Hopey Dopey!

Here's a lil itty bitty short story that i had sent in to sulekha for publication ..din't make the cut *sigh* on grounds that the ending was too abrupt ..din't feel like changing the ending .....Here goes .........



The little Japanese village was resounding with squeals of delight from the kids who were having a gala time at the merry-go-round and the giant wheel. Spring was in the air and nature had put on its finest spectacle to bewitch the mind of man. Add to this a furious assault of Cupid’s arrows and you get the picture. Couples were heady with the twin delights of romance and fine weather but none more than the couple who were the cynosure of all eyes. Theirs was match equally approved in heaven and on earth and nobody knew it better than them. The shade of the giant tree was all the sanctum they needed.. to share her worries and concerns or to enjoy the mellow sounds of his flute wafting on the fresh spring air. ...Her beauty was unheard of and his zeal and wisdom..well, the village elders stood up and listened when he wished to make a point. Equally unheard of was their devotion to each other- till death do us part” to put it simply....That was when he walked into the village. ...He was strange. There is no denying that. ...He was wealthy too. Gossip concluded that it might have been the wealth of the oh-so-sorry forefathers, which was being squandered away in the name of a bohemian lifestyle....Rumors floated around of a lost love for he was seen dancing distracted..Or drunk.. to the tunes of a popular song ..Alone in his house..Later the sorrowful melody echoed in the still silhouette of his solitude. Sometimes his mournful voice would carry as far as the village well and the women would stop and listen..Their hearts moved in a way unbeknownst to them before. The snow would melt and draw the contours of their hearts as they carried the song back in the fiery waters of their pots....Taking his habituary walk across the meadows.. Finding his usual reprieve from the constant teasing by the village kids he found a nice little spot under the giant tree to take his afternoon siesta. As he lay down to sleep taking in the sights and sounds he was disturbed by a gentle sound. He walked around the tree to see his silent accuser. He was surprised to see a thick rope lying on the ground tied into a noose.. and Her .....He asked her gently what the matter was. She looked up and was quite scared to see the village “madman” peering down at her. His kind voice prompted some bravado however and as she stood up to speak a letter clutched in her hands fell down and he bent down to pick it up for her. She said nonchalantly, “Read that and you’ll know” pointing at the rope on the ground. The letter was one of furious rejection from a man who felt his righteousness betrayed, accused her of wanton promiscuity leading to her present state .. Indignation rejecting the idea that his brother was responsible for an act of unspeakable bestiality....“I’m cursed and I have decided to end my life at the place which bears testimony to the happiest times I’ve had”, she said....He laughed out loud on hearing this. She was shocked. It was not mockery or accusation she heard in the ring of his laughter.. It was sorrow. ...“You think it’s easy to die?” he asked scornfully....He walked away from her and she stood there, undecided …...It was a strange wedding too, the first of a sort. None of the priests had agreed to officiate. The story reached the ears of the head priest of the village and he set out to counsel the man as he lay on his deathbed....“Why do you want to destroy the life of this young woman who had a bright future until she was smitten by you? “ the head priest said. ...“Release her from your spell, I implore you”, the head priest pleaded....His silence prompted her to speak ...She stood up from his bedside and told the priest about the whole incident and how the stranger had asked for her hand in marriage and how he told her that she would be doing him an invaluable service by accepting....The head priest agreed to perform the wedding since he now thought that it was probably the best course for her and the only chance at legitimacy that the unborn child would ever have. ...The wedding was a maudlin affair the bride’s parents weeping at the twin sorrow of losing a daughter and son-in-law at the same time....Add to this the insistence of the stranger that she wear a bridal dress cut out of this worn out fabric that he possessed. It was woefully out of fashion and conveyed a sense of lost time. She seemed to like it however as she wore it tall –honor, dignity and grace plentiful in its folds....“My daughter is to be a bride and a widow at the same time”, the mother wailed as she bid her farewell....The stranger handed her a small tin box as he breathed his last in her arms ...“ For OUR child. Open it when it cries for the first time and you’ll know” ...The sun shone brightly as the cries of a newborn baby pervaded the air. She held her child and was surprised to see a birthmark on the right side of the baby’s torso. She called for the nurse to bring the tin box and opened it....The box contained some silver coins marked with the figurehead of Pontius Pilate and a letter....The letter to his newborn child read, ...“You are the manifestation of the greatest love that man has known. Call it God saving the honor of a woman as it got traded between brothers or God forgiving the curse of eternal human condition to a man whose betrayal has echoed through the centuries on an act of pure and unconditional love. You were born of faith and hope and betrayal. You are cursed too .. with love. As you weave the tapestry of your life your heart will cry at every drop of blood shed in hate and yet you’ll live telling this story. “...I grew up healthy. Society chose to call me by various names and my only defense was the name the stranger bequeathed me. ...I went on with life and nothing but the solitude of my existence and the loneliness of my curse stayed with me ..I found love in the arms of a solitary soul,the passion of a nameless night crucifying me with visions of happiness that would never come to pass. Just as I wished fervently for that moment to last forever... the Fat man and the Little boy struck .. the brightness eclipsing a thousand suns .. it seemed that man had succeeded in creating a monster who would finally dwarf God and his creation ...I see her pick up her child and try and run from the inevitable and as she falters to the ground …I age a thousand years as I watch her die. ...I live on with the curse as my legacy .. the silver coins ,singing a jingle of hope and a tattered piece of cloth serving to clear my eyes every time the mist gathers.. as I look to the heavens for an answer, I see ..and I find that little miracle of love breathing inside of me as I hope that each of us finds the savior within.......ope y'all enjawyed it !