Sunday, 23 August 2015

When The Voices Rise

Screeeeech!  Emma was panting heavily as she stopped the car. Her crystal blue eyes were full of fear and terror. But Tiffany wasn’t affected. She sat as still as ever. Emotionless. Her light grey eyes looked as hard as stone. “Tiffy, are you, uh-huh” Emma tried to speak but her words somehow were lost somewhere. She tried to calm herself, in vain. For a few moments, all that could be heard was silence of the night. Finally, mustering up her lost coverage, Emma spoke, “But why Tiffy? What was the need?”

“Susy, where’s dad?” “Here I am my little princesses!” Upon hearing the voice of her father, little Tiffany ran upstairs where John stood with open arms for his little daughter. Little Tiffany had everything that a child her age could desire for. Doting parents, a loving young sister and a secure atmosphere. His father did preferably well in his profession and they never had to long for anything. A picture perfect family. A happy life.

“But mother, why do we have to follow it?” “Because we’re supposed to dear. The law of entailment says so. We no longer own all this. Your father’s demise has left us with nothing. We now have to start our life afresh. Fend for ourselves. Look for a shelter.” Janet couldn’t resist her tears as she answered her daughter. But Tiffany wasn’t convinced. She no longer was that little Tiffany. She was now a rational grown-up woman. “No mother. That belongs to us. Our home. The wealth. My dad’s hard work. All belongs to us now that he’s no longer with us. How can we give it to a stranger?” “He’s your cousin Tiff. Edward’s no stranger.” “Oh mother! He never paid us anything when dad was alive! We didn’t even know about his existence! How can he suddenly own up everything that is supposedly ours? Why can’t we inherit our own property?” “Because you are daughters. And the law says that daughters cannot inherit their father’s property. Only the males have that right. If you had a brother, we wouldn’t have been homeless now.” Janet broke down as she spoke.
Tiffany and her family were leading a happy life until the sudden demise of her father. And this incident changed their lives forever. The home where they had spent their happy days was no longer theirs. They were suddenly detached forcefully of their belongings. Their everything was now owned by someone who claimed to be its heir. And now they were left homeless, penny less, with nowhere to go. All they now possessed were the memories of the happy past.

“But why Tiffy? What was the need? For God’s sake, answer me Tiff! Why did you kill him?” Emma, her eyes widened, repeatedly asked Tiffany. “I didn’t kill him. I had no intention to kill him. The law made me to do so. I’m not the murderer. The law, the society is his murderer", replied Tiffany, her eyes constantly fixed on the dark road ahead. Her face was still emotionless and her light-grey eyes now appeared dark to Emma and this filled a sense of fear in her.

The phase of losing their everything was harsher and crueler than they had anticipated with nothing to claim as theirs and nowhere to go, Tiffany with her remaining family started to toil hard for earning a mere bread. Their war for survival had now begun. They now had come face to face with the trying realities of life. But Susy couldn’t survive this crucial phase and she soon succumbed to the cruel jaws of death. Janet couldn’t survive either. The death of her husband had already broken and shattered her from within, and her youngest daughter’s sudden sad death was too much for her. The death of her mother and young sibling was too a fatal blow for Tiffany. This shook her completely from within. She was shattered and something changed. And that change was irreversible. The loss irreparable. She had made up her mind. She knew what she now had to do.

Taking a heavy breath, Emma stepped down the car. The night was chilly and its silence was killing her from within. She wasn’t able to believe that Tiffany, her most sensitive friend, who shrieked at mere sight of an injured dog, had a few hours ago killed a man! How could she commit a crime so brutal? Without looking at her, she asked, “so, what did you gain after killing him? Did the law change? Did you get everything that you lost?” Tiffany easily assessed her friend’s agony. She knew what was bothering her. In a grave tone, she replied, “But he didn’t get what was ours either. The law didn’t change. But when many more Tiffanys will take the same brutal step in the future, it will change. It will have to change. You’ll see that.”
Emma was too tired now to question her. She was fatigued by the whole thing. She closed her eyes to seek some peace of mind. Vain. A few moments later, she head back to her car. But what she saw made her completely pale white from shock and fear. Tiffany was still looking at the road, but now her light-grey eyes were completely dark. She was sitting motionless and streams of blood trickled down her slit throat. On the dashboard lied a rough piece of paper, half-soaked in blood. Emma took the paper, her hand trembling with fear.
“Dearest Emma,
I know my step would agonize you extremely. But this is my only repose. Very soon the caretakers of the damned law and the society will come and bind me by chains, drag me to bring justice to that scoundrel. But I won’t let it happen. They’ll never catch me. My death will prevent it.
No dear, it’s not a coward step. My death will stop them from suppressing my voice, and years later, or maybe sooner, many Tiffanys will wake up and rise  and demand for their rights. The daughters will inherit their belongings. Death of one Tiffany will help secure the future of many others.
Take care dear.
Adieu.
Tiffany.”


As she read the letter, Emma felt proud of her friend. She didn’t know whether the future would be the same as predicted by her friend, but she was sure Tiffany’s efforts won’t go in vain. With a heavy heart, she left the body in the car and walked away.

Saturday, 15 August 2015

The 'Line'

"So did he fly like he promised?" Sarah looked at Tabassum as she asked, but Tabassum wasn't listening anymore. All she could hear was chirpy sweet voice of an 8 year old boy, laughing as he played. All she could see was that young 8 year old boy, running happily towards her.

