Mar 16, 2010

Hello.


Do you know what it means to be... invisible?

You are nothing more than a stray fleck of dust in the evening wind. Nothing more than a tiny grain of salt in the never ending blue expanse of the ocean. Not even a face in a crowd, because no one acknowledges your presence at all. You are, but a body that amounts to nothing.

She stood in front of the mirror, watching herself. Criticizing herself. The dull lank hair framing a plain uninteresting face. Inappropriately shaped, not too tall. Not beautiful, not ugly. Just plain. Pathetically plain. Noone would give her a second glance.

Unable to fathom why she was put on this planet. What was the purpose of this life? If it didn’t matter to anyone at all, wouldn’t it be simpler to jerk the plug off it? Wouldn’t it get some attention afterall? Someone. Anyone.

She took the mirror down from the wall, watching her reflection. She stood with it for a long moment in her hands, and then threw it across the room in one fluid motion, breaking it into a myriad irregular pieces.

Now there were many people in the room. But they all looked the same.

They all looked like her.



*****************************************************


He saw her everyday. Everyday at 11.01 AM they both stepped into the same train which took them downtown for work. Everyday they went their separate ways after half an hours ride.

Sometimes a black overcoat. Sometimes long dark hair falling forward framing the heart shaped face. Sometimes held back together with the stubborn band. Sometimes with the backpack, sometimes without it. Sometimes with the white umbrella. Sometimes she would read 'Love in the Time of Cholera' yet again, lovingly smoothing out the yellowing pages of the old book as she read. Sometimes she would just sit there stare out of the window, not looking at anything in particular. She just sat there sometimes, and watched as the landscape changed with the rhythmic clank of the wheels on the tracks.

But always, always, that grey of her eyes that made his heart skip a bit. Every single time.


Dear God.. she was beautiful..


*****************************************************


She lay there in the dark, watching the shadows chase patterns over the ceiling. Thoughts chased themselves around in her head over the incessant babble of voices that just wont shut up. She had lost count of the amount of times she tried to shut the voices out, craving one moment of peace, just one millisecond of relief. But they never went away.


Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello, I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to
Hello


Sometimes loneliness opens up such a deep valley of nothingness on the inside of you, that it doesn’t matter what happens to the outside of you. The scars that left their criss-cross lines on her flesh, weaving an intricate beautiful web of silver, were nothing but reminders of the sad non-existence she lived. Tattoos that told better stories.

She drew the razor sharp shard of the broken mirror across her wrist. She didn’t feel a thing. Except for that slight tinge, that curious burning sensation where the edge of the glass kissed her flesh. Tiny drops of crimson blossomed over the stark white.

Just another night. Just another lonely night. Maybe if she was lucky it would be her last.


If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I'll wake from this dream
Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken
Hello
I'm the lie living for you so you can hide
Don't cry


Maybe.

*****************************************************


He stood waiting at the same spot he stood everyday, at the foot of the stairs.

It was chilly today. He knew she would wear her black coat today. She would come everyday and take the same train with him, just as she had for the last seventeen months. Like always she would go take a seat across him, and never know that he spent the next half hour watching her. Knowing her in the best half hour of his entire day.

Today was the day he would finally talk to the pretty grey eyed girl. Just hear what she sounded like. Maybe someday he would gather enough courage to tell her just how pretty she looked with her hair down. Someday.

It was 10.59 AM. The train pulled into the station as always. He looked up the stairs as always. Moments that held eternities in them passed and the train pulled out of the station. Like always.


He stood there confused. She didn’t come.
That day she didn’t.




She never came for the 11.01 AM train again.



~ Annie.

P.S: There is ALWAYS someone who loves us more than we know it to be possible. Even if it’s not the person you were hoping for...

31 comments:

Anupam Gupta said...

Hmm...So finally the story is done...

Its quite sad...the ending i mean...though as always very well written..

Still...din't leave me with a smile on my face..which i like to have after stories..but u know i love your writing..:)

Iddy Albatross said...

"... so what is the use of a story without pictures or conversations?"

