THE END

I looked into the pitch-dark abyss searching for a glow of light to show its face. Rather, I received an old dilapidated and obnoxious wind blowing at my face gently.  I turned my face away from the hollow tunnel and allowed myself to calm down my breathing rate.

‘Underground tunnels take away the oxygen from the people and leave corpses roaming on the platform’.

I always hated to hitch a ride in underground trains but this is the cheapest mode of transport and saves fuel significantly. ‘Public transport helps you to save money and consumption of fuel’. I was always greeted by grimaced faces whenever I instructed people like that. I felt pity for them. I reckoned them to be a bunch of careless people who want to live carefree and leave nothing for the future.

‘Sometimes I ask myself whether a future awaits us. You predict something and it happens the other way round. Sometimes I ask myself why we should live when we know we are going to die one day.’

Questions pounded my brain with great force. I took out the newspaper from my handbag. ‘The newspaper is still warm!’ The headline was printed large enough to catch anyone’s attention and so was the news it covered. “THREE KILLED IN ARIZONIAN FOREST FIRE”.  The death of those three were of less concern to me,’ men may come and men may go’. The forest was my major concern. The cause of the spark was still unknown.  I felt a heavy stone balancing on my heart swaying to collapse from its position.

’I hate those people who don’t even have the slightest care about the nature. Those people don’t deserve to live’.

I threw the paper into the bin. ‘Things are getting worse’. I could feel it. Just then, a sight caught my attention. I saw a beautiful kid around 5 years of age and a loving mother feeding him chocolate. The boy refused the offer and protested to intake the chocolate. Just then, a hollow sound reached my ears. It almost echoed the entire tunnel and reverberation increased with every count. My train had arrived. I gave a sigh of relief.

The train screeched to a halt shoving a harsh wind at the passengers waiting on the platform. I stepped into the train and I found the mother and son entering my coach. I found three seats at the corner and invited them to sit with me. The mother gave a gentle smile and nodded her head. I sat beside them making myself comfortable. I smiled at the kid; instead he frowned at me and pouted his lips. Her mother gently rubbed his head and kissed him. I smiled back faintly. The mother started to converse with me.

“I am sorry”.

“Not a big deal” I replied.

“He didn’t mean to do that”.

I shrugged “No, it’s not a problem. He is just a kid. That’s what a normal kid does”.

“I wish he was born normal”

I found her eyes covered with tears. She sniffed deeply and swept her tears from rolling down her cheeks.

“Is he……..?”

She nodded slowly.

‘Autism! Arizona is recorded to have the most no. Of autism children in North America and if a child behaved abnormal, it’s easy to guess whether one actually suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder or not. Such children require constant attention and Arizona have plenty of special day cares available for those children’.

“I am sorry”.

She winked her eyes and gave a broad smile. Questions started pounding my brain again. ‘Why should He create something horrible? Even He is not perfect in his work or is it a game He is playing to test man’s patience?’

I looked at my watch. ‘I wish there is no limit for our actions’. I was searching for a good topic to write a book on, something that would stay in the reader’s mind forever, and something that would make them feel for it with their shrunken heart. I looked at the boy, sympathized for him and his mother. I decided to write a book on Autism. The idea just came like a bolt of thunder and activated my grey cells to take my next step. ‘Maybe I should pay a visit to special care homes for Autistic children’.

My destination arrived and the door slid open. People, like swarm of bees, barged out of the train hastily. ‘Opportunities never wait for you. Just like train. You have to rush to catch it.’ My grandfather often gave this advice because he thought it may turn out valuable for those people who needed a push. I replied, ‘If I miss the train, I will wait for another’. He smiled at me and cuddled me with love.

‘The word ‘love’ is a thing of past to me’. The mother’s love for her autistic child stung me nostalgia. My dad left me when I was young and since then I was deprived of all the love I had for him and the world. ‘Love can be corrupted easily and sadly, it doesn’t have a firewall of its own’. I inhaled the sour air prevailing in my coach for one last time and looked forward to start a new life.

**

A strange place for a common man but not so for those working here. I heard noises that were staggeringly loud enough to burst your eardrum. I saw innocence in the eyes of the autistic children. Maybe they would teach me the true meaning of love. Suddenly a warm hand touched my shoulder.

“Ma’am, you need any help?”

I saw an old lady, perhaps a sexagenarian, staring at me with bulging watery eyes.

“Not more than they do”

She chuckled and nodded her head.

“So what brought you here? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“You are the care taker here?” I asked.

“Yes” she replied.

“I am here to adopt a child”.

“This is not an orphanage, ma’am”.

“I know. Yet there are some parents who must have left their kids in the hot water”.

She stared at me blankly and started walking into a room. She returned with a woman who resembled Margaret Thatcher. She shook hands with me and introduced herself to me. She was Maria Dabney, a renowned psychologist and have been studying and serving the autistic children for over 6 years.

“Autism is a neuro development disorder. The Autistic children are weak in social interaction and communication. You can find stereotypic behaviour in them. They need love, loads of love” said Maria Dabney when I asked her about Autism. “So you want to adopt one?”

