Memories For A Lifetime

___

June 2016

"You will have to wait until noon, okay. Don't make me bunk off classes like you did yesterday. You heard me, Chris?", Alan told Chris and walked towards the college gate.

He stopped to hear a reply from Chris. When he hasn't got any, he said, "Well, I'll take that as a Yes. Okay then. I gotta go. You can wander around here if you get bored, okay. But don't go too far. Alright then. Bye".

Alan entered the college and took the staircase to Physics classroom. He sat by the window so that he could see Chris from there.

"Good morning, everyone", Prof. Phil wished everyone while entering the class.

Alan didn't notice the presence of Prof. Phil in the classroom as he was busy staring outside the window.

"Alan Chadwick". Prof. Phil's loud voice distracted him.

Prof. Phil said in a pity tone, "Mr. Chadwick. I know you've been bunking off my classes. Please don't hesitate to stay home if you don't want to come. You're acting a little weird these days. Are you on drugs or something, Mr. Chadwick?" The whole class laughed at his joke.

"I'm sorry, Professor", Alan apologized.

But the funny face he made while he apologized provoked the professor. "You may please get out of my class, Mr. Chadwick."

The whole class laughed at Alan while he got out of the class room. Alan went downstairs. He reached near Chris, and asked, "Happy, huh? Where do you wanna go?" After a few minutes of silence, they decided to go to the Central Park. The Central park is an enormous place. The narrow road at the corner is the way to the blissful nature, where one will find true bliss. It's a familiar place to Alan and Chris as they used to go there often. After spending a few hours in the still silence of nature, they decided to get back home. When they reached near the house, Alan saw a woman talking to his mom. When he reached the house, he recognized the woman. It's Lynda. A friend of his mom.

"Wait here, okay. Give me 10 minutes. I'll be right back." Alan told Chris after entering the gate.

His Mom noticed Alan enter the house. He rushed upstairs without saying anything. After making sure that Alan went inside his room, Mom asked, "Lynda, You were saying something about Alan."

"Yeah, Helen. I wanted to tell you this. I saw him there beside the college gate. He was talking to himself. He didn't see me. I waited for some more time, but he was still talking, and there was no one near him. I was confused, Helen. And I asked Prof. Phil about him. And guess what? He has been complaining about Alan. He says that Alan has been acting so weird, and he seldom goes to classes. I wanted to call you right away, but..."

Helen interrupted Lynda and said. "It's alright, Lynda."

Lynda: "What do you mean it's alright? Is he okay?"

Helen: "Yeah, he's fine."

Lynda: "You mean he does this often? Talking to himself?"

Helen wanted to cry out like a lost child. But somehow, she got herself in control. And, she said, "He's not talking to himself. He's is talking to the cycle."

Lynda: "What? Cycle? But Why?

Helen: "Yeah, Lynda. You've heard the suicide that happened in the 22nd street last week?

Lynda: "Yeah."

Helen: "Yeah, that's her Cycle."

Lynda: "What? But?

Helen ran out of words. Somehow she consoled herself and said,"Wait here, I'll be right back."

She walked towards a room, and went back to Lynda with a newspaper. She said, "Take a look at this".

Lynda took the newspaper, and the headline caught her eyes. She started reading it.

'Young girl's suicide: Neighbours say she was tensed over the exam results.

The incident occurred around 7:30 pm. The girl was rushed to an on-campus hospital where she was declared dead after one day. She was found dead on the ground floor of Mansion building less than 130 metres from her residence. She had jumped from the 14th floor. "Ever since her first exams hadn't gone well, she had been tensed about her results", said a friend who did not wish to be named.'

Lynda folded the newspaper, and looked at Helen saying," She had a lot of things in her mind to be told, but none of them came out."

Helen: " Yeah, Lynda. They were in love. I just can't believe this is happening to us. One day, some of her private pictures were leaked from her phone. When Alan got to know that those pictures were all over the internet it literally made him mad. Friends from college cooked up stories regarding her; they labeled her as a prostitute. She couldn't digest any of it, and she had no idea how they were leaked. She told me everything. I tried to make her feel safe, but I failed. But Alan believed all those stories which he heard from the college, and he started fighting with her often. He was lost."

Helen couldn't say anything else. The memories for a lifetime will haunt her till her last breath. She knew it.

Lynda: "But why would she do this?"

Helen: "It's a sick world, Lynda. We're all sinners who've been throwing stones at each other. You know, not all women can handle situations like this. She was a nice girl. I still wonder why God would do these kinds of things to such beautiful people. She could neither survive nor get over those things. And one morning, what I heard was this news. And from that day, Alan is like this. I don't know what to do, Lynda. I just don't know."

Helen cried her sorrows out. Lynda couldn't do anything.

They stopped the conversation as Alan ran downstairs. He had a towel in his hand. He walked towards the gate and took the cycle. Lynda was staring at Alan.

She walked near him. He took the cycle and moved it to the front. He started cleaning it with the towel. Lynda went near him. She noticed. It was a black colored cycle with no rims. Then, she noticed something written on the bottom of the cycle tube. She curiously looked at it and read, "Christeena"

Author

___

• < Prev
• Next >