The story that turned out to be what it wasn't supposed to be

I wrote this short story for a competition held by the British Council, chennai. It came out of sheer boredom during my library hour. And i sent it. It obviously didn't win anything, but since am running outa stuff to post....

Another thing...some of you might have already read this... u don't need to read it again, but pl leave your comments. And alot of u may not have read it....do read it and tell me how lame u thought it was! And please don't take any of the 'names' seriously, i wrote the names that came to my mind at that point of time....and they jumped out of books, and movies.



THE HUES OF A SUNSET


There was no possibility of taking a walk that day… Charlotte wasn't in bed and Mia would have to tend to all her necessities. Charlotte had just woken up...and Mia wasn't sure whether she had the colourful images of her children in her mind or the feeling of being sucked out of a black hole with a fatigued body and bone deep pain. She was too old to move around freely...she could just walk short distances. After a mid-day nap such as this one, she would want to sip a cup of hot, extra strong black coffee in bed and watch the sunset...she admired the hues of red, blue and purple as if they were her own creation and as if they filled the voids within her...the voids that were overflowing with emptiness and nothingness...She felt strangely complete. Mia sometimes wondered how something as small as the sunset, something that happened every single day, could play so big a role in the life of a woman so old and fragile. What she didn't know was that that time of the evening was when Charlotte’s brain was like a wheel barrow in a garden...filling itself with flowers, like her children, their visits to the park, their late night story telling sessions or occasionally, with weeds, like the arguments they had and how the past and present were so inexplicably different. And when the red twilight gave way to the purple of the night, her mind would be too heavy with thoughts that she felt like her head was jammed and the weight on her neck was becoming unbearable! She would stop there...it was just too much for her to take in. Then, Mia would come in with a tray, wearing her favourite blue apron with orange flowers, and pour her more coffee and make her eat those hateful figs...Oh, why were such unpalatable fruits supposed to be good for her deteriorating health? Sometimes, she felt like she'd prefer an early death to forcing those dark, dry blobs down her poor throat. But she still ate them, everyday. Then she would say "Mia, take me to my children honey!” her eyes sparkling and looking double their size behind her thick rimmed spectacles. And Mia would ask "which one do you want - the seaside, the park, Melanie's 8th birthday...which one?" Charlotte would choose one of them...Mia always gave her ma'am lots of choices. She knew it was always better for her to pick one than think of one herself. Mia would then pull out a large bound album of photographs and place it on Charlotte's bedside.
"Oh look at my Melly! Her green eyes look like two olives!"
"Yes...they're very pretty, aren't they?"
"But now she has brown eyes...she calls them 'lenses’. Apparently, green doesn't suit her complexion any more. How ridiculous I say!"
"Oh ma'am, let it be. Look at the beautiful cake that you'd baked."
"No Mia...I can't let it be. My children are gone...my little Cole is now a big man with a beard! The sight of him gives me goose bums...he always has a sly look in his eyes which makes me feel he wants me done away with as soon as possible...he no longer resembles the ginger-bread man he loved so much! And Ivy...whose face always looked so happy...like she'd just gulped down a Thanksgiving meal of turkey and tart gives me this feeling of wanting to run away and never look back when she looks at me! And the three of them huddle together in a corner and whisper like they’re plotting a conspiracy against me!”
"Ma'am, your children are all grown up...and they left like all the children in the world do." Mia said, dusting the crystal dolls on the corner stand of the dimly lit room. Charlotte sighed and gazed at Mia. This woman had become such an essential part in her daily routine. She would probably be resting in her grave in some cemetery if it weren't for her. Mia caught her gaze and gave out a hearty laugh that sounded as warm and brown as her own complexion...
"You stop throwing such looks ma'am. I'll fix you dinner and tuck you up in bed. I have to rush back to my Porky."
Another child that's going to turn into an ungrateful brat...thought Charlotte. Mia did as she said and hurried out into the freezing night. The moon was up and throwing a silver light on the pathway as if to guide her home.

Charlotte lay in bed...she was replaying the conversation she had had with her children 3 days ago. Apparently, they had searched the attic for some old crystal pieces and found a few missing. They accused Mia of stealing and wanted Charlotte to send her away...What right did they have? Mia was the only person she had now...She was racking her brain trying to recall if she'd moved the crystals...but how did it matter even if Mia had taken them? She never used them, or even saw them in 9 years now! But it mattered to the law...her children had said so. Instinctively, she hunted for her will… She found it in a messy stack of documents at the bottom most shelf of her rusting bureau and read it...the dim yellow light fell on the parchment to the intricacy of her signature as if signifying something she wasn't able to fathom...She wanted to make changes. Lots of changes. She wanted to leave everything to Mia, everything that had ever been in her possession, including the crystals. With that thought filling her head and heart, and her will by her bedside, she drifted into blissful slumber...

