She emerges from wherever she had gone a moment back with a book and a pencil in her hand. She settles against the window and says
"This is my sketchbook. I have a few drawings here and I can make more if we run out. The game goes such- I'll show you a drawing or sketch or picture and you'll tell a line or a verse that comes to your mind when you look at it or from the interpretation of it. So what do you say? Shall we play this game?"
"Yes of course because I've never played a game like that"
Noting that he is genuine in his acceptance to play the game she proposed, she opens her sketchbook.
_
She holds up the painting for him to see, which has a storm of sand swiveling around a glass enclosure. Within the enclosure is a man whose eyes are fixated on a viridian patch. Tears drop down his melancholic eyes along with a serene smile on his visage. Outside the storm, at a little distance away is a small lake surrounded by palm trees. It is smaller and painted in dull shades.
It takes a moment but the words form in his head and escape his lips
"Tether me in a mirage while the oasis lies awaiting until it dries"
"Deep" she says
"Just like the painting!" he responds while she just nods her head.
She turns the page and frowns at the next drawing. Shaking her head, she turns a few more pages and comes across a drawing that makes her crack a smile. He looks on in intrigue till she turns the book towards him. It is now him that smiles.
It is a pretty straightforward drawing with a bookcase encased in the moon while a wolf and a hand side by side seem to be looking at it, trying to reach it. It makes him smile because of the sentiment, the urge of every reader to slip into the world of books and never come back.
"A wolf's howl to the moon, my cry to the world within the books, take me in and never let go."
"True that" she says
_
She holds up the sketch of a girl looking outside a window, her one hand outstretched and almost holding something that looks like a brilliant star hanging akin to a stud from the sky. Her other hand is at the back, her palm replete of blisters painted an angry red.
"Hold it close, the only star that will burn like you wish you could"
"Why?" she asks, a curious expression on her face.
"Before I answer that, what did you think while painting this?"
"Scalded either way, reaching for lesser of the two evils. They find devils in the dark while turning eyes away from the ones bathed in light, hiding in plain sight and then scream you are wrong for all of it."
He remains silent for a beat before saying
"Scalded already, choose the pain that wounds. Lesser of the two evils, hold the hurt that you choose and let it burn because it will. And all the while you'll be left wishing you could combust and burn the same way, once for all. Because that will be your light, away from them and from your own frontiers of darkness and trauma."
"That is an.....it is an overwhelming interpretation" she says, her voice breaking.
"It is just the extension of your own" he says.
_
The next one is a skeleton in the embrace of a weeping girl. At first, it looks like the girl is losing somebody she loves and is holding on with all her might but then his eyes fall on the hands of the girl placed on the back. A dagger is held in them, piercing through whatever little is left on the skeleton. His eyes widen as he takes in the juxtaposition of it all, the dagger, the tears flowing down the girl's eyes, a glossy shine in the blank orbs of the skeleton and the position of only one arm around the girl while the other is outstretched in the air. He marvels at her thought, the nuances in her work that makes it so different and beautiful in its simple splendor.
She sees the understanding and recognition of all her conscious nuances she incorporated, clearly in his eyes before they transform into admiration. It makes something within her feel lighter, pushing past the constant reminder of her weakness because dammit this weakness is giving her something to be happy about, even if it is only till the other shoe drops.
"You are an amazing artist Abhira" he says and she swallows the sudden tightness in her throat before responding
"Thank you Armaan"
They linger in the silence of the moment for a little while before he whispers
"I gave and gave till there was nothing much left but you still cling to me like I'm your breath!"
"Amazing" she whispers back and he smiles.
_
They continue such, a game that allows them to delve into art and emotions and so much more. Imagination is limitless and every instance of it is unique. It is something that can be depicted or portrayed or brought to life in a million different ways, each more or less impactful or different or special than the other. But most importantly, each holding its own beauty, like the universe and the billion things and elements it encompasses.
The next picture she holds up is a shaded sketch of an eye. Down to the glint of despair, it is intricate in every way. Slipping out are tears shaded in darker shades of gray that almost seems black. And aimed at it is a hammer held by a person on a ladder.
It is profound, so very much and it is reality, his and hers. He looks into her eyes and sees the same reflected at him. It comes like a burst of meteor in their eyes, quick flashes of everything they hide flashing in an undecipherable pace before they are back in the moment.
"Every bit of my face is sculpted, down to the very lash. As a tear drops, a hammer hardens and bruises an invisible slash. Too fragile it screams, you aren't to deter from the deceive!" he says, still looking into her eyes.
She holds his gaze and nods her head.
_
It isn't until they see the sunrise that they realize how long they have been at the game. They look at the sun rising and cannot help the thought that passes both their minds.
Maybe something new has begun. Maybe it is finally dawn!
_
WC: 1115 words
Love,
Pratyusha
YOU ARE READING
Edge Of The Night | ONC2024 ✓
General Fiction[Open Novella Contest - 2024] ONC2024 Longlister Round 1 & 2 Qualifier Prompts: 24,5 Tired of rising from the ashes, when his last reason to hold on falls apart, a man seeking peace moves into a new apartment. What he doesn't expect is to become e...