“Yes” I replied with a calm and composed smile.

She sighed. “Follow me!”

She took me to the backyard. The lush green trees and bushes instilled a mesmerizing effect in me. The scene of the swaying branches danced in my eyes. I felt the paradise itself had descended down the Earth to comfort me. The fresh air ran through my nostrils inflating my lungs with purity. ‘This is life. No wonder why they call Nature our best teacher. He provides us with food and shelter. He teaches us conscience, science and philosophy. Yet humans, smeared with greed, destroy his mentor leaving no mercy. Nature warned us in the form of natural disasters. We didn’t pay heed to Him. I am waiting for Nature’s next move. Perhaps that day will turn out to be the doomsday’.

 She pointed at a girl in white frock and neatly combed hair standing in front of a tall tree.

“She is for sale?” I asked her.

“She always was”, she replied with a sad face.

“Why?” I asked dubiously.

“She is the most different person I have ever seen in my experience”

She turned to me and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes slowly like a flower blossoming in spring. “It may sound ridiculous but this is what she is. As far as I know she is not an ordinary Autistic kid……….. She talks to trees”.

I didn’t know how to react at that moment. It was pretty hard to believe and it sounded pretty ridiculous at the same time. I chuckled and rubbed my temple.

“You mean she is an animist?”

“Well I don’t have a precise answer for that……But one day she wrote something on the wall, around two months back….er…….She wrote ’Your time has begun’ with her own blood. It looked horrible”

Questions pounded my brain. ‘Should I adopt her? Will she be the right pick?’

“What’s her name?”

“Sarah James”.

“I am packing Sarah”.

**

First she was reluctant to move. Then I said I have a garden in my backyard and tall hazy brown trees for company. She immediately agreed and sat in my car without any protest.  Maria wanted me to take good care of her and I promised I would. Our car journey was silent. I noticed her love for trees and an unbreakable special bond existing between her and the nature. I called my friend, Carby Jarreau to meet my adopted special child. He was my best friend from high school. He did hotel management but ended up in cooking and taking care of my house.

“You adopted an Autistic kid?” asked Carby incredulously.

“You have any problem with that?”  I asked.

Carby sat on my sofa flipping his mobile aside him. He brushed his hair with his bare hands and slapped himself on his jaw bone. ‘He does that often’.

“So……She lives here?” asked Carby.

“Yup” I replied.

“Ok. Not a big deal. Not a big deal”

“Carby, listen. Autistic children require special attention. You help her to communicate and interact”.

“I am not a psychologist”

“Neither do the parents bearing their autistic children”.

“What should I do?”

“She loves trees and ……” I looked around whether she was lurking inside the room. “She talks to trees”.

“Great. You are leaving me with a retarded kid?”

“Just for an hour, I need to buy some stuff for her. Until then, you gotta take care of her”

‘I trust this guy. He often sounds like a fool but he is the most perfect human being I have ever met’.

“I am leaving”

I took my car keys and left my bungalow. I was still not sure about the idea of leaving her with Carby but I had no option. I started my car leaving my worries in the back seat and drove my way to a departmental store nearby. I had lots in my mind and I couldn’t frame the required ones. I took a paper and quickly jotted down the required amenities. Before I could open my car door, someone in a brown jacket with hood hit my car strong enough to make a dent. He banged at the side window. ‘Must be a thug!’  I thought. I slid the window down to converse with the man. Then, I realized it was none other than my father who left me at a young age. His eyes spoke his identity and his shabby dressing hadn’t changed a bit.

“Clara?” he muttered.

I read fear in his eyes. He had been running away from something for a sin he had committed. Old childhood memories flashed like thunder in front of my eyes. The day he left me caused serious ripples in my family. My mother died the day he left us. Quarrel began within our family killing each other mentally. They left me in an orphanage. I knew how hard it was, to be isolated and left in forlorn when you knew help was sitting at a reachable distance.

“What are you doing in Arizona?” I asked harshly.

“Take me somewhere else and we can talk”

I manoeuvred the car to a nowhere place. ‘This is my unluckiest day!’ My mind turned blank and my fingers numb. The road turned ceaseless and I began to experience hallucinations. I heard yelling from the back seat but my hands became involuntary. I swerved the car into the forest. I saw blood, millions mercilessly killed and I saw my father lying dead covered with pool of blood on a lonely road. Then, everything went black.

“Clara?”

I have heard this voice before.

“Clara, wake up”

I woke up with a sudden jerk and felt a sharp pain in my forehead. I saw my father smiling at me.

“What happened? What did you to me?”

“We are home, I guess” He shrugged and giggled.

I looked around me. I was surrounded by tall limber pine. This place gave me a deja vu. Then, I saw myself lying at the footstep of my bungalow.

“How did you drive the car with your eyes closed…? You are strong and tough like your mom”

“Get away from me, freak”

“Clara……I am sorry….”

