The Confronted
It was ten past seven on a Thursday evening when my bus dropped me at my stop. From where I stood, I looked at the sky and was pretty sure that it would rain. The clouds were jus foaming up and the smell of the fresh air, one could experience before the first rain was so intense! At seven it looked like midnight. I started to walk towards my apartment half sleepy and hungrier. As I was striding, different thoughts crept my mind. Various things that had happened in office, the work I did and what was ahead of me the impending day! Then suddenly this thought crept in from nowhere!! As if my mind had paved way to this thought alone and nothing else. All of a sudden every other thought drifted away and my mind was over this one strange nausea that my instinct told was no good! What was it? Was it a fear, a reminder maybe? I wasn’t sure. With my mind crowded and thoughts skewed I begin to walk fast! Faster than ever ...something told me that I had to get home soon. Maybe it is about something with my house. Maybe I had left the door ajar! Or worse left my computer on from the previous night work!
I reached my apartment in no time and wanted to take the stairs instead of the lift to reach the 2nd floor. I always knew I was faster in steps than taking a lift (and partly I was claustrophobic and avoided closed space to the best I can!). I reached my house and took the key from my purse to unlock the door. I was partly relieved to see the door was locked properly. A silent moment passed by. My heart was pounding harder from taking the staircase. Taking a deep breath I went inside.
Then it struck me! I was shocked to sense it. The whole house smelt pungent...As if something had been burnt or worst someone had been burnt alive! The odor was so bad that it hit me the moment I opened the door! It was so suffocating to be there and each minute my heart was pounding double hard. I couldn’t breathe or think. Everything within urged me to get out of there and yet I was standing there wondering and trying to make sense of the situation. I knew the smell was coming from the kitchen...so I dropped my bag in the floor and went right into the kitchen. Frightened and intoxicated by the smell, that grew more and more as i drew close to the kitchen. I was fighting the fear within, though my body was too tired from that days work and was wanting to run away from whatever I was about to face! I entered the kitchen and there it was, lying in the sink piled and ugly. Its enormity shocked me and its condition made me feel like puking! No one was around and I realized it was solely up to me to handle it. Mustering my courage I inched forward to the sink and sighed ...breathing more harder than before I realized I had only short moments left to stop whatever was there in that sink from growing more clumsy, more complex and more powerful than me.
Wiping the tiny droplet of sweat that precipitated around my forehead I tied across myself the sorry looking apron and off I went to wash the utensils that were left unclean, untouched for days together maybe months , since my maid had gone for vacation...!
I reached my apartment in no time and wanted to take the stairs instead of the lift to reach the 2nd floor. I always knew I was faster in steps than taking a lift (and partly I was claustrophobic and avoided closed space to the best I can!). I reached my house and took the key from my purse to unlock the door. I was partly relieved to see the door was locked properly. A silent moment passed by. My heart was pounding harder from taking the staircase. Taking a deep breath I went inside.
Then it struck me! I was shocked to sense it. The whole house smelt pungent...As if something had been burnt or worst someone had been burnt alive! The odor was so bad that it hit me the moment I opened the door! It was so suffocating to be there and each minute my heart was pounding double hard. I couldn’t breathe or think. Everything within urged me to get out of there and yet I was standing there wondering and trying to make sense of the situation. I knew the smell was coming from the kitchen...so I dropped my bag in the floor and went right into the kitchen. Frightened and intoxicated by the smell, that grew more and more as i drew close to the kitchen. I was fighting the fear within, though my body was too tired from that days work and was wanting to run away from whatever I was about to face! I entered the kitchen and there it was, lying in the sink piled and ugly. Its enormity shocked me and its condition made me feel like puking! No one was around and I realized it was solely up to me to handle it. Mustering my courage I inched forward to the sink and sighed ...breathing more harder than before I realized I had only short moments left to stop whatever was there in that sink from growing more clumsy, more complex and more powerful than me.
Wiping the tiny droplet of sweat that precipitated around my forehead I tied across myself the sorry looking apron and off I went to wash the utensils that were left unclean, untouched for days together maybe months , since my maid had gone for vacation...!
posted by Vidhu Venkat at 5:07 PM
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