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A SLICE OF LIFE AND TIME(PART-2)

She was getting panicky and tried to calm down. She again turned on the television. The same broadcast disturbed her. Suddenly, she ran and closed all the doors and windows. The large house seemed to be a fort without a moat. She was tensed about herself. But she decided to, at least pretend to be brave in front of her parents. Who knew if Mom’s blood pressure shot up again? No, she had to be brave. She gave her parents a call and tried to reassure them. She wondered if they were pacified by her conduct. Her dad informed her that most probably a curfew would be imposed in the town. He had a few contacts but they weren’t too reliable. After all, who could ensure his daughter’s safety, even within the four walls of her home at such a time . He was almost dead with fear.
It was two in the afternoon. She was in a pair of trousers and a shirt now, her short hair camouflaging her as a smart gentleman. All her fear, apprehension had begun to reduce a bit. Then came hunger. She searched the kitchen without making much noise. There was an instant noodles pack and some fruits. She boiled the noodles after reading the instructions carefully. She ate very little. She put the leftover in the freezer and tried to call her parents again. Gosh ! The network was jammed. She thought all this to be a weird dream. Then,she heard a loud explosion. Before she could guess ,it was followed by loud wails and clamour. Her throat ran dry. She was half-crying,half-blabbering.She couldn’t believe that this “little piece of paradise” had such a hell hidden in its cloak. She wished to rush into the safety of her mother’s arms. The clock was ticking away. The sun set. An errie silence prevailed.She sat still on her bed,motionless.If everything were normal, she would have boarded the train by now. Her eyes shone at the idea. Before she could think of anything else, a loud thud was heard.Somebody had scaled the high walls of her house and …
Terror gripped her heart. Someone who could scale walls embedded with sharp pieces of glass could do anything. Clasping a kitchen knife in her palpitating hands,she rushed into her parents’ bedroom.She had a brainwave. Her childish instincts came to aid; she hid herself in her mom’s wardrobe. Just as she entered there,the lights went out. She clutched her cellphone tightly. Closing the wardrobe gently,she sent a message to her mom-Mom,I’m fine.Don’t worry.A reply came-‘We have started for Jeypore.Will b reaching there at 4 am.’ She again typed-‘but..der is a curfew,u’ll hav 2 walk at least 20 kms to home in darkness. Don’t come,who knos if Maoists r on d prowl. Mom, don’t worry,I’m alrite.Plz 4 God’s sake,don’t risk ur life.’ She called this time.The phone was in zero brightness and light only mode (so that no one could suspect her being there). In a hushed voice,she repeated her words.Her parents said they wouldn’t walk home,but they’ll be in the nearest town.She agreed to it.The silence was broken by faint sounds of someone crying and mumbling to oneself. A man was crying with incoherent words.It pierced the innermost cords of her heart.He bluttered out,”The cowards!Rosa!!they..they..burnt you..” and broke into a sob.She dared not move.Again,he broke down,“Rosa…..you left your Shiva all alone.”
She heard the name Shiva. Shiva-her playmate.Was it he?Was it Happy crying? Happy- Shiva's petname.Instinctively,she smiled a bit but again,did not budge.Suspicion had overruled the chords of friendship and innocence.Still, deep somewhere within, she felt a bit secure.God knows, if she fell into a swoon or was lulled into slumber soon after. A womans’ body,a man’s clothes and the pallid child-like face- she resembled the insecure face of dying humanity.
But her intuition was not wrong. It was Shiva, indeed, her playmate. He lay in the courtyard, with his back resting on a wall. He cried, talked, gesticulated all rolled into one- just like a mad man. He was broken, sad, furious and petrified. Afraid. All he could think of was one name-Rosa.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Bringing out the subtle fear of facing the harsh reality, when our carefully spread security blanket is no more as secure as it seems.......
good work!
Anwesa said…
thanx Aparna!!u made a quick but effective read!thanx a lot..
Hemanth Potluri said…
well good job done there anwesa ..:)...loved this part more then the first one .... :)...


urs..hemu..
Hemanth Potluri said…
and tupid wer is my character in the story huh! ...

urs..hemu..
Anwesa said…
@hemanth potluri,
thanx 4 reading..well,its gr8 if u lyked it better..n yes,sum mor characters r entering the story,so try n find out if u fit somewhere among them..
Sameera Ansari said…
That was very well narrated!
Lucifer said…
ahhh vy well done done i must say...d emotions of d protagonist were put across vy nicely...loved d use of words to describe me...niceee :)
Keshi said…
again very well written!

Keshi.
broca's area said…
really awesome:)..
very well narrated!...reminds me of the curfew after Dr RAjkumars death in 2005
Me said…
m speechless... u r awesome.
Anonymous said…
superb read...good work anwesa...
loved it more than the first, and u have described her fear well...not like an autobiography i hope...

wow, so many awesome writers in blogsville...!! :)
Tara said…
Bravo young lady! Excellent work! I wonder if there is any place on this earth that can be called safe anymore, sad, very sad. You have sensitively portrayed the emotions of a girl stuck in such a scary situation, beautiful. :)
Aneesh said…
Bloody Brilliant!!!
waiting for part-3.
:)
Anwesa said…
@sameera,
thanx 4 reading..
Anwesa said…
@mayz,
thanx a lot..i hope i'll rite still better in part-3..
Anwesa said…
@brocasarea,
thanx doc!!i too saw sum of those on tv..stone-pelting,ppl running n stuff lyk dat..
Anwesa said…
@serene,
thanx a lot dearie!!
Anwesa said…
@vinay,
i'm glad dat u lyked it better dan d 1st..its not an autobiography of course.(i was awake 1 nite n just thot abt her,i penned wat i sensed a 21 yr old cud feel). n u kno wat,i slept all morning..my mom thot i was down with fever..lolz..
Anwesa said…
@tara,
thanx..its a bitter truth dat u can run nowhere 2 b safe..
Anwesa said…
@aneesh,
thanx...:))))
Vinz said…
:)
kept the tempo from the first post..And you succeded to put the readers on a grip till the end..!!