“Sorry? Do you think your late apology is going to bring back my mother? Our family?” anger spurred me to hurt him but I am already withered and hurt so much. I burnt my past long back and couldn’t fight no more. ‘What’s the use of fighting when you know that the war is done? ‘. I felt his hands on my face. I couldn’t resist my love for him. He created me. I couldn’t throw my father just like that. I hugged him. I felt so warm and tears rolled down my cheeks.

“Clara….. I burnt the forest”

My heart stopped beating. Everything around me came to standstill. ‘Arizona forest fire……Three killed……My god. He was the one behind it……Damn it…’ I shoved him away from me. I felt a warm ash coloured powdery mass resided over my palms. ‘He is not worth living!’

I screamed at him.

“What have you done?”

“I earned some enemies in my business. They came after me to slaughter me. I had no choice at that time. I had a zippo and all I could do to save my life is to fry them”.

“I don’t care about those bas**rds” I shrieked at him.

“Then what are you shouting for?”

“You killed something more valuable, trees. You destroyed them. You burnt them down to ashes”.

He gave a hearty laugh of contempt and grabbed his bloated tummy.

“Are you serious?” he asked incredulously.”You are weak and pathetic like your mom. You are still the same cold-hearted girl”.

“Are you trying to cover up your mistake? I am calling 911” I briskly took out my mobile to hit a call to 911. He fell on his knees and started imploring for help. Just then, Sarah appeared in the doorstep and gave a viscous stare at him. Her white flock was smudged with blood strain and her hands were covered with oozing fresh blood. I started panting as if I had run a mile on gravel. My father sputtered in fear “Who is she?….Why is she soaked in blood?”

“CARBY!”

I ran into my house. The lobby was still and eerie except for a whispering noise coming from upstairs.

“Carby!” I cried.

I found the carpet stained with blood. The blood trail ascended up to my attic. I rushed upstairs to track the source of the blood trail. To my horror, I found the entire wall adorned with blood. I saw Carby’s body slaughtered brutally, his gut pierced and intestine carved out in clumps. The window nearby, was wide open and a long thick sharply pointed branch had protruded inside my room with its edge painted with his blood. I was petrified by the horrible scene and my throat choked to puke.  I still heard whispering from the bedroom. I opened the bedroom door slowly. I saw a video running in my Mac. I slowly sat on the chair and played it from the scratch. A Japenese female news reporter appeared in the screen and was reporting about shocking murder of Takumi Watanabe, the Environment minister. He was allegedly killed by three children who seemed to be autistic. Another woman appeared who was a psychologist in a special day care, said those kids had some kind of power. They had predicted disasters and had an ability to talk to trees.

I felt an anvil been dropped on the centre of my head. ‘What’s happening?’ A series of videos in the related video section nudged my eye balls to pop out. ‘Tsunami rocked Indonesia killing 90000’,’Angry Etna erupt killing 60000 in Italy’, ‘Melting icebergs near Greenland’.

‘The world is nearing its end!’ 

“Dad?”

I rushed downstairs and hit the doorway to check out where Sarah and my Dad were. I found them missing. I could hear the wind whistling in the woods. I jumped into the driver’s seat and started my car. ‘She must be after my father……..My father committed a sin……He destroyed a whole forest………. Why is she doing this?’

My car refused to move. The engines were working right but the car wouldn’t start. ‘I have to save my father before something goes wrong’. The door got locked. The door handle refused to move. Sweat blinded my eyes. I reached for my gun in the glove compartment. ‘I have no other choice’. I shot the side window to shatters with my gun and struggled my way outside.

Time was running so badly. Cruel thoughts forced me to unconsciousness. ‘I have to fight!’ I gathered all my strength and stood up. My legs felt numbness. My knee felt brittle and seemed to collapse at any moment. Suddenly, a gunshot echoed the entire forest. Fear pulled my heart into the abyss. I started to limp. The wind started blowing even harder. I stumbled over a rock and a sharp stone pierced my forehead. The pain was sharp and shrilling. I felt so crippled. Then I saw a pair of baby pink shoes in front of my eyes. I turned up to see the one bearing the shoes.

“Sarah?”

She stood there ogling at me like a cat. ‘Like a black cat!’ Her hands were covered with blood and she was holding a .44 magnum pistol on her right. ‘She is very much alive…….’ It was hard to believe but it had happened. Pain caused tremors in my nerves. ‘I have lost everything that holds dearest to my heart. Why do we live when we know we are going to die one day? Nature has been watching our actions from the very beginning. Mistakes can be excused only once but He has excused us thousands of times, maybe millions or billions. The trees have soul. So do the weeds and the flowers. We were selfish. We refused to be what we were. We failed to play our part in this world. We made a terrible mistake. The spirit of Nature has waited so long. The autistic kids were chosen as its messengers, not to warn us but to present an invitation to death. The Spirit marked the people whose sins were intolerable to the nature and killed them. The Mayans were right. Nature chose them as its prophet. I realize today is 21^st December, 2012’. I smiled at Sarah. She embraced me and whispered close to my ears, “The wait has ended”. The wind was at its tempest uprooting the trees wildly and dry leaves swirled in large circles. Sky grew gloomy announcing the doomsday to Arizona and….. the people of earth.

__END__