Social Issue Short Story – THE SCOURGE OF LIFE
© Anand Vishnu Prakash, YourStoryClub.com
“Time is a factory where everyone slaves away earning enough love to break their own chains.” But sometimes Life is not satisfactory. Some people are not fortunate enough and pass their entire life in hope and shallow dreams which never come true.
The whole place was covered with a blissful fragrance and people with many dreams, alive or dead, in their eyes. It seems he was a regular visitor here. In his usual way, he asked for a room to go to. He entered a room situated at the left most corner of the building.A man with rough hair and a moustache, half in his senses, carrying a bottle having cheap alcohol in it stepped towards a congested place with many colorful curtains and chandeliers that contrast the black and white lives of the people there. He pushed a heavy wooden gate in, looking for his night-maker rather than someone else. But not a woman for sure. He looked with his drunk and sunken eyes towards her and shouted to her to come to him.
Radhika, that’s what they call her, was sitting on a dressing table with an old tainted mirror, admiring herself. She waved her hand towards him signaling that her reluctant obligations will be done. This was just another day of her subtle way of living. With her deep brown eyes full of hopes and dreams like the others, she was born in this very place with her unfavorable fate which forced her to live this life. She slowly walked towards the man and in the same way her day (there was no night for her) passed away as it had been passing for the last 12 years: as a so-called “prostitute”.
Radhika dreamt of a beautiful life with her innocent and glittering eyes. She shared her views and hopes in her talks with the girls of her age there; although they were not allowed to do so. She had no friends, just her colleagues, among which some of them were of her age and others senior. For them, the means of enjoying life were few. Schools and colleges were never in their destiny and so, she too was unaware of the word “education”. The only education she had received all of her life was to do service and survive in the business against the Nature which would eat away her adolescence.
Sometimes, she dreamt of a life similar to the girls she watched on the TV. Life was not same for her as it was for the other“lucky” girls of her age. There was a burning desire in her to know the world, its beautiful colors, and its typically woven shape. A day comes in everyone’s life when people discover an alternative to get out of the monotonous structure of their living. So far, Radhika was bound to her destiny from which she couldn’t escape.
But finally, there came a similar day in her life too. She was told to go to meet a person in a hotel as she had become mature enough to see the outside world. She was given an address where she had to go for that day’s job. She made herself adorable though she was cute and lovely but still she put on the make-up. For the first time she was getting out of her shell, so she decided to make full use of it. She took an auto to a nearby mall about which she had heard from her visitors. She left her place three hours before the required time, by giving some excuse. On her way she felt astonished to see the city that was developing in its regular way. Daylight seemed to be the light of heaven. She was so happy that she couldn’t have possibly explained her freedom and happiness to anyone. She felt like a free bird. She reached the mall but was not in her senses, she was in her dreamland.
“Memsaab, auto will not go further beyond this gate”, the rickshaw driver said.
“Ohh…how much?” she said. She got out of the auto and paid him the money. Then again she started walking towards the entrance with her eyes wide open like a child. Though she was all alone, she was happy to look at the sophisticated people around her. After an hour’s long walk around all the floors of the building, she came out smiling widely in her heart. She had planned this much awaited journey, so she did not waste any time and hired another auto to the city’s largest shopping complex where she could go and buy something for herself with her savings. She had also heard of some famous Golgappa chaat walaa to eat and regional shops from where she could have a desired purchase. She went there and bought herself some items she could afford.
When she was left with half an hour to go, she went to the Central park and sat on a bench. While looking around at the beauty of Nature, she glanced towards the public enjoying themselves. But now, she became upset. She did not want to go back to the place she came from, but had no option. She could not enjoy family life with anyone. With her face down, she sobbed in silence, deep in her thoughts. She was so lost with herself that she had not accounted for the passing time. She was late by an hour, so she hurriedly, though unwillingly, took an auto for the hotel.
When Radhika entered the room of the Hotel, her shining eyes faded as she was back to reality now. She had to fake her smile in front of the drunken person who had called her. He abused her and scolded her for getting late. He told her that he would complain to her owner and cut down on the payment, but she remained quiet and prayed to God to let this pass as soon as possible.
After a few hours she arrived at her place and ran directly towards her room. Crying loudly, she sat next to the window and looked outside. This was the only place where she got some peace but, at this moment, there was none. Seeing her in such condition, a girl came in at the door of her room and asked if she was alright but there was no reply. After a few attempts, she left. Radhika decided not to go on like this. She happily and bravely made a decision to start afresh and live her dreams. There she was: happy and smiling again. She felt a new Meanwhile, the wrist that she had sliced was bleeding, taking all the sorrows and misfortunes of her life away from her. She felt an unearthly relief of freedom as she departed from this cruel world.
Time was so innocent to do all the nuisance, sacred blushes nature made put behind doors and fence, to hide trees of colorful blossoms behind those greys, everything seems to be unjust and clueless but she prayed, rose bud beginning to bloom on her face, provoking a sensation so killing to bear, something that lied between shadow and eyelids or near, don’t be so pure and so nice and so charm, everything she got was not the shape as a fate, but it was the rareness of her heart and its feeling not hate, degree of love and divineness of those parts unhide, she had to move on while a maniac was trying her beauty to let cry, lustrous veils of hair blooming on her soft petals and smile, pearl in ocean and teenager’s grace and a woman’s shame, nature became so cruel when she liked to forget this for a while.
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