Eyes

 I enjoyed writing this very much. I hope you like it. 

Short Story

EYES

Eyes as blue as the clear sky of October. As deep as the ocean. As clear as glass. As hard as ice. Her eyes were nothing like he has ever seen before. New, fresh but still ancient and rotten. He fell in love with her the moment he saw her eyes from across the street. It is said that when love finds you, physical appearance doesn't matter and he finds himself compelled to love and cherish her in all the possible ways.

He doesn't know if he approached her or she approached him, but they met and he thought he found everything he ever needed. She is a beautiful woman. Pale complexion, long dark hair, perfect features, lean body but she looks like she is lost. Lost in darkness and light, lost in world and herself. He has never met any woman like her. She was different and difficult to understand.

She looks surprised when he talks to her, gasping like no one has ever spoken to her before.

"What date is it today?" she asked.

"12th march" he replied.

She seems to think for a minute and then smiles and says, "We will meet again soon."

He is shocked for a second, but when he looks at her, she was gone.

He can't sleep, he can't eat, he can't work, he can't do anything. His mind is replaying the incident with that woman. He is lost in her thoughts, her words – "we will meet again soon". Those words are stuck in his mind and heart. Hope is a very bad thing. It can cherish or destroy a person. But he is a positive man and always hope for the best. He will wait for her, even if it takes years to find her again.

His mind is stuck but the sun is rising, so he gets ready for another day at work. A day can't start without a cup of coffee, so he completes his daily routine and goes to the office.

How can anyone hate love? How can anyone destroy such a beautiful thing?

And then he saw her, outside the coffee shop. Her hair flying with the wind. She is nervously looking for someone in the crowd. When her eyes meet his, she smiles and waves at him. He smiles and waves back.

They go to the coffee shop. This coffee shop is one of the best coffee shops in the city. Black and red wallpapers with coffee mug photos, comfortable sitting arrangements, good lightings and mesmerizing background music, private tables, swift staff. He orders for himself but she denies everything. She just sits there and keeps looking at his face. He tries to talk to her, but she avoided his questions about her.

"My name is Sam. At least tell me your name."

"Mary. My name is Mary and I want your help."

They part their way. His mind is swirling with thoughts about her. 'What happened to her?', 'Is she ok?', 'Did someone hurt her?', 'Why would she need my help?', 'How can I help her?' so on…. He reaches home and completes his routine before going to bed.

He dreamt about her last night. A wild dream, nothing clear, just blurry images about her and death.

Today is Sunday and he is late. He was supposed to meet her in the graveyard at 9'o clock, but he overslept and now he is running very late for their meeting. Graveyard is a very odd place to meet, but she requested to meet there.

"Hello, Mary. How are you doing this fine morning?" She just stared at the grave.

MIRABELLE HATHAWAY

BELOVED DAUGHTER, WIFE AND MOTHER.

DIED IN 2020.

"Who is she? Do you know her?" he asked. She blinked and turned her head towards him as if she was surprised seeing him there.

"She was my step sister. I never knew anything about her until she died." "or murdered" she whispers. "I want to know more about her. Will you please help me with this?"

"Ya sure, I mean of course I will help you. Do you know anything personal about her? Like where she lived or was she married or any workplace? It would be easier to find information about her if we know something about her or have any personal link to her."

"No, but she was married to a man named Clain Solokiv and had a son. Will you look them up? I need to know if my…um... if the baby is ok."

"Sure, no problem."

"Um.. graveyard is a very weird place to meet, don't you think so," he asked after a little while. But she was starring at him, smiling faintly, as if she was recalling some memories from the past.

"No, I like to spend my time here. So peaceful and quiet. No disturbance. Just me and my thoughts"

"Hmm… interesting theory. Well, we can make a graveyard date. Can't we?"

"Maybe next week, but now let's get going" she replied sweetly.

They left the graveyard, smiling and whispering like they held some secret. They cross the street, but a voice stops them.

"Beware, boy. You are being followed by the dead. Nothing good comes out of them. They are inspired by revenge and hate" An old lady said, "They are…"

"I'm sorry sir. My grandma is a mental patient. She keeps babbling, please forgive her" says the boy standing next to that old lady.

"It's ok. We don't mind. Treat her well" he said to the boy. The boy looks at him confusingly as if he was shocked by his statement.

He turned around to leave but couldn't find her anywhere. He thought maybe she walked away while he was held up by the lady.

He goes home and fiddles around the whole day. He starts looking for the girl's family at night. The husband, Clain Solokiv is a businessman, not very successful but he have a farm in the country.

"Hi, Mary. How do you know I live here?"

"I just know."

"Hey, that's not fair! You know so much about me and I barely know anything about you."

She chuckle softly and replied," I will tell you everything you need to know, but first tell me, did you find anything?"

"Oh yes." He tells her everything he managed to find about the man.

She sighed softly and said, "let's take a walk in the park."

"Have you ever loved anyone in the past?" she asked suddenly like she was waiting for a long time to ask him this question.

He was so surprised by this question that he stumbled and nearly faceplanted.

"Um…a…I don't know what to say…"

"Truth, Sam truth."

"Well yes, I used to love a girl in high school, but you know what the weird part is? I never saw her. We used to leave letters for each other. I loved her without seeing her. What a fool I was! I don't even know if she loved me or not. I don't even know her name. We used to use initials of our name."

"You remember hers?" she asked after a while.

"M"

"Do you miss her?"

