Chandigarh Literary Society – Annual Short Story Writing Competition- 2023
2nd Prize Winner – Dr. Deviyani Singh
She stood in the balcony looking at the rapidly plummeting sun. Things in her life had also been sinking at a similar rate. How she longed for someone or something to comfort her in these trying times. The shrill of the doorbell pierced through her reverie. She opened the door…
“Kaun hai?” Her voice echoed in the empty corridor.
“Those damn neighbours’ kids, pranking me again.” Aditi slammed the door, venting her rage on it like a thundercloud, making the fine bevelled glass panel rattle.
Then she heard a melodic call and short, staccato knocks. The doorbell screeched like a discordant violin. She was startled to see a hummingbird pecking away on it.
“Those spoiled ‘jungli’ brats must’ve smeared the
doorbell with their sticky hands, dripping with ‘jalebi’ juice.”
The bird hovered right before her nose, its eyes shimmering.
“You’re sad?” A high-pitched trill, but the words were discernible.
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief as it perched on her hand.
“Only parrots can mimic human words; what are you?” Her voice trembled.
“Let’s go inside.” The mesmerising trill wafted off the walls of her posh flat in Versova, Bombay.
Her heart was pounding; she collapsed on the sofa.
“Don’t do it.” The pitch was lower now.
“What?”
“You were planning to jump off the balcony.
Plummet like the setting sun.”
She was speechless; that’s exactly what she had contemplated. The sun symbolised her despair, like a bad bronze coin that dipped into the dark, tattered pockets of her nightmares. A solitary, salty tear ran down her cheek and plopped onto the tiny bird.
It bobbed its head. “Bring that pocket watch, the family heirloom your father gave you.”
She followed its command as if in a trance and laid the vintage gold watch with a cobalt blue dial on the coffee table.”
“Wind it forward and stop at midnight.”
She gingerly wound the watch; her gaze transfixed on the hummingbird. Legend has it that hummingbirds are a symbol of hope and able to float free of time. Their wings move in an infinity pattern.
“You can call me Advaya. Now tell me every little detail of what tortures your mind,” he chimed.
It felt strange to tell a bird all she had undergone, but her tongue began moving as fast as the hummingbird’s wings. It was a cathartic balm for her wounded heart.
A month ago, her husband had declared with a sheepish smile,
“I’m in love.”
“I know.” She blushed.
“No, with my secretary.”
His icy avalanche of indifference blindsided her. His head was so far up his rear that he couldn’t even see the pain he was causing her. It was like burning coals were forced down her throat.
“I’d never known pain could permeate all my senses. I could smell betrayal in his ‘gifted’ cologne. I could see its colours: black as hell outside and raw red inside, skin charred, exposed flesh hanging, like a burn victim. I could hear it in his constant messages to her back and forth, the notifications set sickeningly to the chirp of love birds. He bought fancy designer underwear and bolted out of the door to ‘work late’, car tyres screeching as he sped out of the driveway. I felt my heart being dragged along the road. Then came the news that they had died in a car crash. I didn’t know whether to be relieved or grieve. I felt like a rusted, jagged sword had been permanently embedded in my heart, leaving a metallic taste. I lost the will to live.”
Advaya’s pupils dilated: “Ah! the terrible trauma of unrequited love! The watch is ready; close your eyes and picture yourself at the edge of a rainbow.” Aditi shut her eyes and saw the bird’s iridescent plumage blend in like a darting rainbow. She saw the plummeting sun and followed its path as it dipped into the sea. They sank for some time and went right through the bottom into a strange gel-like substance, through which they moved in slow motion. They sprang from the firmament into outer space and rode the galactic carousel of the Milky Way, passing through various dimensions with each rotation. They rang rings around Saturn and sailed past thousands of galaxies. They approached a planet that was bathed in the luminescence of a hundred moons and landed in a lush green meadow. The air smelled of fresh green apples. They walked along a small brook with crystal-clear glacial water. Colourful pebbles were visible under the glassy waters. Rhododendron trees lined the path, strewn with a bed of magenta flowers. A startled bevy of golden pheasants cackled and flew past. Bounding towards them was her German Shepherd, who had lived for thirteen years and left them on Valentine’s Day. He covered her with sloppy kisses.
“But how can this be? Simba died; I buried him beside the river…”
A few steps along the way, lying in a hammock, was a familiar figure. He stood up, and she ran straight into his arms.
“Dad? How come? Where am I? Am I dead too?” She asked Advaya.
“No, you’re not dead yet. The souls you see here
have been given genetically enhanced bodies in this parallel universe. Stay here; I will return.”
“Everyone is immortal, there are no ups and downs, we exist in a linear pattern here.” Dad explained.
“The landscape is so unchanging; the weather never changes either?”
Dad nodded, “No reproduction, as no one dies. No competition, and an endless supply of land, food etc.”
“Then there mustn’t be much to do? No conflicts and no stories either.” Aditi’s initial fascination with this alternate reality was wearing thin. Then she saw her husband cavorting around with his secretary. In contrast to the thrill of the forbidden fruit of their fling on Earth, they looked bored here.
He fell at her feet, “Forgive me, please; let’s get back together.”
After a week, Advaya returned, “It’s time.”
Aditi bid farewell to her father and Simba. They floated in the stream that led to a bioluminescent sea; colourful jellyfish swirled around them, and after an enchanting journey, she found herself on her balcony again.
Aditi asked Advaya, “Was it a paracosm?”
“I am real, but enhanced too. Your father sensed your grief and sent me. At the end of their lives on Earth, souls are given the choice of living forever in the same body in another realm or being reborn on Earth. You will be surprised to know that not many choose immortality. What will you choose?”
“I choose this life. Thank you for showing me how to live past bitter experiences and taste only the sweet nectar of life like you do.”
The balcony was now her haven, bridging realms. As the sky was painted in hues of gold and orange, she could see magic in burnished sunsets. The allure of a perfect life faded as she yearned for the messy beauty of this one, with its challenges. She clutched the pocket watch to her heart, knowing it would be her compass to guide her through the labyrinth of life.
The hummingbird pecked her cheek, hovered in the moment, and vanished into the evening twilight.
***
(This story has won 2nd prize at the Chandigarh Literary Society’s Annual Short Story Competition 2023)
Disclaimer – This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, and incidents are purely products of the author’s imagination. There is no malice intended towards any belief or religion. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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