She stood at the brink. The terrace had no parapets. I thought she would plunge. I called out to her, she turned back and smiled. Oh! She was just enjoying the view. I asked her if she minded stepping back and standing at a safer spot, she simply replied in negation. He voice slightly hinted a smile, teasing me.
I was worried. I knew her since ages. She wouldn’t do the unreasonable. She was an optimist. She was a hardworker. She was a dreamer. She had zillion dreams to fulfill. She wouldn’t jump. Of course not!
I remember how she once told me about getting a penthouse on the topmost floor of a huge building in Mumbai. She wanted to sleep on the open terrace, watch the stars in the sky and count the cars on the road, which appeared like tiny dots. She said she would take me there too. Show me how it looked from up there. I have a fear of heights. But I knew sharing her vision would not be scary at all.
She still stood there at the edge as my heart raced. I called out to her again. She asked me to sit, while she sat there too, her legs dangling out of the terrace. She seemed carefree, like she had done these stunts before. She asked me how was I doing. I had no reply. I wanted her on the other side of the terrace. Safe. Then probably I could’ve answered her questions. I was getting restless. I approached her. She knew I was afraid of heights. She asked me to stay where I was. I got closer. She yelled at me. I yelled back, asking her to come to the other side and be safe.
She refused and told me she was good enough to take care of herself. I felt restless. I rushed to her and pulled her inwards. She tried to free herself, and said “Don’t strangle me”.
While I pulled her more, she struggled, and soon I lost grip. I realized, I had pushed her from the building. Four floors. Down. Over the slab.
She was sitting safely. With a slab 1 meter under her feet. She had a safety measure in place. I didn’t see it. I pushed her over it. To death.
I only remember her last few words. Nothing else. “DON’T STRANGLE ME”. I had.
Lucky "She".....
ReplyDeleteWhat makes you say, lucky she :)
ReplyDeletei dont know why people aren't just falling in love with you ! You write beautifully and honestly. I know how difficult it could be to write a short story,but you have everything in here,suspense was red hot. And it's captivating,may be a little more characterisation could have helped immensely,but hey i still love it !
ReplyDelete@mandeep: Thanks for such a generous comment! :)
ReplyDeletesure, will work on the feedback! :)