What the hay…!

So! Back to bnu and writin a lil again! Had to write a short story of 750 words for my creative writing class but as usual went waaaay beyond that…also, was stayin at a cuzins place da night before the story was due so wrote it in an hour or so…pretty cliched and borin..but I tohught Id preserve it here..

AND FOR GODS SAKE, SOMEBODY COMMENT! I HATE YOU ALL FOR MAKIN ME SEEM LIKE A 90 YEAR OLD HAG WHO THINKS SHE HAS A LOT TO SAY BUT ENDS UP TALKIN MOSTLY TO HERSELF! UGH

A GRAVE MAN

“What? Ma, you’re kidding, right?” I looked at my mother in wonder, and tried to recall what date it was since, for some very bizarre reason, I thought an April Fool prank was being played on me. I gazed strangely at my mother because it wasn’t the first of April, nor anywhere near it.

My mother seemed almost paralyzed with grief, or maybe she was just in denial, so she spoke absent mindedly, “Of course not, jana, he lied to you about why he couldn’t come to your wedding. Apparently he was then in England for this. Are you going to go see him, hun?” She raced a limp hand through her silvery hair and then scratched the back of her neck distractedly.

I gave an incredulous shake of the head, ignoring my mother’s ludicrous question. I tried to formulate my thoughts but all that raced through my head were the last couple of months in various brief flashbacks. The Coke-fights in the last days of college, the slumber parties (though we called them night-overs because slumber parties sounded too teenage-girly), the ‘study group sessions’, the recent craze of memorizing Shakespeare and then trying his verses on every random girl, the pursuit and the wooing of Aaima and how Rayan had acted as the intermediary between us, how happy he had been when Aaima and I had finally hooked up, and how he had played such a huge part in bringing us together by going up to her family and talking to them directly. And all this time…all this time, I was being kept in darkness. And then finally, I swallowed thickly, that asshole had disappeared just before the wedding on the pretext that his parents had decided to file for a divorce and he wanted to go to Sialkot to try knock some sense into their heads. You lied, Rayan, you son of a bitch, you lied! You ass, ass, ass, you lied!

My insides were on fire as I groped my way out of the room blindly and rushed towards the main door. My mother’s distracted voice floated out of the living room. “Don’t tell Aaima, jana. Newly wed and face such a trauma?!”

I raced out of the house and dashed towards my Toyota. During the drive, I couldn’t articulate my thoughts as memories and apprehensions and fear and disbelief assaulted me. Finally I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer and decided my distraught mother’s word wasn’t enough to convince me and it just couldn’t be true. Period. Nothing in the world, save God or Rayan himself, could make me believe this inconceivable fiendish lie.

As I drew closer to his house, I realized I wasn’t frightened or worried anymore. I was just plain angry. So livid my cheeks were on fire and my burning crimson ears felt like they would melt away and the fury would spill out, scalding away the lie and setting aflame the liars.

Fuming, I rushed inside his house without knocking and yelled.“RAYAN! RAYAN! Where you? Move your fat ass and step right in front of me! I wanna see you walk, talk and kick my ass! RAYAN! Show yourself.”

Rayan’s father rushed out from the bedroom at the end of the hall to scream at the offender who was responsible for all the clamor. He stopped short when he saw me and took a deep breath. “Ali.” Just a statement, expressionless, quiet.

I smiled at him warmly and went up to him. “Assalmu Alaikum, Uncle. How are you? Where’s that dim wit? I heard the craziest…but forget it. I’ll just go talk to him directly.”I ignored the sob that I think I heard as I passed Uncle and went into the room he had come from.

Rayan was lying on his bed, just as I had seen him lie there so many times. I avoided looking at his weeping mother in the corner and went up straight to him. Up close, I thought his face looked ashen and his eyes sunken. I closed my eyes and almost whispered.

“Wassup, dawg?” I was adamant. Today wasn’t going to be different at all. I had been mimicking Bugs Bunny since the days we had watched those cartoons in the very same room for long hours all those years ago and now I had said it again just as I had said so a gazillion times before.I heard him smile as he spoke.

“Nothing much. Heard the latest?” I could imagine his eyes lighting up with humor and I hated him for his wit at that moment.

“No. Enlighten me.”

“Oh c’mon man! You know. Admit it.” He said playfully. I opened my eyes and glanced at him sharply. One look at my wild crazy eyes and Rayan sobered.

 “You know it.” He whispered again and looked at me straight in the eye.

My arms fell to my side and I stared at him, sitting there, propped up by several pillows, looking at me earnestly. “No.” My voice was firm.

“Ali. Look at me. See it.” Rayan was worried now.

“I can’t. I won’t.” I warned him.

He looked at me and smiled encouragingly. “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. You know that. We’ve agreed upon it.”

“No. Not till you say it. You can’t. Don’t.” I pleaded, begged, implored.

Rayan got that look back in his eyes as he saw the realization dawning on me. He smiled impishly and said, “But of course not, my knight. It’s your battle. Fight it.”

I was furious and skeptical, calm and incredibly terrified all at once. “Why didn’t you tell me before? Why?”

“Aiwaiinn.” He beamed. “Why ruin your wedding?”

“Are you bloody fucking crazy? Are you? What’s a frickking wedding compared to…compared to this?” I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.

He smirked and shook his head just as he had shaken it so many times when he used to think I was being extremely stupid. Unexpectedly, when he spoke, his smirk faltered. “Actually, I wasn’t too awesome at accepting it either. Took my time doing that and then my guts just failed me. I’m sorry!” His face was grave and (was that my imagination?) his voice quivered a little. 

 I massaged my stiff neck, looked at him long and hard, clenched my fist tightly and rubbed my stinging eyes before asking the question. “How much more time?”

For a split of a second, Rayan’s eyes clouded over while his face maintained that obstinate annoying smile. I could see his own brief, yet mighty battle being fought and though his roguishness won as usual, that split of a second drowned me in the realization and truth of the approaching imminent doom and I cried out loud before he spoke teasingly.

“Ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man.”