The Coming Winter

She was fresh out of school. Life had always been smooth-sailing for her, even now. She started to work shortly after graduating; idling unsettled her. And in all boldness she embarked on a new phase called post-adolescence. Within 6 months, her colleague approached her. Nothing had changed except her curiosity toward the other gender. So she plunged headlong into the alliance, bursting with pride and ignorance.

She began to see shades of gloom bleaker than darkness. She was defeated. Her world was one bloody, teary mess. But it did not collapse.

Before she had time to think she was engulfed in another suffocating affiliation. What lovely poetry, "I built you a home in my heart. With rotten wood; it decayed from the start."

*****Chapter2*****

The sweet taste of coffee. She wondered why it never struck her until now. The tastiest morsel wasn't half as tempting. So this she substituted for food; her reduction lost focus.

She saw the world through the eyes of others. She learnt of her languishing state. But life was because she was living, and in this manner she carried on. She was proud of her new job though. She did not see meaning in her hectic lifestyle or the racing pace of life, but she enjoyed working to the point of exhaustion. It was a sense of achievement she never felt before.

The boys didn't stop falling in love with her candid ways. Except she wasn't being candid. She was confused. She confused them. Then she met him. He was all of the right things. But he didn't love her.

*****Chapter3*****

She recalled her impression as she surveyed the room for the first time. Her attached status conferred a certain conceited attitude of a self-confessed right to choose. This coupled with her reckless tendencies. Her eyes lingered upon him. It wasn't always easy to specify the rationale of a whimsical fancy.

There was nothing outstanding about his appearance. He wasn't tall, not stylish, rather domineering in any exchange. It was his obstinacy that left its mark on her mind. He also knew to retort her impudent remarks. It was a kind of refreshing that began to seep into her heart. Without her consent. Then it refused to budge.

The weather was turning cold. She could finally make use of the second blanket too. Perhaps the chill stiffened her bones, but at the same time, it conveyed acute sentience. Humour was in everything she came across. She was laughing enough to offset a lifetime of sorrow. It was strange that amusing incidents followed her wherever she went. Once, it occured to her that she was the risible material.

*****Chapter4*****

They became friends. It was true he only approached her whenever he needed help, but it usually ended up in casual chatter. She would pamper him in her small ways; he stopped saying thanks. They uttered otiose statements for the sake of the other. Was a time he taunted every advance of hers. Gradually, they turned evasive on the topic. It were as if outings were events they'd always engaged in, it was absurd to reason out established practice. Friends roused with curiosity. A few inquired. They remained in silent agreement.

Not acquaintances, not lovers either. It was up to her to ask him out. He indulged her largely. His demeanour reeked of ambiguity. Her moods oscillated between euphony and grief.

She blamed her studies for the deteriorating eyesight. It caused her world to lose vibrance. Everything hovered around a shade of grey. The colour of his car. Her favourite sweater he once complimented. The nights they spent out together. His nocturnal environment that she adopted.

*****Chapter5*****

She saw well and clear what he wanted. She let herself sink deeper into the hurt anyway.

Time pressed on relentlessly. It shrouded her senses, as if the world were always a single pallid entity. What was left but to preserve the shards of a lavish dream. As she buried this memory, she relinquished her very self. It was an effort that entrapped the soul even as it liberated her being. But it lent a certain lightness to her steps, and for a while, she was happy. This happiness, like a teardrop, shimmered in the white that was all around her.

*****TheEnd*****