Cursing the rain and the unexpected weather, she slowly walked down the incline of the station. With aching back, and unreasonable illness, she dragged her feet towards the apartment, hoping to find some solace. The slow drops of rain correlated with the sorrow in her heart, giving form to the tears of the heaven, which were fulfilling the gesture on her behalf.
Crossing the small gate, she looked up. The lonely road looked lonelier in the dark. Saving it from its shackles of isolation were a two year old and his father. She did not consider herself the companion, as two lonely do not make a less alone.
The wobbling gait of the child shaped a smile on her lips, which quickly whisked into the sorrowful, yet stern, expression which she had been carrying, since the news arrived. Was it the randomness of the moment or the well preserved gloom, she will never know. But the wobbling gait and protective modus of the father flushed her eyes to the brim.
It was not her sorrow, it was his. Then what possible justification there could be, for the sharp pain in her chest? The pain! That choked her soul and ignited an irresistible need to rip out the memories.
Another glance at the father-son duo and she couldn’t ignore the thought any more. “He must have walked exactly like this, with his dad. The space cannot be filled. I wish I could help, or just do something…Anything!” Suddenly, the air started to thicken, “Breath..breath...just breath damn it!” she mutely shouted to herself. Taking a deep breath, “Almost home, just breath,” she consoled herself.
The entrance door to the building was assuring, however, the lack of breath made the task arduous. One step at a time and the number of stairs to home kept on lessening. It was the back pain but the typhoon of thoughts in her head should be blamed more, for making the job everlasting.
Dragging her heavy feet with a heavier heart, she climbed. The dense air and the incapability to handle the situation were evasive. Had she reached the second floor than she busted into tears. The effort to control the copious flow, intensified the gasp for air. That air, which seemed to diminish beneath the melancholia and the gloomy weather. Thankfully, some unknown sound hindered her wrestle and helped her run upstairs with a speed of a Ninja. In situation like this, what else could a scared one do, but, run towards her shell. As she, was in no need, or intent, to encounter a living soul.
“Room No. 10”, here it was. The sanctuary, errand to reach which, was worth the world. Quickly she inserted the key in the lock hole, only to realize that it was not functioning. “Damn you! Open I say!”. It took her more than a minute to realizing that there was no lock on the door and she was just fiddling with the key. Trying to fit it in an imaginary lock, which was supposed to unleash the cascade of sanity.
“What are you upto?”, asked the surprising voice of her roommate. Regaining her pose, she looked up and smile, “Nothing. How was your day?”
What she replied she did not hear, struggle to fight the urge to run till her nerves bust kept her well occupied. She went through all the daily rituals effortlessly, but only she knew that the pain in her chest was someone else’s and she was bearing it, in the name of love.
