There she stood outside the window

I can't go close to windows without getting the chills. My curtains are never left drawn, I try to always keep them closed. I would get rid of them entirely if I could but that is not an option. If I am alone in a room I don't even look at the windows, but it wasn't like this before.  I remember it clear as though it were yesterday, sometimes it still scares me.

It was raining really heavily. I sat on my bed staring out of the window. My window was huge almost covering the whole wall, you could see my whole garden through it. I was a fan of windows believe it or not, the reason I chose this room was because of the huge window. I am usually fond of rain too but that day I was really annoyed. I couldn't watch a football match because the electricity supply cut off because of the rain. A bolt of thunder struck, a silver wavy line across the dark velvet sky. Each time a lightning bolt hit, it became as bright as day outside. Though I was still very annoyed, I couldn't help but be mesmerised by the beauty of the scene. My bed was really close to the window. I lay down and closed my eyes, feeling the spray of the rain on my face. My dog, Oliver, started barking very loudly. I opened my eyes, and I saw a shadow. The shadow fell onto my garden, which meant whatever the shadow belonged to was close to my window. I sat up and rubbed my eyes and stared out again. I thought perhaps it was the shadow of the lemon tree in my garden, though I doubted it. Still being the scaredy cat I am. I drew the curtains close. I lay back in my bed and was drifting off to sleep when I hear Oliver howl, not a bark , a proper howl. I jumped out of my bed and went outside. The howls stopped as soon as I stepped out. The silence was even more scary. I looked at the garden and saw nothing, I looked in the garage,in the house but I couldn't find my dog anywhere. I decided to go back in and look for Oliver in the morning instead. I was surprised that my parents hadn't woken up, especially because my dad is a light sleeper and wakes up at the tiniest of sounds. I went over to my window, moved the curtain a bit and looked out and saw the shadow again, I quickly let go of the curtain,it fell back to its place covering the window again. I decided I just needed some sleep

Next morning I woke up early. I went out to see whether Oliver was anywhere. I looked everywhere. This time as it was day time and I wasn't scared as much as last night, I went into my backyard. What I saw scarred me for life. My dog was practically ripped into pieces. I screamed and cried at the same time. My mom took me back inside the house. I felt horrible, I loved my dog couldn't I go see the backyard last night? I thought. Though now that I look back there wasn't much I could've done even if I did go that night. 

The next night too it rained. This time even heavier. I stared outside still filled with remorse. I admired how bright it became whenever the lightning struck the sky. I saw the shadow again but this time I could see more details, it was most probably a girl as she had long hair and was definitely wearing a dress that flowed with the wind  The shadow had a bent back. I kept staring until it disappeared. I shivered 'Who the hell was she?' 'Why was she standing in my front lawn?' 'Did she do something to Oliver?' these questions roamed in my head. The lightning struck again and then I saw her.............

There she stood, outside the window. She had long hair and wore a white dress which was really long and waved with the wind. Her face was wrinkled, her back was bent. She wasn't all bloody neither burnt like you  would see in a movie.Only her fingertips had blood, as though she had ripped something....I didn't want to think who those hands had ripped. She was scarily pale, her eyes were blank and entirely emotionless. I screamed really loudly. My parents rushed in, all I could do was point at the window, which showed nothing but the garden outside. When I explained it to my parents, my dad actually gave it some thought but my mom dismissed it saying it was  because I was shocked over Oliver's death. 

To cool me down my parents agreed to switch rooms for a while. That night I fell asleep quickly. I heard a scream, it was my mom's. I rushed to my room and saw my mom on the ground weeping while my dad calmed her down. She was staring at the window, saying "She was there, she...she." From then my mom believed that supernatural stuff existed. My mom had always thought that it was utter nonsense, but I was sure that this had changed her mind. Though I don't know whether what I saw was something supernatural for sure, but it was surely abnormal.

Experiences change us.We left that house as soon as we could. Its been years, I don't know who she was. But she has left me scarred, I will never own a dog again and I would never the white dress that I own which resembles the one she wore. I doubt I will ever like windows again or the rain. My story, though is not as scary as the movies you watch or the books you read, but when it happens to you in real life you forget all the scary faces in the movies because in those moments none of those seem to be a candle in front of the sun. Those few minutes affected me in a way that nothing else ever has and I doubt ever could. I know there are bigger things that have occurred in people's lives, but for me this was one big blow. 