Alice could not have been more wrong.

Loved the new style of writing. The story, I think we'll have to have a longer discussion on it than what will be permitted here by Blogger.

Cheers... :)

Kanishk said...

Ummm Are you like hopelessly optimistic ?
I really wanna know what inspired you to write this ?

Anwesa said...

Yes,true. A realistic plot. I like it.

Raj said...

pathetic story! pathetic end! but i loved it. a bit serious. too realistic. but inventive in its own way. btw, whats it like being invisible? do u really know? i dont!

bondgal_rulz said...

Hmmm.....dunno if I agree with the ending or not. But what I do definitely know is that this was beautifully written. As always. :)

Cheers

Blunt Edges said...

even though i don't have a suicide planned this year, i hope the girl who loves me comes n tells me soon! ;)

Misty Rhythm said...

ok. i dont think i need to tell u how well u write over and over again!
that was so sad :(...i wish the guy wud've spoken to her sooner!

IceMaiden said...

@Anupam,
Actually it was done way back.. Just had someone read it and tell me it was good to go.. hence posted :)

Well, life doesnt neccessarily leave you with a smile always.. :) But thanks for liking what I write. You know it means a lot :)

@Iddy,
Coming from you, it means a LOT! and you know that right? :)

@Kanishk,
Hopelessly optimistic? er.. well I am in life most times, but this one was one of those times when I WASNT! :)

And Life inspired me to write this one... :)

@Anwesa,
Thank You! :)

@Raj,
:) Thanks anyway.
Yes I do know what it means to be invisible.. :) Its a good thing sometimes.

@Isha,
Thank you!
*hugs*

Luv,
Annie. :)

@Blunt Edges,
:) I hope so too for you..! :)

@Misty Rhythm,
Been a long time nai?
Thanks! :)
And yeah, I wish so too, but then... life... *sigh* :)

Kanishk said...

Well written of course !
My observation was that it seemed like Your opinion of other people(the girl in the story) is that they're extremely miserable whereas life's a fairy-tale waiting to happen(which seemed like your belief)... Hence the abrupt comment.
Also I'm quite appalled by the ending. I can imagine how it might feel like being invisible but the idea of a suicide I can't comprehend. I like your writing and all but hope you're no longer in the mood that made you reach that ending.

IceMaiden said...

@Kanishk,
Appreciate the honest comment! :)

Well to start off, I DO have a fairytale view of life.. At the same time, you will be suprised at how much the people around us have to go through emotionally, hence the dark mood of almost all my stories. :)
About the suicide part.. to each his own I guess. :) There are people who are strong enough and then there are some who simply arent. Anyway its just a story :) I like to think that I write dark brooding stories better than the mushy ones, hence I naturally gravitate towards such themes :)
Lastly, yes, Im not in that mood anymore, because I dont stay down for a long time anyway :) Writing about it gets it out of my system and then Im good to go :)

Thanks anyway,
Annie.

Kanishk said...

Firstly, EVERYONE goes through severe emotional turmoils, some more some less, irrespective of what others can make out.

Anyways, The person writing the mushy ones seem to be poles apart from the one brooding over the darkness in our society :P

Lastly, I enjoy reading your blog and will look forward for some more shock and awe :)

Cheers,
Kanishk

Destiny's child... said...

That was beautifully written...absolutely loved it.
Sad end though....

buckingfastard said...

loneliness and suicide...is dere sumthin in da air nowadays...even my last post covered similar thoughts...

beautifully written...u cud hav elaborated on da feelins of da guy... :)

Lena said...

So greatly written. And really sad... Wish he would have talked to her at least once.. Sometimes we really fail to see the obvious things and submerge in our loneliness, hopelessness and are just.. lost. Sometimes literally.

Lena

simply me said...

well to start with... applause at your writing :)
loved the post :)
no arguments from my side i just love it the way it is written guess life is sometimes cruel to us and some other times we ourselves are cruel on us with all the expectations we have in our mind

Sangitha said...

