My Star In My Sky

We walked along a deserted road
Not a soul in sight for miles around
The road was dark and desolate
But not us, we were full of joy and happiness

We were having the best time of our lives
And we were glad that we were all alone
If someone had seen our antics and heard our laughter
We would have been sent packing to the nearest asylum

That moment if anyone had asked me
What I felt about life, I would have said
That life was a grail of pure bliss
And it was perpetually refilled by the gods

A cool breeze blew by us
Ruffling my hair and singing in my ear
I think my girl heard the song too
For she looked at me and smiled

I tried to follow the breeze with my eyes
It was then that I noticed it in the distance
It stood out in the middle of all that darkness
Visible because it was darker than night itself...

It was a clothed figure that I saw
Too tall to be a woman, yet too thin to be a man
It was frail, gaunt and stood with a stoop
Yet there lay a hidden strength in the way it stood...

My girl had not seen it, not yet
And my sixth sense told me to leave at once
I looked at her in the eye and asked her if we could leave
That was when she disagreed with me for the first time

We usually had had the same thoughts
That was what had brought us closer
But why at this juncture did she want to go on
When my instincts asked me to drive away from the area?

There was something in her eye,
That had always stopped me from arguing with her
And it was the same power she had
That made me agree with her that night

I admit that I was hesitant to tell her
That I was afraid of a dark figure standing far away
But I think it might done a lot of good for us
My words could have changed both of our lives

But our lives did change, forever...
In a way I hadn’t even dreamt about,
That dark stooping figure in the distance
Altered my life in the worst imaginable way
My girl had still not noticed him
Or maybe was it just visible to my eyes?
Am I seeing hallucinations in darkness?
Or was it staying hidden from her?

And slowly we came within ten yards of each other
The figure raised its head and looked at us
It was a man alright, but the kind of man I had never seen
His tall, thin frame looked like it was robed by the night itself.

But his face was what made him stand apart
He had intentionally covered his face with his robe
I bet he did that to convince people that he was harmless
For his face was white as a skeleton and equally bony

The deep sockets where his eyes should have been
They had an eerie glow in them, the glow of fire
It looked as though a car had its tail lights on
And parked itself into his face, that’s how red his eyes were...

He looked at me through those red eyes
As though he wanted to eat me alive...
His face frowned and pale lips converged
A faint semblance of a smile escaped through them...

We were now at arm’s reach of each other
My brain was using all its strength to drag me
As far as possible from that ghastly figure
But my heart wanted to stay with my girl...

So I stood my ground and looked at her
Her face was as happy as ever, but how?
Had she not seen the figure yet?
Or was it something that existed only in my imagination?

Those pale dry lips opened up and spoke
And what a voice it was, in one word, horrible
It seemed like a million saxophones were being played
At the same time, by novices who hit all the wrong notes...

His words rang shrill in my ears, like the song of a bat
Eerie, like the hoot of an owl or a parliament of them
He said that he wanted me to leave at once
A wave of relief passed through me...

I caught my girl’s hand with an aggression, used never before
Before I could turn around and flee, the man stopped me.
He said that he wanted me to leave at once
He said that he wanted me to leave at once, alone...

He wanted me to leave my girl with him, the daring he had!!
And as though he believed that I would do that...
I had sworn to be with her in life
And I was ready to protect her with my life...
In a deliberate show of obstinacy, I declined to obey him
I said that I was going nowhere without my girl
That plastic smile passed his face again
He said that I had no idea as to what was going on that night

I told him that I did not care, no matter what happened,
I was not going to leave my girl alone that was for sure
He told me that he had been alone for a very, very long time
And being alone was in a way a staircase to bliss...

I was in no mood to argue, the night was getting colder
And my heart and soul wanted to rush the both of us
To the safety of our home. But something was very wrong.
I could feel a dark premonition going through my brain.

He pointed directly at her and said “She stays!”
Perplexed, I looked at my girl immediately wishing I hadn’t.
Her face was petrified and appeared white and cold.
There was almost no sign of life in her.

I was fuming with anger, at this ghastly apparition before me
I was yet to come to terms with what had happened to my girl
She looked like she had been turned to stone and placed on a block of ice
And I was loathing the presence of this weird entity that was causing everything

He looked at me and said, “I know what you are thinking”
He said he knew that I hated his presence and wanted him to leave
He promised to do that after finishing his task
And with that he broke into laughter

There was no mirth or joy in that laughter
It was shrill and cut through the silence of the night
I felt a burning chill pass through my spine
And the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end

Who was this guy and how did he know what I was thinking?
And what had he done to my girl? Had he.....? No, I can’t think that,
I did not want to think that. I assured myself that he couldn’t have done that
After all, I was by her side all this time and had seen nothing happening...

His sadistic laughter continued, waking every sleeping being
But none dared come out in front of him,
I had no choice but to hold my ground till I found a way
To save my girl and take her away from the clutches of this madman...

The laughter stopped as abruptly as it had started
He looked at me and said “What you want to do is not possible
None has escaped my clutches in the past and none will in the future
You were destined to meet me on this road together and leave alone”

That last word of his...the word “alone” sank into me
It felt like someone was pouring acid into my ears
All the nerves in my body were crying out in pain
And I wished to hear him say that I heard it wrong.

But he said that my hearing was perfect
And that I had heard him right. I was to be leaving alone.
He also said that there was no point in fighting him
And there was no power on earth that dared stop him.

The realisation of it hit me; he was not some filthy vagabond
On the road trying to scare people and extort money
He was Death himself. And he had come to meet us.
But my heart refused to accept the way things were unfolding.