Sometimes when the rainfalls....

Sometimes when the rainfalls, its only for the ones who are broken. Yet sometimes it is for the ones who need a fresh beginning . Sometimes for the ones that need to let go. Whereas some are just pluviophiles and find peace in the falling rain. Finally sometimes simply for the admirers
 

The Lost Slum in the Glory of India

I woke up just like every day, hearing the old lady's yell. I had no idea what it was about today, maybe one of the pickle bottles were missing or perhaps a cat had entered her house. This was not eccentric for our slum. I heard another scream so I went out to see what was going on. I saw all of the people gathered outside their sheds. I asked one of the ladies what the matter was, she told me “There has been a fight over meat, two of the young men were ready to slice each other for the piece that the old lady possessed.” These kinds of fights startled me as a kid but now they were a common sight, silly fights over petty issues. All of these men wore scars on their faces with pride.

According to the people on the other side of the town it was a bright sunny Sunday but for us it was just another day in this dingy hell where no day would pass without a quarrel. My mother was not at home, she worked as a domestic help in several houses .My father died in one such brawl over a loaf of bread and my brother had never seen the face of school, he was instead involved in theft and stole to finance his drug addiction, one tends to fall prey to such habits while living here.

When I insisted on going to school my mother admitted me in a government school close to our slum. I went to school happily with my friend Geeta, after school it was like a ritual to go to the garbage dump, the garbage was just a useless heap for people but it was a treasure for us, you see one man's trash is another man's treasure In our slum being a good rag picker is considered a talent.


Our slum is the definition of unhygienic; it is practically crawling with diseases. It is known to all but little help is offered. I always dreamt that after passing school I will somehow fix the conditions of all the slums in India. Everyone would scoff and say, “Kamala you have lost your wits!” whenever they heard about it. My mother did not support my enthusiasm about the idea either because she thought it would lead to a lot of expenditure, it was just an unrealistic and unfeasible wish.

I quickly finished my homework and went outside to look for Geeta. I found her playing outside with the other children of our slum. We both picked up our thin plastic bags and went to the dump. After searching a lot all we found were two hair clips, a torn shawl, a pair of shoes with a hole and a soggy pack of tomatoes. Not an ideal treasure but good enough nonetheless. Searching for things in a dumpster is rather tiring.

When I returned, I went to Sudha aunty's shed to look for my baby sister. Most of us don't even know each other's name but our helpful neighbor Sudha aunty usually offered to take care of my sister while I was out. I thanked aunty and took my sister back to our shed.

Life continued in its monotonous manner. Geeta and I were at the dumpster searching for something useful. I rather tired and hadn't been able to find anything useful. I was about to head back to the slum when I saw something glittering in the sunlight. I had found a gold chain under a heap of garbage! I couldn't believe my luck! I stared at it for a while wondering whether it was genuine. Later that day I took the chain to a jeweler, he confirmed that it was genuine and was worth a lot of money. I was on cloud nine! After a while I sold the chain and received an amount of money that I had never seen in my life before. I decided to save the money and to keep it a secret because it would put us in danger here. After convincing my mother a lot by telling her that if I got a nice
career it would be good for all of us, I got an admission in a renowned university. I worked hard, studied day and night, gradually I became a politician.

Yes, I had succeeded. I changed everything in the slums; I began with my own. I built houses for people, made food available for everyone mainly the children and adults who were malnourished. I provided them free education and gave them a hygienic environment so that people could lead a disease free life. I couldn't provide them a luxurious life, but I surely gave them the basic necessities. No one recognised them as rag pickers anymore.

Looking at the face of the joyous and happy people, there is nothing that could give me more pleasure than knowing that I had helped them change their lives. I was very proud of myself. It was a wonderful sight to see a totally changed world of the slums which had once been horrendous. I was determined to help all other slums too.

Suddenly I heard my younger sister's shrill cry. Before it was too late I realised that I had been dreaming. Life had been unfair to us all this time and it still was. I didn't find a gold chain in the dump the next day, nor the on days that came after.

My shining dream was lost in the gloomy darkness of reality. My dream was nothing but a dream of dreams. There are no fairy tale endings in the real mortal world. Oh! How I wish it were true! Our Slum was still lost in the glory of India.