Death gave me Life

This story comprises four of my most treasured dreams I’v had so far. I wanted to take a break from all the philosophy I’v been writing. So here goes-

‘Now now’ I tried patting the sleek back of my horse. Nothing seemed to pacify him. He continued kicking his legs in the air neighing in protest.

‘What is wrong with him?’ I asked. I turned to look around at the stranger behind me. I could only see his silhouette as the sun glared at my eyes. His six feet tall body towered over me. I gulped at the size difference between us.

         He was a complete stranger; a part of my mind was sure of that but the other part put up a good fight in convincing me that I knew him somehow. I glanced at his horse, which stood calm under the hot sun.

‘Shush Ellie!’ I tried again ineffectively but my horse continued kicking in the air, leaving me hanging dangerously on his back. 

‘We are nearing the land of Death’

‘Huh?’ I frowned, shielding my eyes so that I could look far into the horizon.

‘Death? Do we die there?’ I asked lamely.

‘By death I mean Lady Death’ the stranger corrected me.

‘Like human?’

‘Like Goddess. Goddess Death herself.  We will have to fight Her to pass Her land to reach our destination. A one to one duel with Her.’

I could feel Ellie’s muscle tighten. He had stopped moving around but he was still having his jitters.

‘We fight Death? If we lose we die?’ I already knew the answer. I could almost see my world ending.

I stood in a round room I did not recognize. Lady Death stood before me, her sword drawn. Sweat beads appeared on my forehead as I looked at her. Goddess Death was beautiful. Dressed for duel she looked murderous. Her hair was tied back and a lone silver bracelet adorned her pale hand.

The stranger had already won the duel but Death was good at her game. I held my sword tight in my hands and braced for the blow.

   I was defeated in two moves. I fell on my knees as the sword clattered on the floor. I looked up at Death; she looked sympathetic.  She came over to me and caressed my face softly; it felt good.  I felt strangely calm as she hugged me. She took out a tiny vial and handed it over to me.

‘You have to die’ she said sadly, ‘drink it’. She held me close in her arms as I drank the poison. It looked like Death was crying. She seemed to pleading with someone I could not see. She took out a pearl chain and put it around my neck. Death gave me a pearl chain.  

When my eyes fluttered open, I was expecting to find myself in heaven. But I felt alive, I could almost sense every cell of my body beating with the force of life. Someone in radiant gold stood next to me. I looked up but everything seemed blurred.

‘You were spared girl’ a voice spoke, ‘and you are gifted with the world’s greatest gift’. But before I could open my mouth the scene changed and I found myself sitting on my couch. My sister sat next to me talking too quickly for me to comprehend. She stopped immediately as someone walked into the room.  The woman walked right up to me and placed a baby in my hands.

‘Here’, she said, ‘your baby’.

‘My baby?’ I asked, incredulous.

‘Your baby; Serene’ my sister told me. I wanted to protest. I cannot possibly have a baby. It was far more than plain bizarre but as I looked into the little baby’s face something about it make me feel wonderful. The name described the baby. An indescribable glow was being shared between us; the more I looked at Serene the more I felt brilliant.

                           This was my gift. The gift of life. Death herself had cried for me, She had pleaded for me, She gave me a new life. I turned to look at my sister. To my surprise my sister was no longer there nor was the woman. A brown dog was perched next to me. It reminded me of my horse Ellie. I smiled wider. I knew somehow that dog was my protector. Even in my dream I felt safe.

Life Reflected

I shifted the weight of the fruit from one palm to the other, my finger tracing the fine white lines that ran creatively over the pale yellow-green satin like skin of the gooseberry. I brought it closer to my mouth, my teeth easily sinking into the crisp flesh. My eyes immediately squeezed shut as the bitter –sour taste of the gooseberry coated my tongue. I quickly chewed the fruit down, my face pulling into all expressions; I grabbed a mug of water taking a small sip. I swooshed the water in my mouth, thoroughly enjoying the sweet taste it brought. I devoured the rest of the fruit ending each bite with a sip of water which “magically” turned sweet in my mouth.