After facing the truth, I knew fighting him was futile,
And that no matter how strong I was, I was powerless in front of him.
Instead of confronting him, I bent down in front of him
I was on the street with my head at his feet, bowing down to him.

I knew that he knew no fear or favour in his line of work
The best of princes and the worst of paupers were one to him
He had taken all of them, when it was their time to go
Though he faced protests every time, he was always victorious...

This knowledge did nothing to comfort me
It only made things worse, for I couldn’t fight him or destroy him
I did the only thing that was left to be done, I bowed down
I begged him to give up his thirst for life, give it up at least for one night.

He had seen through my game, and he laughed.
He asked me if I would give up happily the next morning
If he gave me a night to live with my girl
He smiled again, as he knew what my answer would be.

I offered him my life, instead of my girl’s.
Told him that he could take it any moment he wished
If my life was enough to keep my girl alive,
I was ready to die a million times if she could live one more day.

He denied it outright; he said I was not his pick for the night
He had come for her and he was going to take her with him
If he was so intent on taking her with him, I said he could take me too.
For without my girl, I was sure to be alive yet without a life...

He broke into laughter again, that shrill blood curdling laughter...
He said that things did not work that way in his office,
He did not offer free trips to people who were not on his list
And that night, my name was not on the list but my girl’s was...

I still believed that there was some way to stop his heinous act,
I stood between my girl and him, protecting her with my body,
I believed that I could shield her from his clutches
And eventually take her home safe with me...

He was unrelenting, he continued to smile,
Mildly amused by my antics to protect my girl.
Was it power or pride or experience or something else
That made him so supremely confident in his abilities?

And was it bravery or love or plain foolishness
That made me stand in the way of this juggernaut?
I don’t know. Nevertheless I stood in front of him
And blocking him from reaching my girl.

He moved forward with that smile plastered on his face
A step closer to me, he took. I spread my feet and stood strong
He didn’t seem to mind. He brought his hands together.
I expected an attack, but heard a clapping sound.

Something moved behind me, instinctively I turned around.
It was my girl. She still looked petrified, but something was different.
She moved around me and towards him, all in slow motion.
And I called her name out with all the energy I had, to no avail...

I tried to take her hand and drag her towards me, but no.
I couldn’t even touch her; a strange glow of light surrounded her
She dragged her feet along, like a tired dog walking to its master
Only this time, she did not realise what was happening.

I fell at his feet, and cried worse than a baby that had lost its mother,
He looked at me blankly and said he’d watched this show numerous times
So many times, that he was beginning to get bored of it.
Little did he know, that to me it was all so new and unbearably painful...


He took a step backward, freeing his feet from the pool of my tears
And said that it was time for him to leave and he would meet me again someday.
I begged him to take me along that very day so that we wouldn’t have to meet again
But he said my time hadn’t yet come and I had years left in me.

He started speaking to me about things I had known all along,
He told me how much my girl had loved me in life,
And that she had wanted me to be happy after her death
Yet, he did not realise that I was nothing without her, not even a body.

She had been my body, heart and soul ever since the day we had met
And we had lived one life every minute after that day...
He knew my thoughts once again and smiled.
He said that it was a part of his job, though he did not like it.

He told me that I was lucky to have met her and spent time with her
He told me that he knew about millions of other men who had met him
After several decades of life but without finding the love of their lives
And I was blessed indeed to have found true love so early on in my life.

I told him that it was the very reason why I didn’t want to live without her
He said that he knew that too, but had no choice.
Certain things were the way they were supposed to be
And given a choice no man would ever want to meet his death.

I told him that I was ready to do it, take the trip with him
It was then that he shed a tear, and said that he knew that too...
And that he was not ready to take me yet. He had promised,
Granted my girl her last wish to bless me with a long and happy life.

So that was how it was, I thought.
I had lost my life and yet been cursed with a long one...
I wanted to continue reasoning with him and begging
Though he had started on his way back, he turned.

He looked into my eyes and said that I had been true to her
And for that he would grant her life for a minute
I was granted sixty seconds to say all I had to say to my girl
And bid her adieu for the rest of my life.

My angel sprang to life; she looked at me with tear-filled eyes
She thanked me for the happiness I had brought her
I was speaking the language of tears, the only one I was capable of.
She lifted her hands and wiped the tears off from my face, for the last time.

She said that she would always be with me, by my side
Laughing in my joys and sharing my burdens,
And I would have no reason to worry or cry
As she would always be looking after me.

She promised that she would talk to me, when she could
And that I would hear her if I believed in her presence
She wanted to know if I wanted to say something.
I could only hug her and cry on her shoulders, again for the last time

She said that she would no longer walk the earth
But would happily enjoy the comfort of her throne in my heart,
That she would no longer be in her body
But would be happy being a part of me...

The minute was about to be over and we kissed
A warm embrace and kiss turned into an encounter with ice
For the minute was done and she was gone
The man in the dark suit had also disappeared with her...

I was alone on the road, not knowing what to do,
I bent down, kneeled and cried. I cried till I had no strength left.
I looked up hoping to see a pair of hands comforting me
Despite knowing that those beautiful hands would never move again...

I looked up and saw the sky, the night was still clouded
But one star shone brightly amidst the clouds.
Reminding me of the star that guided the Magi to the god-child.
And this star shone just the way her eyes twinkled when she smiled...

So there she was, looking after me, as she had promised.
I got up to walk on as she had wanted me to.
Believing that she would guide me like she had always done.
And would always be there by my side, holding my hand...

I continue to walk to this day, on the long, rough road of life
With the star always lighting the path in front of me
Saving me from perils and giving me strength. I look at the sky
And the star smiles back at me reminding me of her bright eyes...