She was awoken by the sun rays filtering through her blinds...touching her wrinkled skin. Inch by inch they moved further sending spasms through her spine. All was silent and still. The morning seemed so unusually dead with deafening silence...She hummed softly...her song seemed to silence the silence... there was something terribly wrong in the air. Mia hadn't come in yet. What had happened to her? Then, as if to answer her question, she heard a click on the door and footsteps entering the kitchen. She heard eggs being placed on the rack, milk being poured into a kettle, vegetables being thrown into the vegetable tray as if the person throwing them was fuming with rage…and before she realized, she could see the silhouette of a lady at her doorway…unmistakably, Mia.
“Tea or coffee?” she asked, her voice uncharacteristically cold. Charlotte’s eyes rested on the tray. Yet again, Mia was giving her a choice…how very different from her own children.
“You send her away mama, and the three of us will take turns to looks after you. You cannot object mama, you don’t have a choice.”
The words were still ringing in her ears…mean minded children.
“Ma’am, do you want tea or coffee?” Mia repeated patiently holding a sugar cube at the tips of her sweaty fingers. Charlotte saw tears filling her eyes…Mia’s words faltered.
“Oh! My dear, What in God’s name is wrong with you now?”
A stream of tears was running down Mia’s cheeks…
“It’s my Porky ma’am…he helped his father smuggle in opium for a local organization. Hateful man my husband…why can’t he leave me and my child alone? They’re going to arrest Porky ma’am, I have to leave the city before it is too late…And besides, it won’t be long before those children of yours find out that I sold two crystal pieces from the attic to save my wretched husband….I’m leaving ma’am!”

Charlotte felt like her insides were twirling in a hurricane. She was hanging on every word that she’d just heard . It was difficult to tell the intensity of the feelings she felt. They were too contradicting…she couldn’t decide whether she was more affected by the idea of Mia leaving or the fact that she did actually sell the crystals…She felt that familiar weight on her neck and her head jamming up with thoughts. What would she do without Mia?
“No Mia! You cannot leave.” She yelled, her voice hiccupping in tears.
“No ma’am” Mia objected, “I’ve had enough of this monotonous life…I want to run away from all these responsibilities…they’re becoming too heavy a load on my breaking back. I can’t take care of you anymore; you wouldn’t want me after what I’ve done. Allow me to leave ma’am, the morning breeze calls my name…it leads me to a promised land.”
“Then you must take me with you…” Charlotte cried, with an expectant look in her eyes…like a child waiting eagerly to be picked up and carried by her mother. And her voice trailed away…as she broke into soft sobs.
“It doesn’t matter to me Mia…I don’t care about the cry…crystals.” She said, her voice hiccupping again. “I couldn’t live without you…I can’t live my routine without you. Every night, when you leave me tucked in bed, I long for the morning when I can see your chubby face, and your blue apron and hear your hearty, brown laugh. I would never have come so far without your nursing…will you not heed one of the last wishes of this dying, old maid?”
Before she could finish, Mia had raced out of the doorway. She came back holding a small purse…
“Ma’am, look around you.” she said “This is your home… What good will a journey to some place we don’t know help you?”
“Mia, if you aren’t there, I wouldn’t know who I am. I would prefer knowing myself to living in a house that my wicked children are waiting to take away. They’re waiting
Mia…like scavengers…vultures.”

With that, there was no more talking…the twosome walked out of the gate with the little money they had. Charlotte had stuffed her photographs into a handbag which seemed non-existent in the past nine years and Mia had taken a good deal of figs…When they just stepped into the front porch, Charlotte turned back and stared at the house…suddenly, she started into a half run that almost broke her legs and made Mia feel like she was holding her heart in her hands…She walked into her bedroom and looked at the parchment that was lying at her bedside. She folded it neatly and stuffed it into her bag. Things were going to change. The dawn wind was taking them to a promised land…and probably, something new would fill her voids that were overflowing with emptiness. But the sunset would always remain her ultimate comfort. She looked around her room, her blinds, her crystal dolls and the unwashed tea cups and sugar cubes that the ants were now relishing…and she smiled in final farewell. “I’m coming Mia,” she whispered, “I smell freedom.” She turned her back, squared her shoulders, and walked out…allowing the dawn rays to rejuvenate her spirits.


If you are still reading this line, am happy you didn't sleep through!! Yipppeeeee
The title has a significance....in relation to the story, and myself.

Signing off.....