"Sometimes. She was like a fandom character you fall in love with. What about you? Have you loved anyone in the past?"

"Once."

He waited for her to elaborate, but she was done.

"Sam, I have to go now but I need you to meet me at the National bank tomorrow. Will you be there?"

"Of course."

"Locker 2275."

He doesn't know what is in this locker, but Mary gave him a locker number and password. He is supposed to take the envelope to her parent's house. She told him that she can't come with him because they fought before she ran away. Now he is stuck with this job.

He is starting to feel that this girl is using him, but nonetheless, he wants to help her this last time. He takes the envelope and goes to the address given by her, and he is in shock by what he finds there.

A big and prestigious bungalow, lots of cars, butlers, maids.

'They are very rich' he thought.

"I'm here to meet with Mr and Mrs Hathaway. Their daughter sent me. I have an envelope she wants them to have." He informs the butler. He is led to a spacious living room.

"Hello, Mr Sam. I'm Adam Hathaway and this is my wife Rose. How can we help you? I was informed that you have something our daughter left for us."

"Yes sir. I am supposed to give you this envelope and wait till you read all the papers."

A butler comes and whispers something to Adam. A few minutes later a man and a child enter the room. The man was in his mid-twenties or early thirties. The boy is barely 6-7 years old.

"Ah…let me introduce you to my son-in-law, Clain Solokiv and my grandchild Ian."

They exchanges pleasantries and then Adam explains about the envelope.

"My wife left an envelope and I didn't know about it, strange. Anyway, let's open it."

Two letters. That's what they got. "This letter is addressed to us" Adam informed.

 

DEAR MOM AND DAD,

                                           WHEN OR IF YOU GETS THIS LETTER. I WILL BE DEAD. YOU KNOW I DON'T LIKE TO BEAT AROUND THE BUSH, SO LET'S GET TO THE POINT. CLAIN IS NOT A DECENT MAN. HE IS A PATHETIC PERSON WHO USE VIOLENCE TO GET WHAT HE WANTS. HE BEATS ME AND IAN MORE OFTEN THAN NOT. HE JUST WANTS OUR PROPERTY AND MONEY. HE FORCED ME TO WRITE MY WILL AND LATER CHANGED IT HIMSELF, BUT I AM LEAVING MY ORIGINAL WILL WITH THIS LETTER FOR YOU. HE TRIED TO KILL ME ONCE, BUT HE FAILED AND I KNOW HE WON'T MAKE ANY MISTAKE AGAIN.

                                           YOU BOTH FORCED ME TO MARRY HIM, EVEN AFTER KNOWING I LOVE SOMEONE ELSE. HE WOULD THINK I AM AN DISHONEST PERSON. HE WOULD THINK I DUMPED HIM. I KNOW YOU CAN'T AND WON'T BELIEVE ANY OF THESE THINGS JUST BECAUSE OF A LETTER, BUT YOU HAVE IAN. HE IS MY PROOF AND THE REASON FOR THIS LETTER. MOM-DAD, I WANT YOU TO OFFICIALLY GET HOLD OF MY SON'S CUSTODY AND NURTURE HIM PROPERLY AS YOU DID FOR ME.

                                            I LOVE YOU BOTH AND WISH THAT WE COULD HAVE MORE TIME TOGETHER. I WISH YOU WOULD HAVE LISTENED TO ME AND LET ME MARRY SAM. BUT EVERYTHING IS POINTLESS NOW. TAKE CARE OF MY IAN.

                                                                                                      - MIRABELLE HATHAWAY.

The world erupts into chaos. Clain started denying it all, but Ian told them the truth. The original Will and all the proof states that Mirabelle was correct and the police arrestes Clain for murder.

But the world is frozen for Sam. He knows this handwriting. This is the handwriting of the girl he loved. 'M' for 'Mirabelle'. He couldn't process all this information.

Rose approaches him and asks," You are the Sam who she loved, aren't you? She always used to talk about you. I recognized you the moment I saw you. She loved you dearly. Here, take this box. These are the letters you used to write her. We saved these and now you can have them."

"But I love your other daughter now."

"What do you mean? We don't have any other daughter."

"Your stepdaughter, Mary. She instructed me to do all these things. She gave me the locker number and password. She told me about you all."

"What are you talking about, young man" inquired Adam "Mirabelle don't have any step sister. She was our only child."

Sam can't understand anything. If they are telling the truth, then who is Mary? Why is she pretending to be someone she is not?

"Do you know anyone with dark hair, fair pale skin, lean body?" he asked.

They both look at each other like they are discussing something telepathically.

"Come with us. We want to show you something."

They crosses a hallway and there, at the end of it is a photo. A girl with long black hair, holding a book.

"That's her. She is Mary. You know her?"

"She is not Mary, Sam. She is our daughter Mirabelle. We don't know if anyone is playing a cruel trick on you. But she is not Mary."

Sam doesn't know if he is spinning or the world around him is spinning. He can't find his footing, can't stand properly. And then he understands everything. Every weird look, the old lady's saying, her odd requests. He is running, running like his life depends on it. Out of the hallway and living room, in the garden.

"Mary, Mary, where are you? Mary. Mirabella."

She materializes in front of him and smiles softly, "I'm sorry Sam. I had to do this. I never meant to leave you, but my parents forced me to marry Clain. I'm sorry. And thank you so much for helping me ."

He looks into her eyes, eyes like a prism, reflecting every color and emotion, as she disappeared into thin air.

 

The end

                        written by Deerghata shukla.