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"Après mois le déluge."
[After me, destruction]
~~~~~~
The world spun around him as he squinted his eyes, to focus on the single photo frame, strategically placed in the centre of the wall -tilted slightly
Laying almost upside down on the worn out forest green sofa, Bloodshot eyes stared unblinkingly, into the black and white picture
The irony of the situation screamed into the eerie, deafening silence of 4 am. The smiling faces in the picture, candid laughter and joy taunted him, tortured his soul
There was a dark stillness in the air around him, a single lit bulb in the long stretch of the narrow hallway hung a dim light, lulling him back and forth between consciousness and the daze of sleep
There was utter silence, the night seemed to be on pause; but it was as if churails were screaming into his ears viciously, the kind that dadi jaan told his cousins stories about, while he lurked in the hallways trying to listen.
As much as he wanted to, he no longer had the energy to scream, or pull his own hair in frustration. Instead, he let his body loose control of itself, floating in and out of consciousness
In
And out
In And out
In a daze, the anger and frustration flowed out of his veins drop by drop,
And suddenly, all he felt was relaxation and haze,
His eyes drifted,
He no longer saw the stained patchy carpets
Nor the cracks in the ceilings
There was only blue, as far as he could see
He was afloat on waves the ocean pushing him back and forth as if he was the lightest grain of dust -never a burden on the earth
The sky was light and blue sun rays illuminating the curves, dips and cuts of his features
Iridescent light, swallowed by the gentle part of his lips, engulfing his being
Light
Afloat
No more anger, no more craze
In his weightless state, he laughed out loud- in wonder, in ecstasy,
Every fibre of his body, down to the littlest cell, tingled as emotions rushed through his veins, pumping through his heart Sending jolts of electricity and excitement down his body Emotions -that he could not normally feel
And yet, even amidst all this movement, there was stillness
Eyes once again focused on the frame
But all he saw was blue skies and endless light.
Between Floating in and out, the lights dimmed and eyelids slowly fluttered, and he craved another sip, another doze, a little bit more to keep him awake.
Flailing his arm that hung off the sofa to grip the neck of the bottle, dissatisfied groans stumbled out of his lips,
As the bottle tipped over, pooling red velvety liquid into yet another stain on the carpet
Darkness and silence engulfed once again
What a paradox was Ghasaan Lashari Of light and of dark, Of weight and of weightlessness, Of life And of death
~~~~~~~
6:43 am
An Alarm clock blaring,
Phone ringing,
Morning traffic,
Seemed as if the morning had vowed to make hungover Ghasaan, miserable.
minimal light hung in the atmosphere of the room, seeping through the drawn curtains and sharp noises of car horns blaring outside.
He groaned as he lifted his body off the couch, a hand going to his head as his sore muscles pulsated in pain.
The phone blared it's ringtone yet again, and this time, groaning, Ghasaan pressed the phone to his ear, to be met with a very familiar voice....
"Beta? Airport ke liye nikal gaye hou na? I've made all the preparations here"
[Son? You've left for the airport right?]
Baba
Clearing his throat, Ghasaan answered,
"Jee baba, bus abhi jaraha hoon,"
[Yes, baba, I'm just leaving]
After Exchanging brief pleasantries, the line was disconnected and for a short moment, Ghasaan pressed his palms to his head, elbows propped on his lap as he held his head in his hands.
Dreading to get back to his reality
To the place where it all started,
Pakistan.
~~~~
Happy Pakistan Day to all my Pakistani readers! Here's the first chapter of Asraar, hope you're as excited as I am 🙌🏼 Show some love 💓 Next chapter comes after a whole lot of votes and comments ;)
