Coin

Face I -

Looking at the wall clock he thought how simple and plain it was but still it has turned out to be something which he can’t remove and replace with a new, better and modern one. It has turn out to be a symbol of the house. The house his father prepared with taking loans and with saving monthly wages. He remembers how he was suffering from austerity, his pocket-money was reduced by half and he was hating it, but all this was done so that his father could build a house for him. Now whenever he looks at the clock, he remembers his forefather through it and rarely notices what time it is. He remembers how his father was adamant not to buy a new clock even when old one was getting erratic and rusty. He has to go to repair shop every week so that the clock works.



He smiled as these thoughts crossed his minds. Again he looked at the wall clock, this time he noticed the time. He went into the kitchen and as almost asked to himself “what’s for the dinner?”



“It will get ready in 5 minutes.” His wife told him with little bit of shy and hesitation in her voice and hurried whatever she was doing. He smiled at her and she smiled in return when she through his smile noticed that he adored her while she was replying.



She was young and gracious. The first day he met her he was ecstatic. She captured his mind and it still was captured. The curvaceous body of her in standing was like an immaculate work of a sculpture. He couldn’t hold his temptations and took out his hands to touch her body upside down from waist. She got startled or atleast she made a face like that. But she didn’t move and he dropped the idea of touching her. He preferred to look at her continuously like she was telling a story through her beauty.



In between she looked at him and grinned, she liked that he was adoring her but it also made her feel little uncomfortable in reacting naturally.



In short time the dinner was ready. For him it was real short. He, his wife and his mother had the dinner together. The mother didn’t use to talk much and mostly used to be in herself and her prayers since her husband died. No one knows what she prayed for in fact no one cared that.



Next day it was early morning. Sun was making it’s way. He woke-up according to his habit, saw his beautiful wife sleeping almost as holding him. Her sleeping was so adorable that he couldn’t miss to stare at it. He asked if he really is so lucky to get a wife as beautiful and loving as she was. He couldn’t believe his luck and ran his finger over her cheeks, pressed that a little and then left it easy then pressed again. He behaved like a mother who does this with her kids. He touched her cheeks with the back of his palm and slid it all over to her neck, maybe even downwards. He came closer to her as want to notice her slightest reaction.



Now he could feel the warm breath of his wife he could smell the fragrance of her tresses. It’s a joy not to miss he thought. His hand was at her neck and he pressed his hand harder against her neck so that he could feel her breathing. He sensed the air going in and coming out. But this in turn brought a twitch on the wife’s face. He suddenly eases her touch and kisses her neck.



He get up washes his face with splash of cold water and looks at himself in the mirror. The coldness of the water it seemed stiffed his skin and he felt good in touching his skin. He opens the window and felt the first breeze on his face. The morning seemed beautiful to him.



He went to the bed and saw his wife still sleeping like she has nothing to worry about. This time he ran his finger through her lips. It vehemently disturbed he unconsciousness and in a flash she opened her eyes. Her mind wasn’t ready to understand anything so it seemed like that though she is watching she couldn’t understand. But then she realised the whole thing and smiled back at her husband.



He hinted her to getup. She couldn’t understand what for. Then he held her arms and slightly start dragging her. She got up and started placing her dress right but the husband was keen to take her top somewhere. He took her to the backdoor and opened that. It was a bright morning, very cool and refreshing. They came into the garden. It was a poorly maintained garden. The grasses on the ground were ill proportionally cut. He made her sit beneath a tree which was old enough. He himself sat in front of her.



He started telling her all about his childhood and how special that garden was for him. He told that the tree beneath which they were sitting was the first tree planted and it was planted by himself in the guidance of his father. He told it was the place he used to weep as a child whenever his father used to beat him or he was hurt for some reason.

He was telling all these things as he was letting some secrets out. His wife too was listening with intent reacting the way which was natural, asking questions in between and sometime looking at here and there all around. The cool atmosphere it seemed was bringing both of them together.



They talked for hours and literally got closer with husband had his arms around his wife but then the wife realised that she had to do the household work. The sun was out. She had to persuade her husband to get out of his arm. And it understandably took some time.



When she was gone he lied on the grass looking upward at the sky through the spaces between leaves and branches. There were few pieces of small clouds, the white ones which were flowing with no intention to move anywhere, with no knowledge of any destination of its own.



At that very moment he felt like he is on a big ship which is moving slowly. He kept lying there till the sunrays got steeper and then he came back had his ablutions. He turned on the radio started listening to the programmes and closed it when it reached to the news section.



Then in the evening he went to the market and brought a small plant. He took his wife to the garden and planted that sapling with her and said it was for them, their love. He also said that next time they will plant another one for their future kid and to that proposition she nodded smilingly.



He returned and checked the letter he has got which the postman put while they were planting the tree. He put them in the drawer. He looked sad and grim thereafter. That night at the dinner he announced that he has to return to his work. To this piece of news his mothers started babbling and even cursing the authorities. Even the wife got bit grim.

That night it seemed to him that his wife was reciprocating his word and action more. It seemed to him as she was trying to send a message or something. But all he wanted to do is to feel her. He wanted to get so much of her that maybe he won’t miss her. They were passionate.



