Within/Without

The Beginning of the End

The last thing Lakshmi washed as she tidied up the kitchen was the chai pot. She flicked off the light and went to her bed. All of Lakshmi's defining moments seemed to revolve around chai- profound insights or calls to action, shared laughter, grief, even some good-natured gossip, or revelations about herself and others. Maybe it was the heady aroma of the ginger and cardamom mixed with the tea leaves that always created a sense of nostalgia and longing for God knows what, or the process of drinking it with a saucer, making slurping noises as the hot tonic went down the throat and gave comfort and nourishment to her mind and body- chai was always the pause that she needed. With that blissful thought, she closed her eyes. Sleep was hard to come by at her age. She tossed and turned, her mind suspended somewhere between the subconscious and reality.

She opened the drawer next to the cooking range to take out the small chai pot, filled it with a cup of water, and put it on the stove. Akshay's picture on the wall had become crooked and she reached out to straighten it. The frame fell, colliding against the pan as they both thudded on the floor. Her reflection stared back at her in the fragments of the glass that splintered everywhere. Taken aback, she looked at the wall in surprise.

A small crack appeared in the wall where the frame was hanging. She touched it gingerly, but it started spreading at her touch. She jerked her hand away. The crack spread rapidly across all directions, creating a giant web. A brick from the wall fell, barely missing her, and she bend down to pick it up. It turned to dust as soon as her fingers touched it. She cried out loudly and slowly backed out of the house as the bricks fell faster and faster. A gaping hole appeared where the wall used to be. She backed into the living room, frightened and confused. The crack multiplied as it made its way across the ceiling, the bricks turning to dust even before they fell on the floor. She hurriedly stepped into the balcony and unsteadily put her hand on the railing to support herself. As soon as her hand touched it, it collapsed, taking her with it. She fell into a deep abyss, dark and unending.

She tried to call out for help, but she seemed to have lost her voice. Her arms flailed around her into nothingness as she tried desperately to grab on to something. Finally, she found her voice and screamed. Aai and Baba ran towards the abyss, calling her name. Vinayak threw down a rope, and she managed to hold on to it, clinging for dear life as they brought her up to the surface. She stood shakily on her feet and looked around in dismay at the pile of debris where her home used to be. She stared in horror at the Wada, which was crumbling right before her eyes. Hari came out of the crumbling dust and pushed her back into the abyss, and the last thing she remembered was Dev screaming, "What have I done!"