Three women. Three secrets. Three tangled lives. One death.
Kahani : My husband has died long back. Leaving a grocery store, a daughter and bills to pay. All I have of my own is my garden.
Ruhani : They taunt me at college. He assaults me at night...
Fog has engulfed the whole surrounding. Usually, the trees are black in colour this time. But today, they are all wearing a white shroud. The nip in the air is making the tip of my nose cold. My sleep breaks early morning. 4am to be precise, with the ticking clock of never-ending household chores. Technically 4am is morning, but there is no light as such at this moment of morning. It's better this way. I inhale the cold wind, thinking nothing, doing nothing, just being there; a sleepless creature in the silence of darkness.
The dirty plates of last night and the piled up laundry and the dust at the corners, they all call me at this time of my life, everyday, but I prefer to look at the dark sky with occasional twinkling of stars. Sometimes I even count them. One… two… three…
*** I can hear the bell at the glass door of the floral shop which is standing opposite, facing this house. It must be 4:30am. I look at the small shop whose darkness has been removed by the girl of the shop. Watching her is the activity which starts the beginning of my day. She has arrived with her scooty. Is she limping today? She always seems in some kind of pain, but it’s not the same when there’s light around her. Maybe she is like me, finds comfort in dark night.
One single street lamp is falling on the silent engine of the scooty. I can smell the fragrance of fresh flowers in the air. I haven’t gone to that shop before. She attracts me like a mirage, far more than the flowers. She has an unknown familiarity which I can’t identify, but she pulls me towards her. I feel sad seeing her in pain. Should I ask her why she seems to be in pain every night? What if she doesn’t like it?
The girl is busy preparing the shop with fresh flowers. Roses sell the most. Looks like love is still the emotion people are playing around with. It makes me laugh.
I feel a vibration resonating around me. My laughter cuts the silent late night. Did the girl hear me? Wait, is she looking at me through the glass door?
I pull the shawl closer to my body. The cold wind is picking up its speed. The girl is taking a cat nap keeping her head on the counter table. It’s all silent again. Only the cawing of a lonely crow. Caw… caw… cawwww…
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Total words : 574
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