“Of silence & whispers” – (Sequel to “Light of the Serpent – The Awakening”)
Suspense Short Story – “Of silence and whispers”
Photo credit: taliesin from morguefile.com
The young boy named Aaron whose age was just ‘thirteen’, walked past the herd of people gathered in an alleyway, past the bridge. The boy was an orphan, living in a Catholic orphanage. As he walked towards the entrance of the orphanage, he saw the sister standing there, scolding the guard on duty. When she saw him coming towards her, she gave a sigh of relief.
“We were looking all over for you. Where were you, my child?”
“Sister, I just went out for a stroll across the bridge, I am sorry for my negligence. I should have taken Father John’s permission.” said the boy.
“Yes, you should have. You know that venturing out has been strictly restricted yet you didn’t pay any heed to the Father’s rule. Don’t ever venture out the orphanage like that ever again. Father was very worried and now when he sees you, he’s going to scold you for that. Go and get ready for the Morning Prayer in ten minutes.”
Now off you go. Fast.
The Sister took a U-turn and walked away as the boy went towards his dorm to get ready for the prayer.
The dorm had a unique silence to it for the first time in his life; he was completely alone because the other boys had gone out for the Morning Prayer already. Aaron saw this kind of silence only in the church before.
“Wow, silence is really gold. It’s so peaceful in here.” The boy thought to himself.
(Silence in a crowd and the silence, when alone are so different. It makes you introspective and contemplative. It isolates you from the external disturbances of everyday life, if the power of silence could be harnessed and properly channelized; its power is beyond bounds. The wise man knows the essentially of silence. But, for the boy, it was a whole new experience, being in a room free of any kind of external chatter or sounds, so tranquil and totally alone. )
He sat there on his bed for a whole 2 minutes, engulfed in that calming serenity of silence. Then Aaron stood up and got ready as fast as he could for the prayer, and he ran for the church. When he reached there, it was packed and all set for the Morning Prayer. The Sister signalled him with her hand towards a bench at the end, and Aaron went towards it. The bench was at the extreme left end of the row, at a corner behind which there was a door, shut and locked. Eventually, the Father arrived, the everyday chorus took place and it was time for everyone to close their eyes, and join their hands for the prayer.
The Morning Prayer began and there was again a tranquil silence, but it was quite different from the one he experienced, while he was alone. While the prayer carried on, inside his head, he compared the difference between the two and also wondered whether the others are also aware of it. Aaron was mentally absent from the church, he lip-synced and was physically there. He just couldn’t somehow pay attention to the prayer.
Aaron’s eyes were halfway open, and eventually he completely opened his eyes, while the prayer was still going on, but was about to reach its end. Suddenly, he heard an unfamiliar feminine whisper and felt wind blow into his ears. Aaron couldn’t comprehend the whisper but he knew, it said something beyond his understanding in a cryptic fashion. This didn’t ever happen to him before.
The prayer ended and everyone went on with their daily activities. Aaron stayed right there on that bench without moving an inch as the others walked out. Actually, he wanted that silence to engulf him again while alone. The Sister noticed Aaron sitting at the corner, looking at her as if he wanted to say something to her, yet he wasn’t sure about it. She walked towards Aaron and sat beside him.
“What is it Aaron, everyone moved out of the church. Why are you still here? Is there anything or anyone that is bothering you?” asked the sister.
(Inside she sensed something was not quite right because, he wasn’t himself that day. First, he went out by himself without informing anyone. Then he sat there without moving an inch. Something was not quite right, she wondered.)
Aaron just looked at her silently.
“Tell me my child, what is wrong? You can trust me.”
Aaron simply replied with a nod of his head which seemed like a ‘nothing’.
(Though he wanted to be in that silence again, inside he thought that it would be great to clear this out first so that he could enjoy the silence in a much better way without this issue at the back of his head, constantly coming back on the conscious level, every other moment.)
Aaron noticed how her hands were clasped tightly and had a little shakiness to them. He didn’t have a father or mother or anyone to call his own, but this time he felt, she was really his own elder sister who cared.
Aaron: Can I stay back here in the church for a while by myself sister? It’s Sunday and we don’t have any class. Everyone will be either playing outside or doing other chores. I don’t have to do anything that I can think that important.
Sister: Yes, you sure can. But, don’t sit here too long, alone by yourself. You know, you should play with the other kids outside, interact with them more. Don’t be so isolated from others. Anyway, I must go now, it’s been too long already.
