Xtream Youth

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When the sun sets…. I’ve been sitting here for what I feel like a long time with a quill and a paper in my hand. Writing was the only thing I used to love since the days I could hold a book. I stand up and go outside to see the beautiful sunset over the clear horizon. I lean against the rails and let my eyes roam among the warm reddish clouds. I don’t believe in heavens but it’s the times like this that make me wonder the existence of a place of pure bliss.

I suddenly catch a glimpse of a man who is watching me. I look at him right in the eyes so as to understand what he is really up to. He smiles and comes towards me. I smile back. Sometimes my behaviors surprise even myself.

“Did you know that your dress clashes beautifully with all the redness in the sky my dear?”

He talks to me as if he is a friend of mine for years. I try to catch any trace of lust or cunningness in that voice going with my woman’s instinct. But all I feel is the honesty in them. Well may be my dress really does look beautiful in the sun set, who knows!

“This soft sun light makes anything beautiful you know.” I reply him.

“Even those ugly wooden logs look golden” I point to a stack of wooden logs nearby.

“You can’t say it’s the sun light that makes the logs beautiful my dear, imagine there was only sunlight without any of these things to reflect back on. It will be just light, isn’t it? All these things depend on each other.” He goes near the stack of wooden logs and sits in comfortably in a particular flat log near the bottom.

“I find your words interesting”. I go and sit next to him and give him my most friendly smile. I remember long ago I was appreciated lot for this particular smile. The friend making charm some called it.

“Since this is going to be a long journey, why don’t we get to know each other!”.

He nods slowly. “Why, of course my dear! Isn’t this whole life about getting to know each other?”

He takes a big cigar from his pocket and rummages through the other probably for something to lighten it with. I silently watch him. He looks to be in the very last steps of the middle age. The tall built and heavy hands show the traces of a handsome youth. His worn out but well sewn and matched cloths tells a story of a caring and loving lady who is not in his life anymore. A tattoo in his lower arm does not escape my eyes. The word carved in is distorted but the outline of a heart that used to cover that word is still slightly visible.

The afternoon sun shone over the fields and mountains dominating all the lives below. The voyager sat under a big tree in a corner of his field waiting for the sun to go down. Afternoon was his least favorite time of the day. The sharp glowing sun sucked his energy and made him sleepy. He kept looking at the road that ran through the woods to his home. It was a while he began to feel hungry. But the thought of his darling Liza bringing him lunch made his weariness fade a little.

He leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes letting his mind wander to the past. Long ago Liza came to his next door as a servant girl. She was no more than 12 years old at that time. She was a tiny and frail looking creature with big eyes filled with fear. The work load the tenants gave her was too much for her that he remembers her crying over the huge mountain of dirty dishes she had to clean.

She worked like a slave day and night. Her hair was cut short carelessly and was given the old worn out cloths to wear. The voyager as a little boy watched sadly while Liza cried over her hair. She looked like a little ugly brat with her short hair and bony hands poking out what looked like a brown rag.

He stood on a rock near the fence and watched this poor little girl silently for days. One day he got the courage to talk to her.

“Pssstt……..!”

She looked at him with her big eyes. He nodded signing her to come near. She hardly moved for a long time but gave him constant stares over the pile of dirty cloths she’s washing. Finally she came near the fence keeping her eyes fixed upon her own palms.

“Do you want a piece of gum?” The little voyager offered her the last piece of gum he had in his pocket. She put out her little hand still not looking at him and ran back to the house. That was their first meeting.

Slowly and eventually they became friends. Liza never grew physically from the 12 old year look she had may be because of the little meal she got from the house she works in. From dawn to dusk she worked like a machine. But in some beautiful moonlit nights she and the voyager would meet in the woods and talk about everything and nothing until the dawn breaks. They talked about stars, mountains and a beautiful world that lies in a faraway place.

“Do you know why the birds are happy always?” Liza might ask him.

“Because they can fly and sing may be?” he may reply.

“No, it’s because they don’t have to do anything. The fly and sing because they can. Not because they have to. That’s why they are happy! Wish I could be like that too…”

In those times she would look at the stars with a dreamy look in her eyes. Day by day the voyager started to admire the sparkle in her eyes hidden under the ugly short hair. One thing may have led to another and voyager remembers him giving Liza the hand to climb the fence on one night. She was holding a tiny stack of all the rags she owned.

