Ashes

By Sulagna Bhattacharyya

She knocked hurriedly and waited. There was no answer. She knocked again but the dead silence continued. She tried peeking in through the window beside the front porch but it was pitch black. She felt the knot in her stomach continue to tighten and she felt as if she might throw up at any moment. She could hear the distant screams getting louder. She knew that they were coming to get her. She knew they would be here soon and if she didn't hide, she would be found in no time. She. Had. To. Hide.

Beads of sweat started to cover her forehead as she frantically tried to think and figure something out. She could feel a horrible heat rising through her body from under all the layers of clothing she was wearing, numbing her cheeks, her ears, her lips. Her head felt dizzy and it was almost as if her eyes wanted to well up but somehow couldn't afford to let the tears in. The screams got louder and she could now hear the tires screeching. They were here.

Suddenly, out of nowhere she grabbed the door knob and turned it and the door creaked open. She almost tumbled inside and shut the door behind her. She took a sharp breath and it seemed to pierce her insides. She looked around and the only faint streak of light inside the room was that from the street lights outside. She could make out the hardwood floor in that faint light but that was it. She heard voices outside and footsteps approaching the house as the dried leaves crunched beneath angry steps. She steadied her shaking hands and pushed the button on the door knob to lock it from the inside. The button made a loud clicking sound and she stopped breathing altogether. At that same instant, she saw the faint light through the window blocked out by a huge figure. Somebody was peeking in through the window.

She stood still, barely breathing. A few seconds later, the figure moved away. The voices began to move away and the sound of crunching leaves began to die down. She finally heaved a sigh when she heard the cars drive away. She sat down on the floor, rested her head against her knees and felt tears finally coming in.Then, she wept and she wept like never before. She let it all out, screaming silently. She felt as if her whole body could burst out in tears. She felt as if she had disintegrated into a million tiny pieces and her body was about to fly away like ash and then it did.

Every night, people in the neighborhood heard the door of the house being opened and closed. But each time somebody made their way to the front porch, all they saw was that the dusty door was completely sealed with "crime-scene" tagged tapes and if one looked close enough, one could still make out the faint words beneath the thick layer of dust, written in spray paint, "schizophrenic bitch".

By Sulagna Bhattacharyya