Waking up
from the deep sleep, I looked at the empty bed and wondered if it was just a
dream. The wrinkled bed sheet, pillow that seemed lost in the corner of the
room and the bed covers seemed to say otherwise. Throwing the bed sheet off, I
sat at the edge off the bed at looked out the window. It was a misty morning
and the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. Electricity poles, town
lights and small houses started to turn off their lights as the night lowly
turned into day.
My body was
stiff and muscles sore from the events of last night. Looking over my shoulder,
I called Mary out loud yet the empty house just echoed back my inquiring voice.
The room was once more as empty as it was the previous day and wondered what
happened and what my next course of action will be. Getting out of bed, I walked
up to the window and looked out. Even at this early hour, a sea of humanity had
started to flow past the window which I am gazing out of.
Breaking my
gaze from the lost souls wandering below, I wandered down to the kitchen. The
coffee machine in the corner was happily brewing away a pot of coffee. I stared at the half filled coffee pot, lost
deep in a hypnotic trance, the hiss of steam and the ripples as the drops of
coffee fell into the liquid below.
Images of my lost childhood when I was carefree floated in my mind. Time
and images slowly floated by and my mind became agitated as I saw my present
life unfold before me. Gritting my teeth, I drained the coffee mug, got dressed
and stormed out of the house to cleanse my mind of my troubled past. Time flew
by and one moment blended into another as I tried to forget my past. Life
slowly lost all color and became shades of grey. It was as barren, rocky,
desolate windswept plain as my mind and heart had become.
Picking up
the phone, I called up John to pick up the art works which had been lying in
the attic for what seemed like a lifetime. The guy who had come by to check the
paintings had quoted a decent enough price to tempt me to make the call. Time
rolled on and the afternoon slowly turned into evening. I found myself at the
museum at the newly acquired paintings on display. A tinge of sadness passed
over me as I realized the memories came alive as I relived each and every brush
stroke.
“Countless
years spent together. Yet, trust and a relationship once nurtured with care
gone up in smoke in an instant. You know I drew that painting and the subject
is you when I first saw you running down the alley after a kite which was
floating away. That day I knew you would be mine one day yet never foresaw the
day when you would run off with another man. If I only knew that I would find
you here, I would not have come here myself.” I mumbled as I quickly walked out
of the room and into my car.
In the now
empty room, a woman walks up to the painting and looks at it as if for the
first time. She glances at it as if she remembers the bygone era. Running down
dusty lanes, knocking down bicycles, chasing chickens that were eating grains,
running through clothes hanging on clothesline, getting chased by dogs and
people while the eyes were glued on a stray kites falling towards the ground.
The oil paints had faded as time had taken its toll except for:
Fleeting
moments
One caught in
time
An image like
a shrapnel blast
One that
lingers for a lifetime
Pain that
stills the heart
Warmth gone
Chill remains
Bitter
moments flow thru the veins
which seemed
freshly penned. Running down the hallway, she pushes the door open only to see
a car leaving the parking lot. Sinking to her knees, memories of a failed
marriage, guilt that she just couldn’t shed, bitter words which she promised never
to utter, flowed through the tongue flawlessly which had receded into the dim
corners of the mind all but forgotten, rushed headlong into her mind. Time
passed by as the bright afternoon turned into evening. Leaning her head against
the glass door, she felt lonelier than ever. The sound of a matchstick striking
against flint and the smell of cigarette smoke snapped her out of the daze she
was in. Her eyes widened with fear as she realized that she wasn’t alone in
this empty museum as she heard a click of hammer fill her ears. Turning around,
she felt a bone crushing pain as darkness enveloped her.