"But why Ammi? Why aren’t we allowed to cross that line?" Ashraf's coal-black eyes sparkled brightly as he ran behind his mother asking the question repeatedly. "Because you're not supposed to. Ashraf, you don't know anything and you're too young to know it." Yasmeen cupped her child's face as she answered. "Ammi, I'm big now, I'm not small. Tell me, I understand everything!"  To this, Yasmeen laughed a little and then replied, "My dear child, all you must know is that nobody crossed that line. We're not supposed to, it's dangerous out there." Ashraf thought for a while and then said, "Ammi, One day I'll cross that line." Amused, Yasmeen asked, "How?"  "I'll fly and cross that line someday and that day, nobody will be able to stop me. I promise Ammi, I will fly someday."

The sound of a bullet silenced every sound, every noise. The birds stopped chirping, the winds stopped talking to the trees. There was complete silence. The dark brown soil was now coloured red. Yasmeen shrieked at the sight and fainted.

"Ammi!" Screamed a 17 year old girl, dressed in a yellow suit as she saw Yasmeen lying unconscious on the floor. "Allah!" She screamed even louder and ran towards her 8 year old brother. His white kurta was completely soaked in blood as he lay motionless on the ground . "Ashraf!!" Tabassum cried as she saw her brother, now dead. "Open your eyes Ashraf! What happened to you? Allah! How did this happen?" Tabassum cried incoherently, clinging to her brother's dead body.

The bullet had silenced and stifled a young boy forever. His aspirations to fly, to cross that line. Those little feet didn't know that they were not crossing merely a 'line'. His bright sparkling eyes didn't know that across the line was another world- a world of brutality. The young, innocent heart didn't know what partition really meant and failed to recognize the difference of that 'line' with other ones.

"So did he fly like he promised?" repeated Sarah. Tabassum now heard it. She was now back to the present. The sight of the young, happy, innocent Ashraf had now vanished. She looked at Sarah's hazel eyes and replied, "Yes he did fly as he promised and nobody could stop him. Nobody. He kept his promise." Tabassum left the room with eyes full of tears and emotions which could never be expressed as she answered.

Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Time to Move On

“Everything will be fine like before dear. Time is very powerful. It has the capacity to heal every wound. It’s been 2 years now. Everyone has moved on… You should too”. She didn’t utter a word. Nothing. Not even a ‘Thank You’.  She simply rose from the chair and headed towards the door with the words echoing in her mind-“everyone has moved on”. Yes. Everybody moved on in their lives. The only  one who stopped completely is ME. If everybody has moved on, then why not me? As she walked past the door, Dr. Verma just hoped the best for her life.
“See you soon, guys! Had a wonderful day! Bye!” Dressed in a turquoise blue churidaar, she waved her friends goodbye. Her black eyes sparkled like a black gemstone, complimenting her black curls. “Bye Sana. Take good care of yourself”. Sana. Yes. That’s her name. S-A-N-A. A cheerful, sweet, pretty, vivacious, ambitious young girl. That’s what she was. Life seemed like a bed of roses for her. A loving family comprising of loving parents and an elder brother. She had a decent job at a bank, a caring fiancé and great friends. Everything seemed perfect. She had everything she desired. Until one dreadful day…
“Help! Somebody please help! Aahh! It’s burning! It’s burning like hell! Somebody please, please help me! PLEASE!” It was 5:30 p.m. when Sana bid her friends goodbye. She was waiting for her bus at the bus stand. The very next day was her birthday. She was excited. But, her world turned upside down within a few moments. Her face was burning from the acid that was splashed on her face by a masked man on a motorbike. She yelled. She screamed. She cried miserably for help. But nobody turned up. Nobody. The bus stand was a busy one. Lots of people were waiting for their respective buses. But still, nobody helped her. They just kept looking at her, pitying her, but NOBODY HELPED HER!
The next day she woke up in the hospital. “Would you like something?”, the nurse asked. “Just a mirror. Nothing else”. replied Sana. As she looked at herself in the mirror, her whole body went numb. Completely numb. Her beautiful face was completely burnt. Burnt in a way that it couldn’t be looked at even for a minute or two. The acid ate up her face. When the reality struck her, she started crying vigorously. Today was her birthday. Her 26th birthday. “Sana! Please don’t. Don’t  cry like this. Mumma & Dad won’t be able to bear it. Control yourself. Everything will be alright. We are there for you. With you”. Her brother consoled her. But nobody was there with her. Nobody. She was all alone. No. She was left all alone. Alone to suffer.
After her visit to the psychiatrist Dr. Verma, Sana came back to her house. 2 years had passed by. But the wounds still seemed fresh for her. She was secluded by the society. Her engagement broke off. Her fiancé didn’t want to marry someone with a burnt face. As soon as her engagement was called off, her parents passed away of grief. Her brother disowned her. Her friends distanced themselves from her. The day she woke up in the hospital with a burnt face, she couldn’t recognize herself. But now she was familiar with this burnt-face. It was now her identity. The society is afraid of her face, she thought, but she isn’t. not now at least.
Dr. Verma was right. Everybody has moved on. Even that attacker. He couldn’t be traced. He must be living a normal life. He, being the ACCUSED must be living a normal life. Then why can’t she? She didn’t do anything then why should she suffer. That too ALONE! Sana wanted to confront everybody who left her alone to suffer. Everybody. Her brother. Her fiancé. Her friends. And yes this damned society. But what was the use! She tried that before. 2 years ago. The society was scared of her burnt-face. Her neighbors didn’t want to keep any relation with her or her family. Even her family did the same thing, though indirectly. Her parents didn’t show but yes, they too thought of her as a burden after that incident. Her own brother, the brother who loved her the most, disowned her. How could she move on with such wounds that still remain fresh in her hearts?