..”
I looked at him to check if he was okay. Somehow, he managed to hold me aloft, and I looked up, and saw Cousin Nikki. I wanted to raise my hand to wave out to her, but was unable to do so, which I guess was for the best, because when I saw closely, she had a look of absolute terror on her face.
She was staring at us, with her hand over her mouth, in a horrified manner, and that image still haunts me, every single night.
Why? Because that’s the last time I ever saw her.
__END__
