Creativity need not arise from the extraordinary. Some times, the reality around us, just as it is, is all-inspiring. This post brings us something like that.
Juveria and Haripriya show us the beauty of the ordinary through their works.
A Study in White
Juveria Tabassum
Death beds and
delivery rooms
Disinfectants and
doctors loom
A familiar, tall,
white building,
Solid, sturdy, plaintively
forbidding
The corridors teemed
with people
The air swung, wild,
with varied emotion-
Hopeless fear,
boundless joy,
A morgue and a
nursery- life’s original ploy.
Many a wheel rolled
about,
Round and round, over
and over,
The cycle never stops.
White coats, nurses’
caps, syringes.
Necks jeweled by just
a stethoscope.
A sanitized
environment; learned,
Faith only in the
power of their knowledge.
Also,
The common clothes- those of the visitors,
Bloodied pants, a two
day shirt,
Necks jeweled by just
sweat and wait.
The white coats, their
only hope
Held steady by their
Faiths.
It is a communion of
people,
A reunion of sorts,
The scales swing
between hope and fear,
Here a life saved, and
here a life lost.
The 18th Birthday
HariPriya
It was
the 25th of November, a very chilly night. The roads were already
filled with snow and strong gusts of cold wind blew over the city. The city was
cold and damp.
Just like my heart, thought Lisa.
Her boots were clicking against the pavement as she walked all alone, on the empty
street. She reached her home, surprised to find that the door was already
unlocked. Her parents were home, was what she thought. She opened the door and
the lights switched on, her huge group of friends wishing her a very happy
birthday.
It was
Lisa’s birthday, and she usually looked forward to the day every year, but this
time, she felt different. She looked around and saw a typical high school party
scene. Her high school mates were everywhere, getting drunk, dancing to the
loud auto-tuned music, making out and having fun.
Lisa
remembered how she used to host such parties and how she became the life of the
party each and every single time. She remembered how she used to mingle with
everyone and go out on drunken misadventures. She remembered how much she loved being
the party animal.
And
then she realised. She wasn’t enjoying the party like the others. She wasn’t
getting drunk like the others. She wasn’t dancing like the others. Hell, she
wasn’t even smiling like the others. She saw the party in a completely
different light. And from what she was seeing, she didn’t like the
party very much.
As the party continued, she sat on the couch, a cup
of beer in her hand, observing everyone. It was her birthday, and no one came
up to personally wish her. Not even her so-called best friend.
Lisa
sighed. She felt uncomfortable. She felt congested. She knew she had to leave
the place, and she did. She put her coat on, a beanie to cover her hair,
gloves, boots, and off she went. She did not have a destination in her mind.
She just wandered in the streets. She went to the park and sat on one of the
swings, watching the sky.
Lisa
spent some time in the park, consumed by her thoughts. And then she started
walking once again. She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not realise
where she was, until she stood in front of a gate. She was at her house.
She
opened the gate and headed towards the door, and bent to collect the key under
the potted plant. She unlocked the door and went inside the house. The house
was empty, her footsteps echoing. She switched on the lights in the house and
climbed the stairs, and opened the door to her
room.
Though
the house was empty, this room wasn’t. It was filled with posters of different
boy bands, a board full of pictures, the bed properly made, the pillows
fluffed, the books properly set on the table, a pen stand full of pens,
pencils, markers, and highlighters. A stack of comics were piled up beside the
pen stand.
Everything in the room was coated with a layer of dust. It had just been
a week and a half since the people of this house shifted to another place.
Lisa
carefully examined the pictures on the board. She was young and smiling; Lisa guessed they were of her sophomore year. She then found the
pictures of her, in the junior and
senior years. She wasn’t smiling at
all. Instead, she had this gloom cast
over her face.
Lisa then checked the comics on the table. They were
Marvel comics. She found a key hidden between the stack of comics. Lisa
unlocked the top drawer and was shocked to find razor blades in the drawer.
It is all my fault, Lisa thought.
She then
opened the letter she had previously read and read it once again.
Dear Lisa,
It is Maggie here. I’m hoping you are
doing well and are happy. It is your birthday the next week, isn’t it? I wish
you a very happy birthday in advance. I hope you don’t mind that I won’t be
attending your birthday party. Not that it matters to you in anyway. I just
wanted to tell you that you have always lived ‘the life’, Lisa. You were a
popular girl, everyone adored you, and you ruled the school. But you weren’t
satisfied with it, were you? You had to go around bullying everyone and hurting
them a lot, especially me. You made me feel worthless about myself. You made me
lose interest in everything, you made me lose hope. Good job, Lisa. But do you
know what hurts the most? The fact that you were my best friend for
13 years, and yet decided to back-stab me, your best friend. People change,
don’t they Liz? I was just too stupid to think that you will always be by my
side.
But
were you? I’m afraid the answer is no. What happened to us, Liz? What happened
to the promises we made? What happened to the plans we made? But most
importantly, what happened to us? Why did we separate, Liz? What made you distance yourself away from me? Was it something I did? I’m sorry. I don’t
really remember if I hurt you in anyway, but if I did, I’m really sorry. I
didn’t mean to. You were my best friend. I wouldn’t hurt you, not
intentionally, at least.
You hurt me. You have been hurting me.
And I think I’ve had enough of it. I don’t want to get hurt anymore, I’m pretty
sure I’ve had my fill of it. People say what doesn’t kill you makes you
stronger, but look at me Lisa, I got weaker. I am the weakest. I have something
in my mind, and I’m following it. No one has got a say in this.
Anyways, I hope you will remember me and
all the memories we shared, because I sure as hell am going to remember them. I
hope you enjoy your 18th birthday and many more birthdays to come.
By the end of the letter, Lisa was
teary-eyed. It was her best friend Maggie. She was the reason Maggie decided to
end her life. She was the sole reason Maggie thought not to live anymore. She
was a murderer, a killer, a coldblooded demon.
Lisa
felt the weight of the reality crashing down on her. She fumbled in her step as
she made out of her house. She was crying as she walked back to her home. She
wanted her mother, her father, her family, Maggie. She wanted to be in their
presence, and she felt sadder every passing minute as she remembered those good
times.
Lisa was
so lost in her thought that she couldn’t see the light or hear the sound of a
car honking at her. The car must have been out of control of the driver,
because it hit Lisa, and she crashed down. The driver got out of the car as
soon as it came to a halt, and carried her to the hospital to get her treated.
Lisa was injured very badly and was bleeding profusely.
The
impact of the car hit was very intense. Lisa was losing consciousness. Her
breathing lowered drastically, and so did her heart beat. She realised the end
was near.
And in
the last moments, she somehow thought of Maggie and she knew what she had to
do.
I’m sorry, Maggie. That was Lisa’s last
breath.
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