A Journey to The Center of Life

By Tathagata Chakrabarti

The clock struck two in the night and it was pitch black on the hilly road to Suicide Point. Piercing the darkness, two circular lights appeared on the horizon and started coming up the road. There was barely any visibility, but the engine of the black Maruti droned angrily and darted at breakneck speed along the hill. It steered to a halt upon reaching the entrance to the mountain cliff, and two doors sprang open noisily.

In the darkness, a man and a woman, barely in their late twenties, joined each other as they treaded the treacherous path to Suicide Point. Their faces were sad, and their footsteps were heavy. They grasped each other’s hand and proceeded towards their destination.

The Beginning… Of The End

Palash and Pallavi had fought against heaven and hell to be together but to no avail. College sweethearts who were Instagram’s most highly rated college couple, they had planned their futures in tandem with each other’s careers and lives. They were the kind of couple that you hardly find nowadays – taking their relationship more seriously than their lives. Their union would have been a grand sensation indeed.

But fate had different plans. It gave them lemons, and took away the means to make lemonade as well. After carefully planning out everything, they failed where it mattered most in Indian marriages – parental consent. With all options exhausted, they decided to unite forever – through death.

It was the eve of their 5th relationship anniversary. The ominous day/night when they decided to take their leaps of faith. Palash took his brother’s car from the garage and picked up Pallavi from her home.

Suicide Point made sense to them. The ravine below the cliffs was so deep that rescue attempts proved futile. The bodies usually smashed against the rocks below, and made their way into the intestines of local wildlife soon enough. A bad way to go – it seemed. But legend had it that lovers who died together at Suicide Point were united forever, in this life and the next.

When in despair, even superstitious folklore makes sense to educated couples it seems. And so, they chose the spot to be their final haunt, so to speak.

Mourning in The Middle

The torch Palash’s phone barely illuminated the pitch-black path ahead. Darkness seemed to accompany their wake in the final hours it seems. The lowly howl of a wild animal After a series of tortuous turns, the high-pitched howl of a fox could be heard nearby. Fear gripped them completely and they were about to take a pause, when after a few steps the path cleared towards the infamous cliffs.

As they approached the clearing, Pallavi quickly spotted two bright figures near the cliffs – one standing on the edge and one perched on high ground behind him. They quickly hid behind some rocks from fear of recognition and tried to hear the conversation.

The Perched Man & The Cliffhanger Kid

The figure on the edge was barely a boy in his early twenties, his face contorted from pain and excessive crying. “Don’t try to stop me, I am going to jump. There is nothing in or of this world to stop me from doing so!”, he threatened shakily.

The man on the high perch seemed calm and composed. He looked a bit older than the other guy, with handsome features and formal office wear. “Don’t worry! I am not going to stop you.” He reached into his pocket and lit a smoke, offering the same to the kid. He refused, and as the office guy puffed, he added, “I am just curious as to why you want to jump my friend. You look barely out of college, kid. What could possibly happen to you to make you give up on life?”, he smirked.

“Easy for you to say. You finished college, what, 10-15 years ago? Life was not so tough then you know! Competition, reservation, merit exemption, recommendation – I tried everywhere. Everything. But it was never enough. Dad’s an IAS, Mom is in Revenue. Even my damn elder brother cleared the IPS. And what do I have? A stack of rejection letters?” – The voice of the kid broke and he was almost in tears – “Not everyone in the family can have the same cushy job you know. If the sneer remarks and judgement doesn’t kill you, the lack of parental support surely does. And here I am.. but nobody cares.”

In the distance, Palash and Pallavi stared at each other silently. They exchanged glances, and they both felt the same way. Poor kid, he doesn’t need to die. All he needs is a little support in life.

The man snuffed out his cigarette and lit another. His voice was empathic now as he spoke. “I am sorry to hear that kid. I know what it means to be in your shoes. You know why I won’t stop you? Let me tell you what happens 10 years later if you don’t jump today”

“You get ousted by the family. You try to make it in the private sector and even start doing well for yourself. Even the girlfriend who seems like the only one keeping your heart warm finds respect for you. But then, things take a sudden turn of the road. Let me add another ‘ion’ to your list – recession. “

“You lose your job, you lose your girl, you lose your home and every ounce of self-dignity you have.” He chortled on. “I loved her kid, but she was gone – and soon she was a different surname to a different Mr. The point comes when you stop feeling like a human anymore – and death seems like a respite from an endless torture. No one here for me either kid, and yet, here I am.”

This time, Palash and Pallavi were astonished. This man had fought hard and lost the love of his life, and ended up here. Such helpless, lost people they were. They started to ponder, are we really like them? Do we not have each other?

The End…Or The Beginning?

“But you know what kid, I am happy tonight” – the perched man jumped down and the kid shifted in his place. “Don’t worry. I don’t intend to stop you. Quite the contrary, I am here to accompany you. Life never gave us the companionship we needed, we both fought our battles alone. So perhaps as a reward, we find company in death”

The man moved forward towards the kid, hugged him and looked across the ravine. “A beautiful night for suicide, isn’t it?” He laughed and the kid strained a smile too.

Palash knew this was wrong, and sprang out from his hiding place to try and stop them. He heard the man say, “Victoria in Mors – Even in death we find victory”. Now they both smiled and looked at each other. As Palash reached out with his hand, but was too late. They plunged into the depths, laughing wildly.

A NEW LIFE

Palash stood there for a while, his hand in the place where the two people were just talking to each other. Pallavi soon joined him and hugged his other arm. They were both stunned. It was so unfair, they said to each other, they didn’t deserve to die. Palash retracted his hand and held Pallavi in her arms. We could have helped them. They had no one, we have each other.

The early rays of the Sun were starting to peek across the horizon. Embraced in each other’s arms, they had just finished speaking when a familiar voice spoke in a raspy yet joyful voice. “We are glad you understand dearies. At last, we can breathe easy!”

A chill ran down their spines. Mortified, Palash and Pallavi wheeled to their back and saw two disheveled figures. In the bleak light, they saw the man and the kid, but something was different.

Half the man’s face was missing! The remaining half had missing teeth and had been mauled by some wild animal, as distinct claw marks were smeared across the remnants. The kid’s face was lop-sided, his face and limbs contorted and a missing eye and leg.

“Do not be afraid. We are the pathfinders, helping lost souls like yours find the right path dearies”, the man spoke in a raspy voice.

The kid now chimed in an eerie voice, “What you saw was us, just not the present. This happened a year and a half ago.” – He spoke in dismay. “In our rush to find respite, we forgot what life is all about!”

“In our haste, we ended our lives but ended up in damnation. We should have never stopped fighting for ourselves. That is why history is written by the victors – cause they fight and win”

“We had no one, my lady and could not endure the pain.” – The kid cheerily said – “You still have each other. Live. Be free. Be happy. Life is like a book guys! Never end it abruptly, for you never know what happens in the next chapter!”

“Seek solace in each other, and life will never be bleak again”, the man smiled at them.

The Sun was clearly visible now, and they strained their eyes to adjust to the light. But in a moment’s flash, the man and the kid were gone.

As Palash and Pallavi made their way back home, they rekindled their spirit to fight, to live, to love. No matter what may.

Because life is too short and too long for everyone. Yesterday’s history, tomorrow’s a mystery - but today is a gift, and hence called ‘The Present’. So live life to the fullest – don’t waste God’s gift to you…

THE END

By Tathagata Chakrabarti