01. Touch of Mist - I GONNA QUIT

Trailer of Touch of Mist 

PROLOGUE

I GONNA QUIT

Reena was all set to swallow the entire bottle of tranquilizers not to just drown her sorrows, but to END her life. She took out her high-end cell phone and scrolled down through her contacts in search of any possible guidance. As it was already 2:00 a.m. she was hesitant to seek out help at this late hour. She stood near the window and gaped at the electrified snaky road which seemed to beckon her towards heaven – the ultimate peace. But, on second thought, it seemed as hollow and dark like her life. She dragged herself inside her master bed-room, slid open the wardrobe door and took out a wooden framed photograph, which was taken about 20 years ago.  It was a memorable sight of her family, where her dad was giving her a piggyback ride. She caressed the photo lightly and breathed a morose sigh. Crystal tears rolled down her eyes and fell  onto the photo frame. She wiped off the droplet that had blurred out her dad’s picture and started wondering, who would wipe her dad’s tears away after her death. Still, her thoughts selfishly and stubbornly remained in favor of her decision to commit suicide.

She opened up her personal journal and could only scribble “To my dear Dad and Mom…” She stuck off the sentence and turned over the pages. She started retrospection down her memory lane.

Reena was a dainty, cheerful and over-achieving girl in high school and right through college as well. She had consistently topped the charts in academics and also in sports, dance, singing, painting and everything she took part in. She was envied and admired by most of her class mates. In-fact, she got recruited by one of the top most Multi National Company soon after her graduation. Whether it was taking risks or facing failures, she had always been very brave and confident. But is it the same braveness leading her to commit suicide today?

She stood in front of her replica in the mirror and observed her egg-shaped eye, which had bulged out due to the incessant tears. Her soul started finding answers for her suicidal mind set -

 “Am I delved deep into some indebtedness? 

Are my parents too nagging and interfering or simply indifferent towards me?

 Don’t I have any friends? 

Am I un-employed?”

She couldn't answer.

“Many people commit suicide every day because of these issues. I know you were born and brought up with a silver spoon. No love deprivation, your parents are the best in the world. You draw a five digit salary per month. What the heck is your problem?” 

She was still not able to find an answer, a convincing one to commit suicide.
A voice from within cried out to Reena, “OMG!! Are you one amongst those crazy people who kill themselves just to find out about life after death? For heaven’s sake Reena stop brooding over the matter again. Drop off the notion at once!”

The cuddly teddy bear that she used to play with during her good times, wisely advised “Life is not about savoring the flavor of happiness. The real challenge lies in facing  pain and overcoming it. You will get over this pain or at-least time will heal up your pain.”

But the pain she felt at that moment was unbearable. Just like a dam with a maximum capacity of 94 metric tons can’t accommodate a litre more than its capacity, she too had reached her limit .Had a chance, her bed would have executed her mercifully by seeing the way she suffered for the past few days. Every night, the bed was drenched with her tears and it had been the sole witness to her sleepless, sobbing nights.

She placed the photo frame back in the wardrobe with utmost care and poured the tablets in one hand and picked up a glass of water in another hand. Her hands started trembling as soon as she held the pills and almost suddenly, her cuddly teddy bear that had been her bed-partner always through her crests and troughs jumped off from bed and rolled towards her feet. The oblong oval shaped mirror incorporated on the wall swung like a pendulum. The dogs in the road were restless and howling. Was the teddy bear clinging to her feet and trying to convince her not to die? Is the mirror trying to express, “DON’T QUIT” by swinging left to right!

S*M*A*S*H*!!!

The mirror fell off the wall and shattered into pieces. “Reena Stop Imagining!!” screamed her soul.

It’s an EARTH QUAKE!!!

She dropped the glass and tablets as soon as she realized the situation and rushed out of the house to get to safety. Her entire plan was abandoned within a fraction of a second.

(Soul: Hey Reena, I never knew you are a good athlete!

Reena: What?
Soul: Yup, no one can run this fast. “100m/0.75 seconds”, you broke a World record
Reena: Shut up!!!

Soul: You wanna die. Then why did you rush to save your life?
Reena: Yes I wanna quit!! But. . .
Soul: But, your sub-conscious mind wants you to live. Behind every beautiful thing, there’s some kind of pain. Every cloud has a silver lining and this painful cloud of separation will pass away too making way for
a bright morning. You will live happily Reena!!! Just keep the patience.
Reena : (Silence))

    

 Reena is basically compassionate hence she even avoids playing violent video games. But today, right in front of her eyes the buildings and vehicles that served many peoples’ hopes and dreams were transformed to heap of debris and scrap. As it was 3:00 a.m, no one was around to have witnessed the tragedy. It was the weirdest nightmare anybody could have ever imagined. But the irony was that, the people who slept with a hope of waking up for better tomorrow are no more. But Reena who kept awake whole night to end her life had escaped the earthquake and was alive!

BUT!!!... Before she could recover from the shock, her thoughts flashed one Name!!!’
“What happened to him? Is he safe? The earthquake must not have impacted the city he lives in!” her mind reasoned. However, her imagination got the better of her and forced her to rush to a nearby street in search of STD booths. She could find none. Her heart was racing. All she wanted was to hear his voice. While walking around, with that heavy heart, she stumbled upon a person, with a mobile in his hands. She pleaded him to let her make a call.
Reena dialed his number without any hesitation. (The only number which she has dialed a minimum of thirty times a day and her password before and still...)

The line got connected to after many attempts!!!

“Hello” - a firm voice replied at the other end from Gurgaon.

“…..Ha…Ha..H. .E…L…L….OOOO…. GaGa….Gautham. .”

Gautham identified her voice immediately.

“What the hell Reena?” The voice at the other end yelled.

She ignored the arrogance of his and said softly, “Gautham…”

“What more do you need from me? Wanna torture me? I’m busy at the moment so please keep it short.”

 “Gautham, Are you safe?” she asked, weeping, her voice full of concern.

“Do you think if you call me again and again and act as if you were my well-wisher, I would come back? Never ever,” Gautham screeched at the top of his voice.
She replied to him in a low voice, “You have changed a lot. But still, I love you so much Gautham. I can’t live without you!”

“I didn’t change. It’s you, who caused me to behave this way. Please don’t call and bug me again.” He paused for a second and continued, “It is all over between us.”

He broke off the call and resumed his work.

Strangely, Reena wasn’t hurt listening to his tone. She somehow had gotten used to it. She returned the phone to its owner and strolled away. She sat on the street and sobbed. Not because Gautham had hurt her,

But…
But...
But...
Reena wept inconsolably after having saved herself from the Earthquake!!!…

Morning 6:00 A.M.

Journalists, firemen, doctors and many other volunteers poured in to save lives of people trapped within the ruins of their homes.
The news reported,

“Magnitude 6.5 earthquake shakes Bangalore”

A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale shook the Bangalore region of the state of Karnataka, India. This earthquake took a tremendous toll of human life - over 100 people were killed,
another 1,000 injured and over one thousand local residents rendered homeless. Electronic City, Embassy Golf Link, FTP and five other places suffered extensive damage.

Reena’s ears paid attention to the 3 letter word “FTP”-

The reason behind her 3 knots...

Next Chapter : CHAPTER 01: Love @ First Sight

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