                           That is when my philosophical mind kicked in. That is when I realized as to how much a gooseberry resembled life. It was an outstanding example for the one universal truth of existence- the beauties of life come only after you have stepped over a hurdle. You relish the sweetness only after a dose of intense bitterness.

      A gooseberry contains 20% more of vitamin than an orange does. A gooseberry is the easiest solutions for many body related problems. It is one fruit that comes with numerous benefits. Applying the same formula to life, adversities do after all bring benefits.

 Quoting Shakespeare - “sweet are the uses of adversities”.

 

                 How much finesse our creator had in his creations, filtering life’s lessons even in his smallest of creations. Its like it is said, our world is an open book from which we can keep learning. So look out and grab that knowledge before you miss it. Life is reflected everywhere.

    Now that I got the point across what say we make gooseberry the king of all fruits?

                

Fingers Crossed

                                                           

It was a fine Christmas evening, the chill air setting the atmosphere for wintertime. Cuddled in blankets I seated myself in the balcony looking out into the evening. I thought about elves, about Santa, about the carols being sung in the churches around the world. I could have easily been lost in my world if not for the sudden honk of the truck on the road. The signal light turned green letting way for the vehicles.

                 The yellow head lights, the red lights, the green single lights, the honking, the voices, the rustle of leaves, the laughter, the shouts- the very music of the living world! People wrapped in shawls or kitted sweaters walking around, soaking in the merriment of the festival.

                    Colour-the core of beauty! The place seemed to be celebrating color. The vibrancy, the vigor, the spirit of any festival- colours in its varied spectrum seemed to be rejoicing around the place, making me want to capture the quintessence on canvas.

                            A mysterious glow seemed to envelope the place. An aura of love. Every living person on the face of earth carried the feeling of love in his or her heart, no matter what kind of love it was, no matter what kind of person the love was for. Everyone loved…even the coldest heart.

                                     This was true Christmas; this very road with the vehicles was the example of Christmas. It was all about love, life, merriment, the sense of living. Being aware of their breaths, being thankful to who they are, praying for desires, letting go tears of joy and sadness, this was the truest form of Christmas. To really live it! To feel the life beating, to keep on feeling! You never live twice; let us celebrate our gift of life. Every festival has the same essence- to be thankful for living. It is Christmas every day. Keep your fingers crossed, Christmas might be over, life is not.  It is a festival every day.

Lovers' Evidence of Love

here goes my first blog!

After having “scaled” the hill, we sat down on the smooth rocks to enjoy the calmness that spread around us. The breeze in our ears, the view the held our eyes, it was almost perfect. My eyes wandered, fleetingly catching the glass bottles which littered the place.

‘Rajesh loves Seema’ my friend announced. Curious we turned around to the place she was pointing at. Scribbled crudely in white paint were the words Rajesh loves Seema.

  The day got interesting as we set out to hunt for more of the many lovers’ evidence of love. It seemed like every blank space on the hill was cramped with graffiti.

Soon the fun turned into irritation.

The engravings and words were practically murdering moral sense. What happened to keep your city clean?  Do people think that by engraving their names and their love on rocks they are immortalizing their love? Is this love? Leaving behind etchings on trees and rocks as an evidence for the extent of your love? This is plain insanity. Hills, trees, monuments, buses, public walls, water pipes(no kidding!) aren’t one’s place to record one’s love.

  Love is a feeling above all, one of the greatest emotions which is capable of crossing inevitable distances.

         Love is much more worthy than carving it on places not belonging to us. If it’s called true love then it is sure to be engraved on your heart.

                                  Make love known through your heart.

                                  Immortalize your feelings through emotions.

                                  Not mindless actions.

A thought to ponder on-

Next time you find a good strong tree and something sharp in your hand and you feel forced to engrave your loved one’s name on it think if that tree is more worthy than your heart.