Soham dialed a number--974……….… His hands were trembling as he listened to the dial tone; fear was palpable in his countenance. His first call was not received. After several attempts, however, a female voice responded - “Hello!”
“Hello! Can you come to the usual place? Quick?” said Sonam.
The voice on the other line responded, “Is everything fine?
You sound frightened! Has something happened?”
Soham refused to answer. He left for the “usual place” in haste. His senses had gone numb. Familiar streets seemed hostile, the people around him wicked. He walked on, incapable of speech, until he found a cab. In a faint voice, Sonam told the driver where he wished to go. He had to wait for a while before she arrived. His heart beat faster as he saw her running towards him, a look of utter confusion on her face.
No sooner had she reached to him, he held her in a tight embrace. He began to weep like a child, not a word was uttered until she looked him in the eyes and asked him about the frightened look on his face and why he had asked her to come quick.
Soham tried to answer, but he felt as if he had lost all his energy. Slowly mustering his strength, he said, “Reema, never in my life had I imagined that this would happen to me!”
Reema could not understand him, she inquired upon what Sonam had just said but he did not answer. He held her ever more tightly, not wanting to let her go. He then asked her, “Don’t you know Reema? By now every one must have heard the news.” He sounded as if a great crisis were looming upon him, not just him but the entire… God only knew what it was.
“The earth is going to collapse today at 9 pm! Nobody is going to survive! Everything will turn asunder! Today is the last day of the earth and of everything it holds! Today is doomsday!” As soon as he finished saying this, he wept more violently.
At first Reema could not believe what she heard. She thought her lover had gone insane. Soon enough, however, Reema understood the gravity of Sonam’s words. Pandemonium had descended; people were running around, shouting and yelling insanely. Havoc had descended upon the town.
The two lovers sat aloof from the rest of the people. They were on a hill overlooking the town centre. The hill was like a paradise--quiet, green and flowery. It was their place, the spot where they always met and spent time together. However, that day, they could neither laugh nor cry. Strange emotions were overpowering their hearts. They sat down, embracing each other as if one was protecting the other from the impending doom.
Nostalgia soon overwhelmed them and the two lovers began recalling their days spent together. How wonderful they were! How full of ecstasy! Soham had once told Reema, “After 3 years we are going to be graduates and then we’ll get married. I will never let you get away from me, not even for a second. You have to be in front of me, always… I am dying to see you as my bride. You will look like an angel.”
Tears gushed out of Reema’s eyes as she remembered those words. She said, “Once you had said that we would have at least a dozen kids, remember? And then I’d shouted at you telling you we would have no more than two…”
They laughed with tears in
their eyes as they recalled past memories. They apologized to each
other for all the times they’d squabbled over little things.
“But, love, all our dreams are never going to materialize,” said Reema. “I will not be able to wake you up every morning with a kiss. You will never get to eat a breakfast prepared by me, there will be no kids. We won’t be able to …”
Amidst all the people wailing and running in fear, the two lovers seemed to be the most hapless of creatures. It seemed as if nobody wanted life as much as they did. The dreams they had spun together, the love they had for each other, the promises they had made, their desire to live together forever…God! Have mercy on them!
The lovers were so lost in their own world that they had almost forgotten what was immediately in front of them. People’s cries were increasing, a voice was heard from amid the masses, “It’s five minutes to nine!” They began to cry helplessly, holding each other in a passionate embrace, repeating how much they loved each other. As the final moments approached, the earth slowly began to turn dark. As the clock struck nine, everything was bathed in pitch darkness.
“Knock! Knock! Soham, wake up son. Don’t you have college today? It is already 8.Hurry up. Breakfast is ready.”
Soham woke up suddenly and looked around him. He was sweating and shivering. He went towards the mirror and saw himself reflected
in an awkward condition. He wiped off sweat from his brow and grined.
As he got out of his room, he heard his mother say, “Son there was a call for you from Reema. Don’t forget to call her back.”
Soham giggled and asked his mother, “Mum, did she sound frightened? Did she say the earth was going to collapse? Did she say today is doomsday?”
His mother replied, “What! Are you out of your mind? Go and clean up fast, otherwise you’ll get late for college. I don’t understand what happens to this boy sometimes!”
- Prasun Singh
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