In the morning he again woke up. This time he didn’t awake his wife and got himself into the garden. He was silent, easy, calm and content. It seemed as he was meditating there. Some time touching the ground, some time the trees and plants. After sometime his wife came and joined him. They were not talking like other day but they were just touching and feeling each other.



Then He told his wife to get his baggage ready and she goes inside to do that. He too got ready for the departure. When everything is ready he holds his wife and looks in the wall clock this time for noticing the time. He still had some time in his hands. He bids adieu to his mother who was ready to go outside maybe to some place of worship.

Again he takes his wife to the garden and they watered the plant they had for their love. Then he plucks a nearby flower and gifts it to his wife. The wife accepts with her smile which seemed heavy. In return his wife too plucks a flower and gifts him. He accepts that.



Little did he know that very flower would be the last thing he would have with him when he will die in the battlefield. 

Face - II

The danger of war was looming large on the country and on every soldier. Soldiers were made into believe that they don’t fear war and are ready to face any sort of situation. Anyone who had any hesitation in their heart was too coward to put it out to others and the reason for that was once everyone would conceive that he hesitates from war he would be labeled verbally or non-verbally a coward.



Most of the soldiers were prepared to follow orders rather than to think on their own. The only way they could think on their own were when they were following orders. Most of the soldiers were sure that there would be a war, Most of them who were on the leave  were like waiting as any minute they might get the notice to join the army.



The neighboring country which was mightier and had a socio capitalist set of government has already given notice to the communist government of this smaller country to step down or to face the music. The communist government pointed that the bigger country is interfering in the internal matter of the smaller country whereas the bigger country alleged that the communist government is suppressing basic human rights and quashing everything which is against them so they believed that there is this need of democratic setup.



Most of the people of both the country had nothing to do with all these. The soldiers of both the country were already considering each other enemy but why nobody knew. In the war of ideologies between governments a fierce bloodbath was in the waiting.



In all this he was thinking of his motherland. He as a soldier thought he was told to save his motherland. He was told how much grateful he should be for his motherland, How big a martyrdom it is when someone dies saving his motherland. So he was just as much charged as rest of the soldiers. He was moving toward his barracks with the letter to report at the earliest in his hands.



The logical being inside him was saying he won’t be able to survive the war. The might of enemy is enormous. The bravery inside him was saying he might pull it through. They might get victorious. That was a fool’s hope still he sided with his bravery being mostly because that was the option only.



There he met his friends. All seemed cheerful more than usual. He sensed that this cheerfulness was more of a message to others that we are not worried of anything, we are not afraid of anything and it was a clear sense of come what may. He too behaved cheerful just to support other for other’s sake. They joked between themselves.



Then the day arrived, the war was formally announced, it has started, when the news get in, the barrack thrilled with loud roars. In one breathe everyone pumped their heart double size and got in the formation for a usual charged sermon from their leader who were tactically mastered in giving inspiring sermons. These leaders were the best actors, there lectures could at one moment oozing with emotions so much that tears comes out and with courage and bravery another moment that twitched the body and face so hard that you beg for joining war. Sometime it seems that if they give these usual lectures to gun and tanks even those weapons would fire more efficiently then.



So by the time that sermon ended the boy jumped into the vehicle and departed for war with his friends. When he reached the battlefield he stopped for a moment to see the chaos, but then something stroke inside him and in a loud roar he became the part of the chaos. He saw his friends around all determined and desperate.



It was an open war in open field with little strategy. Fire as much you can kill as much you can. The message was clear enemy were supposed to come, so he had to stop them. He was handing an automatic gun in a small trench. All his friends were somewhere nearby he could hear their occasional roaring, chattering, hysterically laughing.  As the war proceeded after several hours of holding that point and regular bombing and firing now he was almost freaking, there was something inside him which wanted to vomit, something inside him who wanted to scream his brain out. His condition was getting more of psychologically dense and suddenly he saw few enemies very near. He fired and screamed

simultaneously. Some of the enemy got hit, the rest took nearby shelter and threw a hand-grenade at him. When he saw the grenade his heart stopped and in a flash he picked and threw it away further. Then he heard a loud noise and realized that he has thrown the grenade at his own friends in the hara-kiri.



He was shunned at his own mistake and took the gun in his hand and got out and opened fired at those hiding enemies. The enemy who were taken by shock took bit time to retaliate and in the process the boy was badly hit by bullets. He kept firing and kept getting bullets it seemed the sermons were still working. At last his muscles ditched him and he fell. After falling he tried to get his gun but then he realised he was too tired and the gun was too heavy. His vision was already getting blurred.



The place where he fell had many other enemy bodies most dead a few making noises which were something different than moaning or screaming. He was thirsty, He felt like a drop of water would absolve him of everything. He could see blood all over and he can’t recognize how much was his own and how much were of enemy’s.



Suddenly he felt few more bullets piercing inside his body. He saw enemy was shooting at him. He in a way was thankful to them because it would result in his sudden death rather than a painful death with sheer thirst. In the process to letting accommodate more bullets inside his body and to bear the pain of piercing he tried to hold the palm of nearly lying dead body. He felt something he took out of the hands of the dead body. It was what could be vaguely called a blood soaked remaining of a flower or maybe that what it felt to his already blurred and dying vision. He tried to see the flower closely and it’s color to him turned from blood red to black finally resulting in all darkness.