"The visitor"

By Ayush Kedia

Guided through the rags and corpse,

I followed through the silver light,

My armor was heavy, soaked in the blood of my comrades,

The steel I had was hungry, but the frame within trembled with fear,

Until I reached there,

The trees were filled with cherry blossoms,

The water was like some mirror in which those scars cried away,

Ironic to see something this beautiful in a war place,

A path between the trees led to the a castle upon the hill,

The war cries were still audible, therefore I made my way till there,

I was greeted by emptiness, but the castle didn't seem deserted,

The walls stood as if, it were looking for someone,

Halls were well decorated, every other lamp was luminated,

Fancied by everything, I relied to stay there,

Until I heard someone greet me,

The voice was soft, frail and polite,

Stood before me was a lady wearing yellow gown,

Her body was rather slender, and hair touched her shoulders,

The eyes were sparkling, but they felt like a void,

She asked about my whereabouts, I stuttered every phrase,

She seemed to have let her guard down,

When I asked about her, she said she was left alone,

Despite having everything she was in pain,

I felt the urge to leave, but she asked me to stay,

I couldn't think of going back to swords and cavalry,

Therefore I put on my weight there,

As the days passed we saw more of each other,

The walls seem to have found someone,

The blossoms covered every inch of the meadow,

Our footsteps rhymed under the starry night,

It was precious, I felt every emotion in me turn green

Seasons passed, the joy of having each other still didn't end,

Until the day that only branches remained on trees,

The winter dragon took its stance and made the walls shiver,

But I didn't care, because everything was at peak,

We did have our differences but resolved it by the end of day,

Then came that morning where I didn't found my usual heat,

For the first time in season I felt cold that day,

She was not there,

The lamps were turned off, the decorations were dulled,

I found a note by the casket, it said

"My curse has been washed, u have fulfilled your duty,

The time we had was fun,

But better if we stay away"

Everything that we had flashed before my eyes,

I realized I was no one to her,

I was used and thrown away,

Her cursed was passed down to me,

Now I live in that castle, sit upon the throne of misery,

Waiting for someone to come this way,

Make every lamp luminated again,

But I promised to myself,

won't desert anyone the way she did,

I have washed my steel again,

I will become someone who is not frail,

Will find that heat in someone again,

And make her believe that I am someone who isn't worth leaving,

One day I will become someone who is a better me

Not someone with a same soul but a different name

By Ayush Kedia