IS IT LIGHT AT THE END OF THE DARK TUNNEL?
“Long winding path, filled with darkness…. Will I ever see a ray of light at the end of this dark tunnel called life?”
The melodramatic dialogues of the lead actor kept echoing in Abhitha’s mind long after she had turned off the tear-jerker soap opera on TV. As she busied herself with the early morning chores, memories of the previous night were omnipresent all over her face.
The reflection of her battered face in the neatly scrubbed Steel plate she was holding seemed to raise a thousand questions at her. “Abhitha, you were once recognized and rewarded for a brave act in college. But look at yourself now.”
The memories of that “adventurous” picnic were still afresh in Abhitha’s mind. During a college picnic, Abhitha was the only girl who had mustered the courage to plunge into a river and rescue a child from drowning. But life has changed so much since then. After graduation (and subsequent marriage), Abhitha was completely muddled by the turn of events in her life. A girl who once aspired to become a pilot soon found herself getting entwined into marital life but sans bliss… a husband who sought great pleasure in inflicting mental and physical trauma on his wife for no apparent reason effortlessly transformed Abhitha’s life into a living hell.
Now, standing in front of the kitchen window watching the first rays of sun escape from the dark clouds of the night, Abhitha’s impulsive reaction would have been to protect her eyes from the glaring rays… but these morning sun rays had a shimmer of warmth, a splendor in it, unlike the piercing rays of the other 364 mornings that had gone by.
Unwarily, Abhitha stretched her arms wide open as if to welcome the exuberant light into her life.
A surge of emotions engulfed her as she voiced her thoughts aloud. “Today, I feel like basking under the sun and enjoying my new-found freedom.”
Catching her reflection once again in the spotless steel plate, she touched her face and wondered “Is this an illusion? The scars on my face seem to have faded away or has the bright rays of the sun rays concealed the ugliness of the scar…?”
Whatever the reason be, Abhitha’s joy knew no bounds, her sense of fear which had become a powerful factor in her life had vanished without a trace.
She craved to sing and dance amidst the chirpy sounds of the birds which perched on her window sill… The sudden chime of the doorbell signaled the arrival of her much-awaited visitor. She quickly darted towards the front door and threw open the doors to let her visitors in. Abhitha’s calm composure bewildered the police officers. There was no exchange of words whatsoever while the police officers carried out their duty.
As Abhitha sat in the police van with the handcuffs around her wrists, she peeped outside the window to see her house fading into oblivion, a house which was reminiscent of misery and brutality… a house which unfortunately never became her home…
