Lonliness

Lonliness

The loneliness surrounded Ramesh. He couldn't be alone. He couldn't bear it. It was his major vice; one that lead to the death of his beloved. Was she? His beloved? Did he actually love her? Or was she just a person to pamper him, support him and make love to him? She has been gone for 2 years now. He still remembers her heat, the pleasures she gave but he couldn't remember the features of her face. For assurance he glanced occasionally at the wedding photo on his bedroom wall. She stared at him with hope in her eyes. The sparkle in her eyes shone through the photograph. It was as if she could see him and through him. She knew his vices yet she trusted him. Two years back, she reached a moment where she couldn't trust him anymore. Not when she heard the voice of his female colleague late at night, when she called his hotel room in Bangalore. She was cremated in the first sari he bought for her after the wedding. He didn't look at her face. It wasn't her face anymore. It was the face of a human being that struggled to breathe in a bit of air at the mercy of a rope. He felt lonelier. He wanted to get out from that room. A room that reminded him of her aura. He feels the density of the air around him. As if she is covering him in an embrace. His fingers scrolled through the contact list and there she was ... the lady who gifted him many pleasurable moments. The one who kept him alive and excited during business meetings and trips. His body ached for her again. He wasn't guilty anymore. He closed the door of his home behind him and walked towards his car.

         He didn't know what time he returned late at night. All the hurry made him forget his watch. He unlocked the door and stumbled through some furniture to find the light switch of his bedroom. As he stepped into the room, he felt something funny underneath his feet. He kept his keys at the table beside and bent down to look. It was a tuft of hair, not just any hair... it was long. Long like that of his beloved. He moved forward to find the entire floor of his room scattered with tufts of long hair. He felt cold.  Those hairs were ripped off from the scalp. Each hair reflected the rage. He took out his phone in panic to call someone. The calendar in the phone displayed "September 14". September 14??? Why was that a familiar date? The reality dawned on him pretty late. September 14 was his wedding date. He felt his entire body freeze in terror. He thought he could never cheat her again. He glanced to the mirror on his side. In the reflection he saw her photo looking more real, her smile turning into a grimace. The sparkle got even brighter. His eyes flicked back to his reflection and saw his eyes going pitch black. The life and light of it just faded away. At the next moment the power went out, plunging the room in deep darkness.