#9. One Picture. One Story. || Familarity & Unfamiliarity

WARNING: Look carefully at this picture because it has so much to tell you.

 

img source: Love-Athetics

         Grabbing my coffee from the usual Starbucks, I started walking the way I had been travelling since I started working at Dr. Nelson’s office, two and a half years ago. The steam warming my face, I drew a calm breath. The Dr. was generous with my holidays, if not with the pay. It was n’t a much crowded road, but then the small town of Woodtread didn’t boast many people either. Some people found the atmosphere morose , but the quiet suited me. I could do without claustrophobia.

     

     It was n’t until I reached 'my' place that I broke out of my reverie. I had stumbled upon this lone piece of  scenic beauty and had been captivated ever since. I leaned across the railing and gazed at the sea spread below me. It was beautiful. My father who had been a marine biologist for 20 years before he passed, always said that you cannot just look at a sea. You gather it with your eyes and you can never let go of the memory again. Maybe it was the sea that had forced me not to leave this place when I was fresh out of college, hunting jobs and drinking way too much tequila.

     

      Immersed in my thoughts, I noticed something unusual. A feminine figure was making it's way down the pathway below me. Now, nobody came here, certainly not at 4 in the morning. I could imagine a deep frown etching itself onto my face. This was an old town, with people of good moral values and no woman ever wandered the streets at this hour, especially without a companion. I bent forward to examine her. She was pretty, you could say. Blonde, tall figure, dressed all in white except for those black boots gracing her feet.  Her shadow was reflected in the cement docks. That was when I noticed her left hand. There she held a polythene bag with something inside, I could n’t help being curious.

       

        But the strangest thing was her countenance, she never lifted an eye as she walked, she seemed to have a purpose, a reason. It seemed that she was caught up in her own world. The sky was particularly grey today with occasional bursts of soft pillowy clouds and I could feel that reflected in her eyes. And then, as I watched, she came to a halt and stood with her back to me. Now I could see she had short hair, I thought it looked classy but did n’t fit in with the blue waves crashing at her feet, it was just out of place. Then, she lifted the hand holding the bag and emptied it into the sea. Something greyish black came out of it... She stood there for a couple of seconds, contemplating what to express and then moved on. Perhaps it was me but I could feel her wiping her left eye.

   

     I had a strange feeling now. My feet seemed to be acting of their own accord and were stuck to the ground as if the superglue advertisements had proved their claims. I stood there, for hours or for days, I do not know, all I know is I couldn't lift my feet.

‘I saw you staring at me’

When had she gotten there, I had no idea.

‘Oh- I was just looking. You should n’t be alone at this time’

‘I’ve always been alone. This town has n’t changed at all, has it?’

She spoke the truth, her eyes said so.

‘What are you implying?’

‘The last time I was here, it was the same. Women could n’t lay a foot outside their homes without the need of a male savior. That was why I ran away’

‘So you are the infamous Isabelle who ran away with a tourist at 16.’

‘What, you've heard of me too? Guess I am still popular for even strangers seem to know my name’ Her eyes were taunting and the words had a bitter edge.

‘Guess you are. Gossip spreads fast. But you left, so why are you here now?’

I wanted to hear her answer.

‘My mother died last week. Ever since dad died, I was her legal guardian. Though I think I heard my mother adopted someone close to my age when I committed the crime of leaving. She always had a habit of taking in stray dogs. Wonder why she didn't make him her attorney. 

'Maybe she knew you'd never come back unless absolutely compelled and maybe she wanted to feel you for the last time, even in her death'

I caught a faraway look in her eyes, regret and tragedy mingled in the beautiful blue irises. She brushed it away though.

'Maybe, anyway since it was in her will that she wanted to be cremated, I had to come over and take responsibility for the ashes or the procedure, whatever they call it these days.’

Something clicked into place.

‘What you just threw into the water- was that.?’

‘Yes, it was her.’

I knew now why I had been frozen to my feet earlier.

‘See you soldier. I should be getting back to Boston. Prostitutes aren't human enough to be granted more than one holiday’ 

She waved her fingers in farewell and left.

A painful smile made its way to my lips. Quite surprisingly, I wanted to say something, but the words were caught in my throat. Before I could lift my lips apart, she was gone.

It was the last time I saw her.

That was certainly not the way I had imagined meeting my sister for the first time.

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