To romance death, meant to invite death. When she first woke up as a ghost, she had lost all sense of time and spatial awareness. How much time had passed in between her passing and now? Unimportant memories wore thin as she wandered. Only looking at the occasional calendar on her walks around the city and houses could she at least know what the date was. Nothing else meant anything to her anymore. Her family mourned for her daily, but grew old without her too. Her sisters were married and busy in their own lives. Even Misha, who promised she would stay single her whole life, was happily married to Kabir. They even had a baby girl that they named after her. And her parents had learned to live without her too. She was just a memory, a ten year old memory. And her Abhay, her own ten year old memory, was nowhere to be found.
The forest was the only place to bring her comfort. So many nights she had spent with him there, under the canopy of trees and that glowing moon and stars. Where the world and time was in their hands. She thought that she would never see him again, until that one night.
That one night, when she caught the sight of his silhouette wandering near her grave. From just that, she couldn't be exactly sure that it was him, but she wanted to see. Maybe there was some hope for them. She felt a change of expression on her own face after a long time, in anticipation of meeting her love again.
I'm still here, Abhay. I hope you can wait just a while longer...
On her deathbed, she could only wonder if he would be okay without her. One of his worst fears was losing a loved one, especially her. If she could just see, just to make sure, that he was fine, even with someone else, that would be enough. She could pass on with just that thought.
But fine was a long ways away, he didn't even remember her. He was living all alone, in some nondescript cabin far from the city. Where were his parents? What had happened after her eyes closed for the final time? If her heart was still there, it was breaking into a million pieces. Her Abhay didn't remember anything. All their memories, they were gone. And memories he had with someone else, that someone else wasn't even there anymore. He probably didn't remember her either.
His eyes were empty when they reunited. He was quiet, and lost. Resigned to his fate. Just before her grave, he always stopped walking, like he was caged in. She couldn't see anything of the sort herself. But he couldn't come close enough. So she decided to go to him instead.
She touched the red spider lily in her hair, wondering how much time she had left. It began to bloom sparsely in places that formed the path between her resting place and his cabin. Her wishes weren't yet fulfilled, so perhaps she could stay for a while longer. She didn't want to go. He needed her, and she needed him. But she also wanted to see him happy. She couldn't have both.
Again, she stopped by his place, after the sun nearly completed its descent. A bright full moon night would soon emerge. The door was open for her, as usual. Abhay was sleeping on the sofa in the living room, the once in a fortnight period of sleep that vampires needed. She sat on the floor next to him, stroking his hair and staring at his lovely features.
Ten years apart. She wanted those years back. She wanted to start over. But if they had to be spent in just this moment, so be it. Something was better than nothing. He needed company, and so did she.
If I'm reborn, will you come find me again? Can we fall in love again?
His icy grey eyes fluttered open a few minutes into the night, and he turned to stare at her. He spent her entire absence just staring at their photo. That photo, which now lay under his palm, protected in his embrace. She reached up, kissed his forehead, and held onto his hand.
Haseena aunty must've put the photo in that book. I'm glad I found it, she thought.
"First time I ever enjoyed sleeping. Maybe it was because of you." He murmured, looking into her eyes. A sharp burn on his back was growing, which he ignored for now. "Did we....love each other a lot?"
Such an innocent question, he asked it like a child. Piya eagerly nodded. Oh, how she wished she could say something. She laid her palm over his chest, over their photo.
"You know I'm not human right? Then how did you fall for me?"
She shook her head and placed a finger over his lips. Running towards a window, into the condensation of the glass, she wrote him another message. Abhay followed behind, reading slowly as she wrote each letter.
"Love doesn't have whys or hows. Your secret never bothered me."
His gaze softened. A rare gem. She knew what he was, and didn't shy away from it. Tears fell from his eyes. He wanted to remember her, so badly. His heart yearned for her. What would it take to do so?
Piya panicked, and tried to calm him down. She hated seeing him cry. She wrapped her arms around his torso, hoping he could feel some semblance of them.
Abhay looked up, outside into the sky. The full moon that he was waiting for was bright and in focus. The first mark on his back glowed as bright as the celestial body above, like a candle in total darkness. Uncovered from the shadow of earth, its light slowly brought clarity in the fog of his mind. He was remembering small things. About them.
Abhay!
He closed his eyes. A scene of her running to him, towards their special place in the forest. Her voice was so beautiful, like those memories. Like a bird chirping its morning song.
The photo in his hand was taken from a college dance competition. Even though they didn't win first place, the experience was a prize on its own. Someone slyly snapped a photo of them while they were lost in each other's eyes, and gave Piya a copy anonymously. She then made him one with her handwritten note on the back. He remembered how beautiful she looked that night. And the pleasure of having a dance with her was a gift only he could have.
The first moon on his back vanished. Their memories were returning to him. So beautiful, and timeless. He closed his eyes, and cried a little more.
"I'm....remembering things. About us..." He whispered. Piya looked up at him in hope, wiping away his tears as best she could. "Piya...."
The utterance of her name became heavier with love and emotion. She could believe his words with just the tone of his voice. Those empty eyes were filling up with the affection that he held deep inside his heart. She stood on her toes, and kissed him once more. He welcomed that chill on his lips too, wishing he could return it properly.
"We first met....eleven years ago? In this very forest?"
She nodded. He narrated some more, about the times he saved her life, the times they spent together so deeply in love, and the time she learned about his darkest secret. She was something he could only ask for in a dream. Too good to be true. But still, something was missing. Something important. Not all of his memory was back yet.
"Then how....how did this happen? Why couldn't I save you?" He asked, eyes wide, staring at her throat. Such a gruesome and painful death. How could he not save her? Why couldn't he remember that event in particular? The event where he lost her.
Did I not even try? Impossible...
Piya looked down, and made her best effort to hide the wound from him. She gathered her hair, and kept it firmly over the ugliness of it all. This was one thing she couldn't let him remember. It would break him completely.
"Please tell me. Once I am freed from here, I won't leave that monster alive, for taking you away from me."
She pressed her fingers to his lips, and shook her head frantically. He didn't know what he was saying. Yes, he didn't know. But act on that promise he would, no matter who the culprit was. Abhay looked at her in disbelief, unsure as to why she wasn't disclosing the name. Before he could press on, the clock struck midnight. The red spider lily began to shed its petals again, and she stepped back from him. As she ran forth towards the grave once more, her chiming steps gave bloom to even more of the foreboding flowers.
Yes, it was almost time to go.
Abhay wiped his tears, and returned inside. Checking his back, the tattoo was indeed gone, leaving only two phases left. In one week, the half moon would rise. Throwing his shirt over a chair, he lay next to the fireplace deep in thought.
Are you willing to pay a price, to give her life again?, The voice asked.
