Death is a strange phenomenon. Though, the person vanishes, the impact of his life remains in the hearts of his loved ones.
Scene 1:
A dully lit bedroom with walls painted baby pink. Posters of Spider man and other super heroes covered one of the sides. The absolute solitude of the room was broken by the creaking sound of an old clock, which hung on the opposite side. The row of windows on the third had a stack of discontinuous tinted glass.A boy of around 10 lay on a fluffy bed at the center of the room.
From the end of the hallway, the boy heard the furious screams of their parents. The routine of their fight had masked the pain but, deep inside, tears as salty as fresh pacific water, continued to flow. He tried to hide himself under the pillow and sheets. The darkness pacified his suffering for moments. Sleep seemed to bring peace. Suddenly, he sensed the presence of another person inside his room.
Yes, his worst fears had come true. The villain of the movie, he saw last week, was standing just beside the open door. The cut across his face was fresh-red with blood almost dripping from the sides. His metallic front teeth projected scary reflections of the violet bed light. His broken lips had not healed since, the last week when he had seen him. He moved slowly, carrying a red stained rusty scalpel, dragging a heavy iron chain tied to his left leg. The boy tried to run but, it was too late. The man pounced on him, and held him on the bed. He had no mercy. Neither did the scalpel. With a scary smile on his face, he stabbed the boy many times until the sheets got red-wet. The pain was excruciating. He screamed and screamed for help, until he felt nothing.
The very next moment, the boy was up on his feet. Sure, the bed was wet, but colorless. He slowly looked around, to see no one. He was now sure that he had a bad dream. He tried to consolidate himself, but the sounds of the old clock and dripping water in his bathroom, made him conscious. Every second was like an hour. He could sleep no more.
The morning sunlight, cut by the tinted glass of his windows, which created a beautiful aura of colors, also brought him hopes. After a terrible night, the boy got himself ready and left to the school. He took a quick look at the mirror. The boy had beautiful blue eyes. The hair cut made his hairs lie on his forehead, almost reaching his eyes. In his white red uniform, he looked as smart as any movie kid. But, the sleepless night had taken away the charm from his face.
Scene 2:
A very bright room, with seats placed in a matrix and a dais, on which lie a table and a chair.A clean black board fixed to the wall.
The boy sat in the last bench. He topped the class till last year. But, this year, he could not concentrate. Since the last month, his parents quarreled every single day. They worked at the same software firm. Recently, his mom was promoted as the project manager and his dad had to work under her. This was the root cause for all his sufferings. Though, the boy could not understand about the manly ego and such stuff, he remembered the day when they had started. His thoughts were rippled by Ms. Claire’s voice. She was pointing at him to read the text from where she had stopped. He looked helplessly towards his neighbors. Nobody tried to help. The usual “You were not like this last year” followed.
Now, he started realizing about the grave mistakes he had done in his life. He had built walls and not bridges. He felt the need of a friend. The boy remembered his childhood days, when he had his grandpa by his side.
Scene 3:
He left the school as soon as the bell rang. As a routine, he checked the letter box attached to the gate. Strangely, he had a letter from his Grandpa. He happily went in and was just changing, when the door bell rang. The boy opened the door to find his Gran. Gran looked exactly the same as he did 4 years before. The boy jumped with joy. He led granpa to his room.
The door bell rang again when they were in his bed-room. The boy opened the door to find his mom and a brand new white Ford in the background. Their old Maruthi-800 came to a screeching halt just behind the new car. His father furiously opened the door and jumped right out. She expected a big fight and asked the boy to go the terrace and play. The boy tried to tell her that grandpa had come. She stopped him mid-sentence and reminded him that his grandpa had gone to see God.
The boy stopped arguing and went to the terrace. He was amazed to see his grandpa flying in the air. He asked:”Can I fly like you?”. Grandpa said:”Why don’t you try?” . The boy jumped from the top of the building. The flight was short. The Newton’s force had done its job. He could see his parents fighting through the window, while his body hit the road with a thud.
Praveen