Sunday, March 29, 2015

Drowning in your love .

The cold was never his friend. And today especially things were not going well. The knee cap has twisted for an unprecedented 3 times last night and the painkillers were not helping at all. The fact that he can only rely on his one remaining hand for support made getting up all the more tedious and almost impossible. After over an hour of struggle, he managed to drag himself up and the day has slowly begun.

Although hampered by the misfortunes plaguing him over the last few weeks, there was no change in the man himself. One cup of strong coffee, 2 cigarettes and he settle down with the second coffee cup to read the news. That was when the phone rang. Grunting at the effort, he managed to answer the call, and that is when his world stopped. It was no tragic news, no calamity has befallen his kin, just a normal greeting , “Hi T, how are you ? “ spoken in the shy and sweet voice , the one he had known years ago , the one he thought he had lost .

It was in that winter time 7 years ago that he first met her. The streets were emptying as the day was coming to an end. Ignoring the cold ,ignoring the rush he just sat there outside the S-bahn station. No, he wasn’t waiting for the train, nor was he waiting for his friends. It was just that he was drunk , each step was a pain which finally made him sit down and try to clear his head before the day descended into night, for at night the party begins again. He might have dozed off because when he came to , it was already dark and he was not alone on the bench anymore. There was someone sleeping next to him, and the wafting smell of alcohol confirmed that this was another one of the victims of the on going Stuttgart fest. With some effort he managed to get back up on his feet. Still groggy , he almost fell back again but steadied himself a mere seconds before he could fall on his companion in the bench. His near fall and the noise had awakened the sleeping one and for a second T forgot everything around himself. Gone were the muddy unclear thoughts rampaging his head, and all he could see was her eyes, the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, looking up at him , frightened and at the same time fiery. And that is when he lost the battle and passed out

The initial shock has already passed by the time he regained his consciousness . The girl was still there ,which surprised him but at the same time he was happy she did not leave. Her words awoke within him a feeling , a feeling of loss and longing and at the same time , one of peace.  That was  the first time he met Rachel. After the awkward introductions, the next few days were something he would never forget. She was a tourism student from Switzerland spending her last year travelling around Europe. Unlike most people he had met so far, there was something different about her, something free and wild. With her, he could be what he truly is , there was no need of masks or false bravado. With her, he was just T. She matched him drink to drink , jumped around the ice rinks like crazy people , talked to him when he was in his dark zone, stuck with him through his craziness and slowly he was falling madly in love with her.  Every moment of his life was centered around her, her very presence has made his life something he began to cherish.

It was almost a year after they had met that his world came crashing down again. She had come into his world like an angel on a cold winter night , and in another cold winter night she just vanished, as if no one was ever there. Going crazy by the minute, he kept on searching for her, a search spanning days , months but to no avail. His condition deteriorated and it all ended one night when he fell down the mountainside while searching for her. His legs were broken, ligaments torn, the doctors diagnosed that he would never walk again. In the phases between consciousness, pain and the haze of painkillers he thought he saw her again , crying near his bed side , and when he woke up there was no one . But there was a note, one which was written in her own hand , “ I am sorry , please forgive me “
That was the final nail in his coffin. The man called T died that day, and gave birth to something different, something normal.

The story goes on from then, partially recovered he returned home and the journey began again. Working days, wild sleepless nights, the days went on. Before he knew it 7 years have passed and there he stood hold the phone , almost shivering, looking like the boy from 7 years ago, lost in her voice.
The conversation was forced and formal but under the words there was a torrent of emotions that he was not sure he could control. She wanted to see him , and God how long he had waited for those words. Every second seemed like hours to him , the wait now was agonizing. He reached the coffee shop an hour early, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw she was already there , waiting for him . No words were necessary , every thing just melted away. It was just him and her and at that moment it was as if no time has passed. Just the two of them , and the world they made for themselves. Every word, every look , every touch was electrifying. Two people were finally finding themselves again , after getting lost in the bowels of time . The search was finally over. She accompanied him home, he never asked her what happened that day long ago, nothing seemed important now . All he could think of was that she was back in his arms, her smile his own , his life hers to command. Once home , he hurried in to clear a path through the debris but she stopped him, said “I am so sorry T “ and kissed him. He was surprised but he kissed her back , a long passionate kiss , which left them both winded. He gently untangled himself from her arms and went to get her a drink. He was smiling , gone was the weary eyed angry young man that his co-workers feared, gone was the bleary eyed drunkard haunting the bars across the city. He was back to all that time ago, young and in love , his eyes shining with life and hope. He was still smiling when the knife slashed his throat . He was still smiling when she turned him over and started stabbing him, all he could see was her eyes, her lovely green eyes.

The Stutter Times : March 30th 2015

The quiet neighborhood of  Santa street was shocked at the events that happened last night making this one of their most horrific memories in recent times. The body of Mr.T , one of the city’s upcoming novelists was found crucified to the side of his apartment building. The discovery of the body was made by the window cleaner who was setting up his equipment when he came across this gruesome scene. Police and fire force have come and took down the body. The cause of death at this point is not clear but it is suspected that extreme blood loss  has resulted in his death. His throat was slashed and there were countless stabs on his body any of which would have made him bled out. His face was a mask of pure bliss and joy , something which disturbed even the seasoned veterans of the force. The smile was genuine, the happiness in his long dead eyes were infectious.

The fact that made this even more horrifying is the fact that not a single drop of blood was found anywhere in his apartment or near the building except the dried smudges on his clothes. The authorities refused to comment

Special correspondent.