Shapely Shadows

I fiddled with them for quite some time. But something was wrong with the key hole. The keys just don’t seem to get along with it tonight.

I dragged my feet to the bathroom, exhausted after the days work. The leftover pizza from last night was my only dinner. Leftover, the word stayed with me for more than a minute.

I grabbed the remote & flipped through channels on the tv. Gulping down coke devoid of gas made my taste buds loathe the liquid I forced myself to consume. Isn’t that what we do to ourselves as years go by? We are deliberately stuck in a life we never chose.

A movie airing on tv brought back memories. “Watch it” she said, “If you want to”, with glistening eyes that were telling me to watch her favorite movie, not asking.

With nostalgia written all over my face I was reminded of the halcyon days.

The phone buzzed on the table while I stared at it listlessly. I saw her name appear as it buzzed endlessly. Every little thing weighed me down tonight, drops of water in the kitchen sink clashing against the cold hard metallic basin, lights on the mute tv screen but most of all it was the buzzing phone.

She must have stopped calling after myriad of calls like she always did, I told myself as I woke up at half past 12. I switched off the tv & checked my phone. There was only one missed call at 9, when I might have fallen asleep. I felt stupid for believing that she cares.

No one does. I stared at the shapely shadows dancing on the ceiling as I lay on the couch. My whole life flashed in front of me, all chapters at once. Then my mind jumped to the future. I see myself excelling at the job I love. The picture of a perfect family with two kids living in the suburbs warms my heart. But perfect is just a word. What if the future is happening right now?
We collect pieces of souls & give some as we break apart. Our time, soul & heart is never truly ours. All we have is this life.
This life, I said aloud as the ceiling turned red. The shadows seemed to welcome me in their realm. You belong with us, their voices echoed in my head. They hovered around like a black veil where no light can shine through.

You belong with us, my fingers caressed the cold, hard metal I could free myself with. My salvation.

I can hear it buzz now, do it. It’s too late, do it

---

“Hey, call me when you get this. Look, I know we’ve our differences but let’s talk it out”, she left a message after the beep.

Sunshine poured in through the window lighting up the room like never before. The morning had devoured all shadows with the dawn of a new day. But the shapely shadows will rise again every night, as hope fades into the darkness. As long as there’s light, you’re safe. But it doesn’t last forever.

The mint green couch was painted with a dark red hue. It looked extravagant in the sun light. He lay with a hole in his head which was very small compared to the black hole he had been harbouring inside his soul all this time.

The drops of water in the kitchen had seized, the tv didn’t light up anymore, and she finally left a message for him. Nothing weighed him down anymore.

The story behind a world record.

It’s a dream that many see yet few actually get the chance to achieve it. A common notion exists that only exceptional beings deserve something like this.

Were the 4,500 people without whom this achievement of mine would be impossible really that exceptional?

14 November 2017, a day marked in the history of International Indian school, Jeddah. No one will forget the batch that made it possible.

The scorched sun adamantly sucked our energy as we stood holding placards above our heads. Our hands were stiff with pain but we never gave in.

It was not surprising to hear that a girl or two had fainted due to excessive heat & dehydration.

As we stood on our marked spot there were apprehensions that dug their way in the back of our heads. Before approaching our school the party that organised this event made students of International Indian school, Dammam go through the same. But they tried & failed hence we were their second chance. Students were hopeful yet many held the belief that we were no different than our distant cousins, students from Dammam. It was a paradox in itself.

But the moment arrived that finally declared us the winners. Even though we felt weak & tired because Jeddah’s heat is no joke, there was a wave of shouts & hoots that shook the venue.

Soon excitement turned into something pointlessly ugly. Words cannot suffice to create a picture of what I saw that day but I will try my best.

The cloudless sunny sky witnessed the strangest downpour ever. It fell with a huge thud initially somewhere in the back. In the blink of an eye what followed was a havoc. Flying placards fell on our heads from all directions. Even though it lasted for about 5 minutes yet the feeling that we were in a war zone persisted.

My only self-defence was the placard I covered myself with to avoid getting my head smashed. While my alertness & quick thinking saved my head that day, many of my classmates ended up being hospitalized. One of my friends blacked out right in the middle of the ground.

Some said it was girls who started it all & boys simply decided to return the favour. All the victims of this horrendous turn of events were girls. Others believed that boys should’ve stopped throwing when they saw people getting hurt. Whatever started it didn’t matter as much as injuries suffered by these students.

The dream had come true with a nightmarish outcome.

In the end the scarred faces, bleeding foreheads, unconcious teenagers, flying placards, cursing mouths & angry youngsters marked us as exceptional beings.

A briefing about the world record :

“Officials of Abeer Medical Group, a leading healthcare provider in the Middle East, joined 4,500 students of International Indian School Jeddah (IISJ) and their mentors in celebrating the fantabulous achievement of entering the Guinness Book of World Records by forming the world’s largest human mosaic“.

“The students formed the largest picture mosaic on the World Diabetes Day on 14 Nov. 2017 as part of Abeer Group’s mass corporate social responsibility campaign against the health hazards of diabetes“.

-Saudi Gazette.

You can read the whole article here.

The soul inside you.

The soul has no color, race or class. It’s an element that fits wherever there is enough space to live. What happens when soul meets flesh?
Color, race, gender, community to name just a few. From being an element so unique to being put under countless labels, how do you think your soul feels? Or should I say, how do you feel?

You’re not your flesh or mind. Yes, your thoughts define your existence but it can’t outweigh the fact that you’re an element. The flesh that makes you feel inferior or superior because of its color is temporary. The flesh that helps you earn that green paper which carries great significance can easily tear your values apart but a good soul can help you cultivate them. The flesh that fills you with pride because it has been born under the veils of a religion that defines your self-importance and ignorance towards those born to other religions will only lead you through a path of fire into a pit of unending shallowness while a good soul can fill you with satisfaction to the brim. The flesh that has been born within a caste of the powerful will not be of aid when you’re buried six feet under the ground.

Remember, before you judge, begin to develop a sense of pride and cast out others who you believe are unimportant, you’re just an element like they are.

Yes, you’ve something in you that others don’t. But it’s not color, caste, religion, class or country. Your body simply decays into the bleak realm of the grave. How do you seek to fill the space that is your ultimate abode?