That night however Faisal couldn’t sleep. He was trying to register what had happened in the class that day. Faisal had heard screams. He was sure the scream where familiar. He heard the voices calling out to love them. He thought it was….but he dismissed the thought. It couldn’t be. He drifted into a deep slumber only to be woken up in heavy perspiration, it wasn’t due to any nightmare. There was a power cut and that had caused the fan to stop. He was perspiring due to the heat.
It hadn’t rained much since the time he had, had his magical walk with Nikita. He gave a thought about himself getting married to nikita. While sitting on the edge of the window pane he felt the cool breeze ruffle him. He felt her everywhere. She were like god omnipresent. He thought about tomorrow it was 29th tomorrow 30th august he would propose her. He thought about how it would be and started writing a poem that he would read out to her.
rise, let the sun fall.
Let the sunrise, let the sun fall;
You will always remain my sunshine and that’s not all.
Let the full moon glisten, let no moon listen;
How much ever saintly it be you will always be my sizzle.
Let the clouds darken, let the thunder rain;
All thy efforts are vain for your smile is my lifes gain.
Let the stars shine, let them twinkle and pride;
For they’ll eventually fall but you’ll always be mine.
Let the sea storm, let the tide raise;
For all I know that the sea had its phases
But I’ll sail them all, if you are waiting for me to daze.
Life is small and nature untamed;
Tell me you love me or everything else fades….
He was sure that this poem would kill her. He thought that he should built suspense and decided that he would ask her not to talk to him all day. He was so excited and happy. The next day in college he waited for her she was wearing a red dress. He had seen it before. It was the day they had first talked. She looked serene as always. He gave her a chit and left leaving her all alone on the bog college ground. She opened the chit and could not help but cry, she felt immense pain hitting her. The chit read.
“meet me tomorrow in ccd there is something we need to talk about. Don’t to talk to me all day. I don’t want to.”
She sat on her knees feeling the pain run through her each and very cell. She was in a horrible state she had been there before. But this time in all the years it hurt the most. She felt like her heart was being removed from her body and she was a carcass. She walked up somber and walked back to where she came……
The next day she was waiting for him at the CCD. He was looking charming. She thought why look amazing when you are about to dump someone that too in public. Much to her amazement even today there was nobody at the café. It was like the day he had proposed her. The thought the he would propose was even more disturbing. He came in and saw her she wore the black dress she had worn the first day they had met. She looked the same as she did on that day almost replicate.
He went to her and sat directly onto his knees fishing out a bouquet of flowers from his back and read out the poem to her. She was in tears. He loved her and she loved him back. She was happy. Happy at the peak. Faisal had thought of today as today she had lost her family and so it was only fair for her to gain one on this very day. She was dumbstruck and dint know what to do. She leaned from the chair and whispered in his ears a ‘yes’. He picked her up and was happiest on the peak too. He was successful, he was engaged. He loved the moment. But she felt sorry for saying yes.
The poor soul had no idea what he had done. She was feeling senile and powerless. She just went with the flow. She had her most beautiful hours of the millennium. They did everything she wanted and enjoyed every moment of it. They didn’t even kiss, but somehow that didn’t seem necessary. Their soul had entwined what could be possibly more pure then that.
She was happy and still was somewhere inside she was sad. He couldn’t sense it, but he was to face the most traumatizing news of his life. The next day she didn’t show up at the college. It occurred to him that he had never asked her where she lived. Suddenly it dawned upon him that, she had always talked and he had heard her. She kept on going on and on about anything and everything. Never leaving a chance for him to ask anything. He was lost. The city seemed new to him again. He felt like life had betrayed him. He was in hell. Suddenly,
98987XXXXX
Calling……..
‘Hello! Is this Mr. Faisal Khan.’ a girl asked.
‘Yes, May I know who’s Speaking?’. He asked.
‘ I am from the city hospital do you know Nikita Singh.’ She asked.
‘Yes!’. He said scared.
‘I am sorry to inform you but she met an accident last night, from her purse we could only find your number she is admitted here. We would like you to come in and complete the formalities.’ She said and hung up.
She was alive. This was the only thought that came to him. He rushed to the hospital. There at the reception he inquired about Nikita and came to know that she was stable now and in ward 10. he rushed to her he entered the ward and what he saw disappointed him. It wasn’t Nikita it was somebody else. He went outside and conformed that she wasn’t nikita.
When nikita gained consciousness and was inquired by faisal about the purse, she said a girl in black dress dropped it last night, she picked it up and rushed behind her; somehow she disappeared in the dark and in a urge to find her she met an accident.
‘Where was that?’. He asked with hope.
‘Near the lake.’, she said.
The lake faisal thought. It was evening, his half day had passed in search of nikita and the other half with Shweta. He walked to the lake. He held the railing and let the nature speak to him. His heart was impatient and pained. He stood at the boundary of the lake trying to find something and then he saw the tower of the loud mansion shining brightly in the water of the lake.
Despaired and hopeless he walked to the loud mansion. The streets somehow sympathized with the old chap. The darkness had filled him inside out and now he was heading to an abandoned mansion thinking that he might find love of his life there. He was probably insane. Faisal neared the grand metal gates of the loud mansion. They seemed sad. After all nothing likes to be abandoned. Lost in his thoughts, he heard something. He heard screams. Those screams where a cacophony of pain, anguish and pity. He felt it in him too. Somehow instead of being scared he empathized with it. He fearlessly walked in as he neared the rear of the mansion the screams got clearer.
