Turnback Lane

Chapter 2: Empty

Anisa opened her eyes once again, to see herself in a different place. The strong smell of sanitizing liquid had faded into a lush aromatic fragrance of fresh Earth. Where was she? All the passed events had been one big blur in her mind; first she flew, then she felt a sharp pain in her arm, then...what had even happened?

She slowly tilted her head to see her tightly bandaged arm in a sling around her neck. She could not feel anything; not her arm, her emotions, the colour in the world, it was all gone only sparing the smallest remnants of what had happened yesterday.

A small knocking sound woke her up from her daydreams as a familiar face slowly opened the door, his hand gently turning the doorknob. Odd. At one point in her life, her face used to light up at the sight of him; his skin the colour of milky hot chocolate would warm her even on the coldest of days while his hazel eyes would always risk a chance to take a shy glance while his perfect smile would always melt something inside her. She had always wished for a moment like this, it had been her dream to talk to him properly in silence, just the two of them. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping that once she would open them, she would see him the way she once did, but no matter how much she blinked she could not change the colourless, blank view of the surrounding world or her equally empty thoughts. She wanted to open her mouth, but no words would escape as he pulled up a stool and sat next to her bed.

"Thank God you are alright. You were sleeping for so long that I had started to think that you were...you know," his voice slowly withered as concern shone in his eyes, something that she had lost the ability to see. "Anisa, I am so glad that you are okay. If I hadn't been there, then who knows what could have happened," he once again slowly started, his face turning bright pink while she continued to maintain the cold expression. "Where are we?" her small voice almost a whisper echoed painfully across the room. It was as if everything had become two tones dimmer than before, growing darker and more painful as each word left her mouth,"Why am I still here?" Robin's glow had suddenly faded, as if her words were breaking him, but he quickly revived the smile on his face in hopes of keeping as positive as possible. "Lets just say that you're safe. You don't have to worry anymore Anisa, this time I am here for you, so don't give up on this world.... it is just too soon to give up," he tried to keep his voice from wavering; he could not show Anisa how uncertain he was. He had to stay strong and confident, for her to realize that her life is not over. Not yet.

His words had invoked a glimpse of herself; for almost a minute, her surroundings grew more vivid; the texture of the teak walls became sharper, while she could suddenly feel the soft sheets and mattress embrace her softly, the flooring covered with soft carpeting as golden light shined through the windows. She could hear the sweet song of the small 'koel ' gracefully resting on the window sill, peering at her while the vibrations of a large passing bus shook her bed, its honking almost like a song. The moment was beautiful; she could not even remember how long it had been since she had heard the koel's soothing hum echo through the skies. She tried to heave herself up and head to the window, when she felt the sharp, piercing pain in her arm. "Whoa, careful. I'll help you up," Robin's chirpy yet calming voice once again filled her ears, reminding her of her long lost emotions. Lost to the passage of time. He helped her up, taking hold of her working arm, and allowing her to completely rest on his warm, lean shoulders as he took her to the window, so gently that it had felt like she had hovered to it.
The September sky outside was stunning. The clouds were perfect, milky textures floating across the extremely pure blue sky as the warm sun shined on her face; a moment so rare in the industrial city constantly full of grime, dry heat and smoke. The leaves happily danced in the sunlight and the black koel; a bird so plain on the outside, but with a beautiful voice continued to praise the morning glory. Colourful buses covered with bright pictures of animals and green fields rushed by in a flash of rainbow colours. The moment was perfect for her. It had movement and colour. Just like her world from before.

Robin finally broke the silence, softly whispering,"See how wonderful the world is? Why would you even try to jump off that building?" His words, suddenly reminded her of the past; all those tear filled moments, the captivity she felt and all that misery. Everything came back to her until it all the colours slowly began to fade away again. The view from the window returned to the blurry, black and white image she saw before, darkening as all those beautiful sounds melted away. She could not even feel anything anymore, her entire body going numb once more as the little spark of joy faded from her hollow eyes. The only thing she felt was pain, her mind spinning as her shaky words were once more heard, her voice rasping as if it belonged to a ghost,"Robin, why? Don't...help me. I have nothing left to give you. Everything, its just too empty..." She slowly closed her eyes to prevent the welled up tears from dripping, running to the alternate world of sleep where she would be safe from the truth of the empty void and all that had remained of her.

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Hi readers! Its been a really long time since I have updated this book, so I hope you enjoy the new chapter! Many of my readers have told me that they wanted me to update this book, so here it is, just for you guys! Please spread the word about it and don't forget to like and comment since I really hope this book becomes equally popular to 'The Way of Truth'.

Koel: Its a small black bird that is locally found here. It has a beautiful, singing voice.
Buses: The buses in my country are special, they are painted with beautiful designs and patterns including pictures of green fields, fish, horses and even political leaders. This is a traditional art known as 'truck art'. The cover picture of this chapter is a traditional example of truck art.