Indu...
This is one of the most beautiful oneshots I've ever read. I'm literally incapable of stringing a coherent thought together right now because your words painted pictures in my mind and left me speechless by the end of this.
The power of your words, as always, leaves me in awe.
*Edited*
Every time I read this oneshot, I find myself moving with the flow of emotions that underlies every sentence...It's a wonder I didn't cry out of happiness at the end the first time I finished this, or any time after that as well, because I know my eyes are moist right now as I sit here reading this yet again!
Would you believe me if I told you that I actually thought that the little boy at the very beginning was Aman? That was my first thought. It became clear almost instantly who the boy was, though, and I love all the little details that you weave into the narrative that serve almost like clues to the reader. The characterization is fantastic! The thoughts and spoken words are so easy to associate with their respective characters - I could see and hear everything in my mind as I read, which always makes for a fantastic experience as a viewer/reader!
I feel like quoting and writing about every sentence, seriously! But I can't do that, I know, so I will try my best to keep the quoting at a minimum.
And that's the solemn promise the eleven-year-old made to himself sitting on their favorite staircase...inadvertently tightening his hold around his six-year-old companion, who squirmed in protest and then settled her head in the familiar crook of his neck, still asleep.
An honest, solemn promise, made from the heart...one that he made to her and kept for all those years! I find it extremely endearing that they promise each other while sitting on their staircase, just before Yash is going to be taken away from her. They have known each other for as long as they both can probably remember, and the feelings and the bond between them is already so deep that he can't imagine life without her, and he is worried about what will happen to her once he leaves. Her absence will affect him, too, and he knows it!
The sense of protectiveness, comfort, and familiarity as Yash lets Aarti sleep on his shoulder is conveyed so well in just a few words. He holds onto her - that made me think of "clinging to a lifeline" for a moment, because Aarti is his lifeline, the way I see it - and he does so without consciously realizing it; that Aarti shifts and settles comfortably into "the familiar crook of his neck" without waking up is so, so sweet. Such beautiful familiarity with each other, that she snuggles even closer to him in response to his small action! They have been in similar scenarios before, but this time, it is different.
He laid her down gently and covered her with the flimsy sheet, and then bent down to plant a kiss on her tiny forehead. She smiled at the touch, and his heart constricted.
That made MY heart constrict. That was perhaps the first part I read that told me, "This is Yash." Especially that last sentence. That sort of natural response from Aarti, and his powerful reaction to her little smile...I knew it was him then, and I was amazed at the story you were weaving and the context of it. The tiny details ("long dormitory," "flimsy sheet," "meager belongings") made my heart go out to Yash and Aarti! And my sympathy/love/admiration for our Aarti in the actual show returns full-force! What a life. I can't even begin to imagine...
Her thoughts went back to that black night, darkness of which had led her to bear her own light...her Ansh.[...] What followed then was a nightmare...the memories of which still sent shivers down her spine. Oh, how much she had cried for him to come and save her that night..."Find me, please."
Oh, this was so painful to read! But still, there's such a beautiful juxtaposition of darkness and light. Her soul cries for him to find her and save her, like he had promised he would...The light of hope and happiness that had seemingly been extinguished in the "black night" manifested itself as Aarti's Ansh...And her Ansh, that light of hers, borne from darkness and pain, is the one who ultimately leads his mother to Yash again...Towards the light...
This was his final visit of the year. He had been diligently coming here thrice every year for the past eighteen years: the date on which he had left, on his birthday, and on her birthday. For the past three years, his daughter, Palak, accompanied him.
Palak, a child unwanted by her own mother, comes with Yash to this place thrice a year, as a silent supporter in her father's search for a living memory from his past...A living memory who lives and breathes and continues moving forward in life with her own hopes connected to a living memory of her own - that man who, without her, is restless and incomplete. I found it fascinating that Arpita was so bitter about Yash's distance from her that she ended everything, including her relationship with her young daughter. And that young child finds her way to the child of the very woman her father has been seeking for all these years, at the staircase! In doing so, just like fate took Ansh closer to the father he was always meant to have, fate has pushed Palak one step closer to the mother she never had - one step closer to the mother she will find when they come to take her away...to take her and her new friend back...
He looked at her then...beautiful face, long hair, large eyes...at the moment fraught with worry. She stared back...suddenly feeling...feeling what? Safe? Something she hadn't felt in years. Suddenly someone pushed her, and before she fell, he held her. Holding her hand, he moved forward...the stairs to the temple.
Even in his frantic search, he notices her beauty, perhaps feeling a familiarity somewhere within him as he looks at her. And she feels protected again, in his presence...I was instantly reminded of the dargah promo for the actual show (and that other moment in front of the mandir as well) and that was a lovely image to visualize - it came to the forefront of my mind so naturally, since I could already see every little gesture and hear every word in my mind as I read. Once again, the beauty of the way Yash holds onto her and moves forward, still holding her hand...He holds her, she lets him, because there is nothing more natural in the world. It is familiar, an unconscious reunion of separated souls and an intertwining of paths once more.
Yash tightened his hold....He had found her...his Aarti!!!!
This overwhelmed me so much, and it hasn't been any different during my subsequent readings after the initial reading! After years and years of searching and returning to their staircase, he finds her even before he consciously knows that the woman whose hand he is holding is indeed Aarti. It's incredibly heartwarming that, just like when they were children, Yash tightens his hold around Aarti instinctively. This time, he's not going to let his Aarti go. And he never will.
A beautiful, beautiful piece, Indu! A sparkling masterpiece of poetry in prose!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
🤗 🤗 🤗
P.S. I would have written more about Palak/Ansh (and everything else), but I think this is long enough already!
Edited by MelodiousDreams - 12 years ago
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