The Sister went away to do her daily chores. Aaron watched her walk herself out of the church.
(Now, finally Aaron was here, all by himself. He thought; there could be no safer place than the church. It was so peaceful and tranquil. There was a heavenly aura and energy about and inside the church.)
As he sat there in silence, he noticed the church in much detail. Things he never knew existed inside the church, even though he visited it a numerous times. He wondered why? Why didn’t I see these things, so beautiful and marvellous? There were artwork all around, the murals; even the furnishing had an elegant finish. The walls were of white marble which looked new and shiny, not a single fault he could find. The Father’s podium was beautifully decorated like an altar which held the ‘Divine Bible’. It was set higher than the place where they sat. It was like an ‘awakening’ happening within him at 13, all of a sudden. He was thinking differently. Weird things were happening and he was observing a lot around him like probing something under a microscope, he was seeing things with a new and refined perspective. Though he had always been a keen observer; that was just limited to people. Now it extended to his surroundings and beyond. Maybe because he was getting more mature and his observing quality was increasing. Was it really? Something he could never imagine was about to happen and he didn’t have the slightest clue about it.
Aaron was hypnotized by the sedating silence and the beauty of the church, its decorations and the artistic, heavenly murals depicting something beyond his comprehension at that age, but he had an eagerness to decipher the meaning behind certain symbols and murals. Candles were lit across the hall which glorified the aura of the church. Something inside told him that there is a meaning beyond what everyday eyes can see. As he sat there, inspired by the wonderful beauty of those murals, he suddenly heard that whisper again with a slightly coldish wind blowing in that ear. And, this time he was a bit astounded and moved by it. He wasn’t afraid because even though he couldn’t understand what the whisper said or meant, it felt friendly and welcoming but still it was something out of the normal and something that never happened to him before. But, unlike an adult who would generally panic if something like that happened to them because of their conditioning. Aaron didn’t have any fear from it. He was rather amazed. Wanting to know where it actually came from. He was a quick learner and a curious kid and therefore his curiosity multiplied manifolds. He thought; it can’t be anything malevolent, maybe it’s some angel trying to tell me something, after all I am inside a church. But, this time he stood up to explore the church in a better way.
(Maybe, the whispers said something to him on a subconscious, subliminal level causing an awakening within him or it told him to do something, like implanting an idea inside him on a subconscious level giving directions, he directly wasn’t aware of.)
Aaron looked around the way the benches were designed and elaborately kept in a sequential manner. Every painting which hung on the walls had the exact amount of distance in between them. The walls were so high and all the four corners were of exact same dimensions, there were cylindrical pillars for support proportionately built and designed. The murals apart from being beautifully made were also colorful, and told a story which of course he was too immature to understand. But he was sure that someday he might understand what they told. Aaron walked around the church seeing and exploring what it contained in a detailed manner like an archaeologist exploring a new-found land. It was amazing. While at it, he heard the cold wind blowing and the whisper for the third time. Aaron thought whether he was imagining it now or something was wrong with his head. He wondered if the paranoia and fear he witnessed early in the morning was the reason behind him hearing voices or the belief that Satan was the reason was real in actuality? At exactly this moment, fear set in to some extent.
As he was at it, Father John came in the church and saw him making the cross.
“Hey, Aaron, come here my child!” called out Father John as he walked fastidiously and obediently towards him.
“Yes Father!”
Father: Everyone looked for you, people were looking for you. It’s not safe outside. Never do that again. I had a word with your sister in-charge. It shall be made sure that you never sneak out again. If you are caught then you will get a scolding from me. Is that heard?
“Yes, of course Father John.”
“Good. Now tell me, why are you here for so long even after the prayer ended, didn’t you leave after the Morning Prayer?” asked father.
“No, I didn’t. I just wanted to stay back for a while by myself. That’s all. I took sister’s permission to stay back since its Sunday, and I don’t have much to do today!” told Aaron.
“Okay dear, it’s been too long. Go and rest now, lunch is about to begin. Come back again later, if you feel like. You have been here too long now. Jesus also feels like being alone once in a while.” said Father jokingly. (Showing his lighter side, which Aaron didn’t see before)
“Okay Father, I will take your leave now.” Said Aaron, and walked slowly towards the exit, wondering whether he should consult father regarding the voices he had been hearing all day long. He wasn’t too sure whether he should even tell the sister about it. Since it didn’t harm him, he decided to keep it to himself. For little Aaron, it was only the beginning of something beyond his beliefs or even understanding capability.
Of silence and whispers.
***
