Written by Anushka Saha.

Entangled in her world of chaos,
I peeked out of the purse for a breath of fresh air.
For the fifth time in a week, she stepped out to see him. She stepped out at the bus depot,
And walked as fast as she could,
She hadn’t missed her chance right?

But there he was, tied to a leash, with his usual crooked smile, At the table his new owner had a strange attachment to.
All she could do was stare into his dark brown eyes.
She could go and stroke his head perhaps,
But that wouldn’t do any good to her already terrible heartache.
It had been 5 long years,
Since the three of us lay in her backyard garden, Looking up at the cosmic infinity.
We were the only two things that never left her side, In this cruel, cruel world.
That was until the summer of 20_ _.
When her world came crashing down,
Along with the high rise buildings,
And the crumbling hopes of an entire town.
She was all alone, helpless.
She never saw her parents again.
As she endured life’s hurdles with her beloved Oscar,
It wasn’t too long before she exhausted her little fortune. That is when she had to give him up.
Give up the only reason she had to live.

The man said he had found him a new home, With kind and benevolent owners.
They would take really good care of him. What mattered to her though, was this. She’d never see him again.
She’d never play catch with him again.
She’d never watch him plop himself on her lap, as she buried her head in a pile of books.
But the heavens had something else in store.
A sort of trade off, perhaps.
On her way to college, there was a cafe.
A cafe that served coffee good enough for Oscar’s new owner to come back, every second day.
This was her only chance, to see a little piece of her soul. A piece she thought she’d lost forever.
So there she was, catching a glimpse
Of her only reason to live.
But time doesn’t like to see people smiling for too long.
So she had to leave.
As she popped me back in her ears, she played the one song that she found solace in,
For the millionth time, perhaps.
The familiar Beatles track made a tear trickle down her cheek,
“Take a good look; you’re bound to see
That you and me,
Were meant to be.”

---

Raw Whispers Magazine, edition 3.

View the entire magazine at https://rawwhispers.in

Instagram –https://www.instagram.com/rawwhispers/?hl=en

email written and art submission at rawwhispers@gmail.com