They laughed and talked in their journey towards the mountains. The voyager has never seen her laugh like that before. They started their life eating a couple of raw mangos they plucked on the way. They laughed making faces when they bite into the sour mango. He loved seeing her laugh. So he made more and more funny faces for her to see.

Liza was a hard working girl. It was no time they had a beautiful cottage in the woods surrounded with flowers. She was so used to be treated brutally that even the slightest expression of love from him meant the world to her. They cropped a felid together, laughing and cuddling while working. Day by day Liza bloomed like a flower in front of his eyes. Her flowing hair and glowing olive colored skin made everyone’s eyes turn. He sometimes took his beauty on to his lap and kissed her slowly thinking about the bony little creature he used to love.

“Can you take these cupcakes to that grand ma who lives under the bridge?” Liza may ask sometimes. She got friendly with all the villagers and they called her the ‘tiny buttercup’ since she resembled a lively little flower when she smiles. The handsome farmer and his hard working beautiful wife impressed the whole village. They were the first invitees to every party. Every couple wanted to be like them. Once or twice a week the villager may invite few of his friends over to the house for the dinner. He loved showing off his wonderful wife and her cooking skills for all. When two of them became three and then four, the tiny cottage got bigger and the fields got wider.

“Wake up…………!”

The voyager woke up with a start to see the smiling face of Liza hovering over him. The sun had gone down a bit but still sharp as ever. He pulled her onto his lap like the old days and felt her weight had increased a bit. She giggled like a little girl.

“You know Liza, I should go to town and buy you some more fancy cloths.”

“Oh shush… you already love me too much. I don’t need to get any better because if you love me even a bit more you’ll blast like a balloon!!!”

In dusk he set off to the town to buy the things the village shops did not have. This was a trip he made once in every two weeks. The sky was red with the evening clouds. I trace of dark clouds were at the sight. He quickened his steps to reach the town before the rain. He normally stayed the night at a friend’s place. The heavy rain attacked him mercilessly. He was damp and cold when he got to the town. The town looked haunted without a single soul outside the streets.

He walked to his familiar shop he always visited to buy things. The first glimpse said that something just was not right. It was all draped in black. A closer look showed him that the proprietor of the shop had passed away. The chilly gush of the wind made his skin crawl. In his heart a voice said that he should go home at that very moment.

It was nearing mid night. The atmosphere was dark and damp. He tried to think about the warm and comfortable home. It made him smile. He made his pace quick… soon it turned into a jog and the next thing he knew was that he was running. The voyager was a strong man. He did not feel tired or need to pant. The rain stopped suddenly. But the heavy wind was still blowing. The stars began to appear one by one, the moon was not anywhere to be seen.

His home came to the sight finally. But something made his legs numb. His instincts said that something just was not right. He stood still and took deep breaths trying to make himself calm. The moon came out slowly from under a heavy dark cloud. The voyager could see a pair of big black boots outside the door that did not belong to him. He felt an upcoming rage from the depth of his being and put a hand in the door handle. But a voice inside him said not to open the door.

He slowly walked around the house to the window of their room. A flickering light reflected in the pane of the window. It was open. The naked moonlight stealthily crawled from the opened crack of the window so he can see the inside. What he saw hit him like a heavy blow on the head. His legs were week and the insides were burning. Nothing was clear. He heard a slight moan that made him fall in his knees. He wanted to scream and destroy everything but he never was that kind of a man. He turned away and walked into the night.

For days and days he walked. The past flashed back in his mind time to time. He neither laughed nor cried. He just walked. His face remained emotionless. Nights and days passed. And finally he collapsed in a sea shore. He could see the stars above him and the moon was shining in the clear sky. Then he started to cry. He screamed and laughed hysterically while crying. His mind became clear in the end. The voyager sat on a rock and finally tried to figure out what happened. What he has done or what he has not done to have such a fate.

It all looked indifferent in a while. He stood up steadily and walked with his head up to join the eternal voyage.

I look at the voyager and try to find a trace of tears in that face. He looks away. The sun has gone down. I can see the stars beginning to shine in the soft velvety sky.

“Love is such a strange feeling my dear!” he says with a smile.

I let out a long sigh. I hear the everlasting song of the sea as a wail of grief. I stand up and slowly walk to my cabin. I cannot help getting a one last glimpse of this amusing person. I see him slowly rubbing his tattoo. He still has a smile on his face…

Episode One Click Here

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