:)
lukkydivz said…
if u succeed to instill that dread in the reader’s mind, your efforts should be commendable and believe me you did it :P
Heart'n'Soul said…
WOw...thts awesome
Especially luved the way you have captured a the emotions involved... way to go girl... keep it up

lookin fwd to more :)
Diana Sahu said…
I can totally understand what u would have gone through during those days.

Jeypore riots were terrifying, I used to do like 5-6 stories a day on violence. And the curfew was imposed for so many days....there were agitations here by political parties to lift the prohibitory orders.

We even had reports of police atrocities on denizens...are they true?

I hope Jeypore is back to normalcy now.

Both the parts of SLICE of LIFE kept me glued to the monitor. Very nicely written Anwesa. Keep writing.
muZer said…
tatzz a wonderful read,, Anwesa.. :-)

so beautifully narrated da story of da bitter realities of life.. :-)

blogrolling u,, so tat i don't miss any parts tat are yet to come.. :-)
Saranya S said…
This was wonderfully written with a good narrating style! Keep up! :)
Anwesa said…
@vinz aka vinu,
thanx again..i hope u'll lyk part-3 too..
Anwesa said…
@lukkydivz,
thanx a lot..i shall try 2 do so whenever i write..
Anwesa said…
@me mini mini mouse,
thanx 4 reading..
Anwesa said…
@diana,
i just luvd ur comment.but,its not a real lyf xperience,its fiction.
Anwesa said…
@:-)
thanx friend!!thanx 4 blogrolling too..hope u'll njoy the next part..
Anwesa said…
@saranya,
thanx.. :)
rainboy said…
head movies played along as i read.

it's a great story ..you are scripting it really well..all i want is for it to end well.

By the way Do u watch "HEROES".
her hiding in closet is so similar to what "claire" does to hide from "SYLAr" in the 4th episode of 3rd season.

rock on :)
Anwesa said…
@vicky,
thanx 4 reading.well,i really hope 2 end it well.i don't watch d serial u'v mentioned.but it was a coincidence..
Jagjit said…
Interesting storytelling!
Cяystal said…
I'm so sorry tht I didn't come here earlier!
You're real good..needless to say tht =)
Abhishek Behera said…
err... I am a bit disturbed and confused. Waiting for the story to unfurl... thousand questions racing across my mind: How can Shiva be outside in curfew?? Who is Rosa ?? Why does Shiva cry? Why does the protagonist smile instinctively instead of getting anxious about Shiva's safety??

as engrossing as ever... loved it. please tell me there is a part-3, right??

best wishes
Anonymous said…
hmmm...am supriti...studying in iter(1st year n abhishek's friend...anyways,i was just going thru his blog wen i found links to your blog n i read one of ur posts...A GIFT OF LOVE...n i wud say its lovely!!!i dont have words 2 say how lovely it is...i havent read the original poem in oriya...but wen the translated one is so good(compliment for u :) ) its beyond my imagination how good the original one wud be...hats off to you n ur mom...

keep writing...its great reading good stuffs...take care :)
Prashant Sree said…
Well written emotive piece.,. Have described it in a nicely imaginable way !!
Anwesa said…
@crystal,
no,sorry isn't my cup of tea.just read my post my frnd and give ur opinion abt it.well,thanx 4 the compliment.n u nid 2 tell me if was gud or bad.
Anwesa said…
@abhishek sim,
thanx 4 reading.all ur questions will b answered in part-3 xcept y she was smiling when she felt Shiva's presence.Well,i think she was happy 2 find some kinda human company,be it in form of a memory of Shiva.Maybe she was mor concerned abt her own safety than that of her frnd.wat do u say?
Anwesa said…
@supriti,
thanx 4 ur lovely comment..i'm in d same college.hope we meet somede.
thanx again.i'll try 2 rite still better.
Anwesa said…
@prashant sree,
thanx..
Priya Joyce said…
hey a post full of subtle emotions and u write like a professional I must say yaar.

super cool!!
Anwesa said…
@priya joyce,
thanx a lot my friend!!u made me too elated..
Anonymous said…
sorry, cudnt comment due to some reasons :)
but man!
...ur quite a writer!
Cяystal said…
You were TOO good,buddy!
Pooja said…
dat was awesome...i was complet;y engrossd...
lukkydivz said…
sweety i tried to google it but no results found :P

my system's crashing almost every 10 mins :(
Cess said…
wow it was great, i also preferred the second part, my heart stopped when she was hidden in her mother's wardrobe...
Is there gonna be a part 3!

C.
Rià said…
Beautifully written friend. :) U write really well.
Anwesa said…
@ayushi,
thanx frnd!!
Anwesa said…
@diana,
well,yes!we r fortunate..
Anwesa said…
@cess,
thanx,well yes,der is a 3rd part.

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