He wasn’t hallucinating someone was screaming and he somehow felt the screams familiar. He had heard them before. He walked to the window from where he and nikita had entered the loud mansion last time. It was closed and dusty. He entered the hall and saw nothing but a beam of light peeping though the high glass ceiling it created a canopy, he heard someone screaming and crying it was strange this place was supposed to be abandoned. It stuck him then he had heard the screams three days back in the lecture hall and somehow had felt them coming from her. Was it possible? How was it? could it? he called out.
‘Nikita are you here?’. He asked moving towards the staircase.
‘Go Away and voice echoed through the grand mansion.’, he walked but was stopped seeing a shadow suddenly appearing in the light that filled the room. It was a soft shadow with sharp features somehow he didn’t fear going near it. it was her shadow.
‘Nikita what happened?’ he asked now standing closer to the shadow.
‘Please I beg you, go away!’, she said pleading. A drop appeared on the ground.
He bent down to touch it and placed his hand over the shadow, it was her and she cried.
‘NO! I am not going anywhere. You have to tell me what is going on.’, he said authorities.
‘Faisal, it was most difficult for me to return but I did. I love you please don’t make it even more difficult.’, she said crying.
‘No. first you tell me what is going on or I will never leave.’, he said sitting down on the floor acting like a 10 year old.
‘ please!!’. The shadow collapsed on the ground shifting closer to faisal trying to touch him but passing through him. She was weak she had suffered too much.
‘ But if I tell you, you will leave without another question.’, she thought that this was the only way to shoo him away.
‘Ok!’, he said placing his hand upon the shadow.
‘ The story goes 300 years back. It was a time where people of this region had collapsed into the dark abyss of ruin and chaos. It was due to many aspects. Money, deceits and betrayals. People became irrational and did whatever they wanted. God thought he had to do something. He sent a part of him as a rich and wealthy man. That man was sent to make everything fine. Till his age of 25 he served his purpose well. He calmed everything down and ensured there be law and order.
When god sent his man, the devil sent a part of his soul to create the balance. Balance to ensure that as much as good happened evil should also happen. He sent a beautiful witch who should create fear among people and make sure that there remained balance. When everything was under the control of god, the malicious damsel to lure god. He was devil after all, why create balance when you can over power god. The women thought that she had lured the man of god in trap of her beauty. But god, he plays by different rules.
It was the night they had got married. The women thought that after she gets physical with the man of god. He would become evil too. She was wrong that night. She looked in the eye of the man of god. She was lost he was so serene so powerful and yet so soothing and humble. A moment of look in his eye changed her, that night their physical intimacy sealed her fate. Her soul turned pure but outside she was a witch. The devil was outraged by the act of her damsel. He turned the world upside down for her. He cursed her that giving birth to her child she would burn away and so would the man of god. He said that the child would be entrapped in the walls of this very mansion that too in the form of a shadow.
A shadow that could just be heard. He left them. Then god came down. He said that the balance of the nature had to maintained and therefore he couldn’t reverse the curse of the devil, but he gave a blessing to the witch that her child’s soul would be pure as there’s was. He said that every year one month the child could take its true human form, go out to the world and find her love. The tragedy was that the person had to love the child would love had to replace her and had to live in the mansion as a shadow instead of her. If she could do so she would be set free.
From then started the painful months of the witch’s pregnancy. She screamed and screamed for nine months. On 30th August she died giving birth to a shadow of a girl. Booth the witch and the man of god burned in the fire of the curse. From then on the daughter of god and devil got one month every year till her birthday to find her love. She would exit the mansion in hope and enthusiasm, sometimes she couldn’t find the love and screamed in pain; sometimes she found love and they couldn’t fine her after her time was over. After her month was over any where she would be, she would get back here.’. she completed and got up.
‘Now you leave.’. she said no more crying.
‘You were their daughter!’. He said now everything becoming clear.
‘I told you the truth and then you will leave.’. she said disappearing in the darkness.
‘I promised you to be there for you forever.’. he said. ‘I am not breaking it.’ he shouted.
‘Why?’, a whisper came.
‘Because your pain is my pain. You agony Is mine and your fate is mine. You have done this for 300 years you deserve a freedom now.’. he whispered.
‘The fate that I have faced is not easy. You cannot die, you cannot be seen and you are treated as ghosts.’. she said sobbing.
‘Do you know why I can take it?’, he asked.
‘Why?’
‘Because you had to find your love every time you achieved your physical form. But when I achieve my physical form I wont have to search for any one. You would be there waiting for me. Wont you?’. he asked.
There was a sudden uneasiness the boy felt something. As if he was consumed by darkness. He was changing into a shadow a dark shadow so dark almost disappearing in the pitch black. And then he saw her turning slowly into herself. Her beautiful self. She felt guilty of sacrificing her love for her body, but it wasn’t her choice. He turned into a mere shadow and she into a girl again.
He spoke ‘you are beautiful!’.
She didn’t respond. She had forgot to tell him that the one who takes her place won’t be audible to her. He could only meet her in the one month he had.
She left the loud mansion leaving it loud again. She had a life……
Every year for one month they spent together. While sacrificing himself faisal hadn’t thought about time. Every year nikita would age while he would remain the same. Then one day she died…..the curse now haunted faisal. He understood her agony and pain. He was all alone just a shadow….a shadow that haunted the mansion and the people of the city forever.
One day faisal decided that when he turns to his human form he would ask for sacrifice and if not then he would take the sacrifice. Form then on the loud mansion became a hub of death. Who ever dared pretend that they loved him and then would deny to take his place would get killed…….
__END__