A hard hitting story.. most of us go thru such emotions at some point in our lives.. Isnt it? But the step taken by the girl was extreme.. :(
Ur writing style is amazing girl!! Emotions were captured really well.. Kudos to u.. :)

P.S: There is ALWAYS someone who loves us more than we know it to be possible. Even if it’s not the person you were hoping for...

Made me smile.. A perfect way to end a grim tale..:)

Cynthia said...

A beautiful modern day fable.

True, as I becomer wiser this is
proven to be true. If only we
would open our eyes and get out
of our own head, just think how
much love would be available
to us.

Really, have someone illustrate
this fable and then publish it.

IceMaiden said...

@Kanishk,
Agreed. And yes I seem to exhibit symptoms of MPD sometimes :P Thanks for liking what I write. :)

@Destiny's Child,
Thanks so much.. :)

@BuckingFastard,
Maybe we think alike :) Your last post was way better than mine.. Yes I know I could have elaborated, I should have, but I seem to be suffering from a severe case of writers block :( :( This was about as much writing I could do...

@Lena,
Hi welcome to my blog! Thanks for liking the post :)
Yea I know.. sometimes we fail to see things that we do have... so busy with concentrating on things we dont.. sad. Maybe someday we shall see :)

@Simply Me,
Thank you so much.. :)
So true what you said.. which is maybe why I didnt want a fairytale ending.. :)

@Sangitha,
Thank you so much for liking my post! You understood the point I was making perfectly.. :) :) Thats why I added that PS .. maybe someone will wake up and realise life isnt so bad after all... :)

@Cynthia,
Thanks a lot for those words! :)
I think I got wiser too because of this one.. Its crazy how many obvious things we miss because we get so damn short sighted :)

Harini said...

I think many people can relate to this one has most of us through these emotions at some point of time in life. A real hard hitting one. A very very good one :).

krypton02 said...

Very, very well-written. So picturesque and full of emotional depth even in your dark tones, I loved reading it. It reminded me of one of my favourite authors, Jhumpa Lahiri... Are there more stories like this on your blog? You have a lovely way of painting pictures through your stories. :)

IceMaiden said...

@Harini,
Thank you very much! :)

@Let me be,
Thanks so much! Jhumpa Lahiri is one of my fav authors. :)
There are more of those stories on the blog. Check them out when ur free :)

Cheers,
Annie.

Nic. said...

A good one. Made me think. 'Cause deep inside, I think I'm a little like the girl in the story there. A little, or a little more than a little.

IceMaiden said...

@Nic,
Are we all like that girl? A little? :)

Arslan said...

Beautifully written. It reveals an inherently optimistic mindset of the writer, coz according to the story, everything would've been perfect had just the guy talked to the girl. She felt plain, but he found her beautiful. Doesn't need to happen like that in real life. She could be plain, and go about all her life without finding the guy who thinks she's beautiful.

Secondly, isn't the girl a bit self-absorbed and selfish? She only wants to be noticed, but doesn't notice the guy for 17 months? Had he talked to her, is that all she wants from someone, just that she be noticed and be called beautiful?

Very interesting story. :)

Matangi Mawley said...

i loved the read! it was beautifully written! very realistic..

commited to life said...

beautiful...

p.s was just passing by

Sadhana. said...

Hey! Visiting your blog for the first time! It's nice :) Oh and I LOVED the story. I like dark stuff! *Follows* :D

IceMaiden said...

@Arslan,
Thanks :)
Yes true, she could be plain and the guy finds her beautiful, in which case she lost out on some real loving :)
The girls doesnt want to be noticed and be called beautiful, lot of people notice us, but then only a few matter dont they? Sometimes, life gets difficult and lonely enough to make us blind. I guess thats what happened with her :)

@Matangi Mawley,
Thanks so much :)

Commited To Life,
Thanks! Both for liking the story and taking the time to pass through here :)

S*
Thanks so much! :)
Will check out your blog soon! :)

DeJaVu said...

amazing write...hair on the back of my neck standing up...

Abhishek Sen said...

Extremely moving...the way you have used the 'Hello' lyrics make it even more touching...very well written,loved it...

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