The Clock Struck 5:00
by Nithya N
The Clock Struck 5:00
The night curtain unveiled a passionate crimson spread over a soft blue sky. A newborn dawn. Restless. Like an eager child kicking out of a mother’s womb. Restlessness brought by the sudden transition from warm calmness to massive chaos.
The silhouette of trees and the crimson background complemented each other. Shakti smiled to welcome the day. This has been a routine since November. It gave her a strange comfort and eased her pain.
November evenings were special. She sat by the window and described the world outside to the life inside her. Dogs playing, children laughing, candyman calling out. Life was full of promises and plans for her little Nila. “Soon mamma will take you to play sweetheart” she would assure her swollen stomach. Then Rohan would join showering her tummy with gentle kisses.
Tears rolled down as she touched her perfectly flat stomach that models would kill for. She would never feel another life inside her. Little Nila had left, frightened by the cruelty of the world, longing for that familiar voice of her mother who lay unconscious in the ICU, searching for her father who was struggling for his own life in the next room.
She shuddered back to senses as the clock struck 6. The sky was a joyous blue. Birds chirped and sun shone lazily. She started for work as the thought of sweet innocent faces waiting for her at school, greeting in their sing song voice filled her with renewed energy.
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5 comments:
This is so gently mournful, without being despairing. Really like how you transitioned from the "newborn dawn" to her loss.
Very poignant story, and well written.
there's so much emotion, a whole spectrum of one's world, all condensed into 250 words here.
I also like the somehow positive ending.
A newborn dawn. Restless. Like an eager child kicking out of a mother’s womb.
Just some beautiful lines there. Well done.
Amazing... Like it for its refined sense of tragedy. Also noticed the Indian characters. Would love to read your blog sometime...
I like how the sky and weather seemed to foreshadow what was to come.
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