Alone
He was in a box.
In all the darkness he suddenly found himself in, that much he was aware of. He was in a box.
He tried to think, tried to understand just how it was that he came to be here. Straining his memory, he worked to make sense of the flashes of images in his mind.
Ah, of course! He had... he... wait...
He had it and then too quickly, he lost it.
Panic began to rise in his chest and he rubbed his left side to soothe the sudden realisation that the box was not big enough. The small hole in the roof was doing nothing for the airlessness he was fighting to ignore. The world closed in around him. He stared suspiciously at the hole, the belief that someone was using it to suck the air out of the space creeping upon him.
Someone...
He had to get out.
He could feel them now. Ties - invisible ones - were binding him down in this six sided hell. He struggled, attempting to free himself but the hold grew stronger still. He kicked blindly in desperation but it was as if his limbs were suddenly separate entities to his body. Nothing moved and nobody listened.
There was a whisper from somewhere above but he paid no heed, continuing instead to fight with the strengthening grip.
To have and to hold...
He froze, his eyes widening as the smirk laced voice finally registered in his ears.
To have and to hold...
To have and to hold? To have and to...
He sagged, the last of his energy leaving him. He understood now. There was no escape.
The sound of anklets reached him; they moved to the beat of the throbbing in his heart.
Chhan chhan, chhan chhan.
He waited, his breath caught and his limbs frozen. It was her. He felt the familiar panic rise once again, this time laced with a fear he couldn't quite understand. He was expecting the noise to grow louder and the chiming of the anklets to announce their owner's arrival. Trepidation filled his heart and caused ragged and uneven breaths to leave him in painfully short intervals.
Closer... closer... and then...
She was leaving...
He lunged forward in an attempt to stop her but was not prepared for what came next. He felt himself falling. Not just falling, in fact... tumbling...
How long had he been on top of a hill?
Lower and lower he fell, faster and faster, sometimes finding himself upside down, sometimes finding his elbow in his eye, sometimes finding the darkness that welcomed him.
He was dying.
He was amazed at how simple it was. How... certain.
Death. The simplest thing in life.
He landed on a hard surface and not a second passed before he felt himself being catapulted into the air. His previous statement laughed hysterically in his face.
He hit a wall of sorts - a building, perhaps - and became further entangled in a mess of his limbs. The box did little to shield him. He was exposed to the pain that seemed to find him in even the most secret corner of his world.
He heard a ringing sound, its dull vibrations reverberating in his ears. Twelve chimes...
He was at the clock tower.
There was silence as he waited for more. An escape, an epiphany, an end of some form. He stepped out of the box and he -
He stepped out of the box? How had he done that? He had simply willed it and so, he had stepped out of the box. Just like that. He looked down at himself, perplexed.
Mumbai lay around him as a ghost town. He was no longer in the city of dreams. He was in that place, that secret place that belonged to the night, to that hidden slice of time that only existed in the hearts and minds of a chosen few.
He stepped forward. He had never been to the clock tower before. It was a private property now. The heavy door lay just slightly open and he slipped in through the gap. The air around him was static, yet there was a disquieting energy in being here as the world slept. Alone, he finally felt at peace and he allowed his curious eyes to wander over the deserted hall.
"I hope you had no problems reaching here."
He froze, his nerves too alive with fear to help him escape. A figure, dark, willowy and hooded, stood facing away from him at the end of the hall, a burning stick in its hand as it lit a small candle.
"Who are you?" He was grateful that his voice had not deserted him.
There was no reply and the figure remained motionless.
"Who are you?" He repeated.
Finally, a reply, "Who are you?" He could hear a smile in the woman's voice.
This time, it was he who remained silent.
A while later, she spoke again. "So did you?"
"Did I...?"
"Did you have any trouble reaching here?"
"No."
"No?" He could almost see her raised eyebrow.
"No," he replied stubbornly.
"I see." Another silent stretch of time passed.
"I was in a box."
"Oh, really?"
He felt slighted at her tone, a mixture of indifference and amusement. "I'm telling the truth. Someone had hurled me from a hill. I was tied up. I was helpless."
"But you're here now."
He tried again. "Who are you?"
Her reply came in the form of another question. "How did you get out?"
He shrugged. "I stepped out."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
His eyes narrowed as he observed the figure. The stick in her hand had almost burned to its end. She had very little time left.
Who was she and why hadn't she asked him to leave yet?
"You belong in this place, in its peace. Far more than I do, in fact."
His eyes widened. He was sure he hadn't said it out loud.
She blew on the stick and placed it beside the candle before turning to her side and walking towards a small corridor. Wait, he wanted to say but instead watched helplessly as she disappeared into the passageway.
The spark of exploration he had felt earlier vanished and he turned dejectedly with the intention of leaving when her soft voice stopped him.
"There are some people who are still trapped in their boxes. Let them be. It is not up to you to decide their fate."
He waited for more but this time, she had truly left him.
Only after the silence was restored did he realise that she had taken the chhan chhan of anklets with her.
Edited by kaamchorni - 12 years ago
![FF||Deceptive Obsessions - Chapter 26 & 27 page 26 [31/05]](https://img.indiaforums.com/userimages/10/6767-650527.png)
45