The final goodbye
Introduction to the Author:
Soumyadeep Chatterjee is a 4th year student of engineering from Kolkata, who has a passion for stories and films. He never had a lot of friends, so books were his companion from an early age. He inherited the habit of reading from his parents, and gradually the reading habit gave way to writing. He has particular interest in the genre of short stories. He believes the genre gives one the challenge of exploring the intricate and complicated human emotions while limiting the word-length, as also keeps the story open to multiple interpretations from the reader’s perspective.
“Think again”
“I already have, and my decision won’t change…”
“Well, it’s not that things would change much by your death, and you know that….”
“Doesn’t matter. I cannot take this anymore. It is an escape route, not a magic trick that would set everything straight. I need to escape.”
“So you are running away, aren’t you?”
“Look, I won’t go into all these things again. I have made up my mind, so don’t try to stop me”
“I am not trying to stop you. I could never do that. It’s just that, what would become of me once you are gone?”
“Why? You’re scared of loneliness?”
“No, but would I still be the same person once you are gone? Won’t I change?”
“Remember the tiffin episode from the school??”
“That was different, we were kids…I reacted impulsively which I still regret…”
“Well, that day I realised you would do fine without me….”
The cold wind cut through the shivering bones, the surrounding darkness seemed to engulf everything possible. The leaves rustled to the beats of the harsh wind creating a strangely melancholic yet soothing music, a music which caressed his cold ears and took him to a happy moment of the distant and forgotten past.
“Don’t go. I need you. You know that, don’t you? I…I really…. really do…”
“I have to”
“No you don’t. Things change, you just have to give it some time.”
“Come on, none of us is a kid. We know nothing ever changes. It’s only the lives which end, the world, this magnanimous, ever-so-forgiving world remains just as it was, unaffected, unmoved. Had you still been that little kid, I might not have said this. But every adult knows that nothing in this universe ever changes. It’s the same old story told again and again from different perspectives, and frankly speaking, I have got bored of that story. I want to write the end of the story in my way, just the way I want it to be… what? “
“What ‘what’?”
“What happened to you?”
“Nothing. Why would something happen with me?”
“You are crying? I hardly remember ever seeing you cry. You are tougher than this, aren’t you? Stop crying. You know your tears won’t change my decision”
“Well then. If you think that is what is good for you, very well then. I hope to meet you soon. I must leave now. Goodbye. The final goodbye, that is…”
“Don’t go like that. Look, I can’t go peacefully if you leave me like this. The final goodbye cannot be so brief”
“Brevity is beauty”
“Yes I agree, but just few more minutes. Then we both can leave, towards our respective destinations. But for the last few minutes, let me enjoy your presence, let me breathe in your existence for the last time, and then the curtain would fall….”
On that lonely rooftop, time seemed to have ceased to flow. The wind still ate through the bones, the leaves still played their own music of melancholy, the darkness continued to engulf everything. He sat there, without the slightest of movement except the shivering. His eyes were moist, his hands cold and dry. He was feeling thirsty. There were no stars in the sky, only some opaque clouds floating aimlessly. He felt dizzy, his feet had gotten numb. But, his parched lips slowly curved themselves to form a mysterious grin. A grin which seemed to speak a lot, yet was incomprehensible.
Suddenly, the darkness was shattered by a sharp glow of light from all around. He could not keep his eyes open in the blinding glaze. The darkness was gone, the wind was gone, the musical leaves were gone, he was gone…..
“Good morning. How do you feel today, young man?”
“Good morning doctor. I feel good”
“Just good?”
“No, not just good. I feel free. Yes doctor, I feel free. I feel free….”
“Yes I know. They have arrived, only the paperwork is left. Once that is done, they will take you, and then you would actually be free….absolutely free….”