White Flowers

Seems just like yesterday, when they brought you in. I had woken up from a nightmare just then, only to realize it had not been one, but brutal reality. It was the dawn of a new week, but for the two of us, the world had just come to an end. They covered your face, I begged them not to. For me you were still sleeping peacefully like a child. So many rushed to lend a kind shoulder. Such an irony that yours had to be the first I took part in. With every passing moment, I dreaded your departure. I could not bear to watch as you were prepared for the last journey. Even then, there was a flicker of hope that you would awake and prove them all wrong. You were so pristine and pure, in your simple white shroud. That moment had arrived to bid a final goodbye. I begged for one last look at your face, one last kiss on your forehead. Amidst tears, he told me to be strong and follow the guidelines you had inculcated in me. As they carried you away, they took away a part of me, a part that can never be restored.

Life has changed drastically since then. Nine years have elapsed since yesterday, I do not know how. These pangs have become a part of me. So much I have to share, so much to tell, so much to ask. Let me lay my head in your lap once more, let me cry on your shoulder. Many a confession I have to make, many a story to narrate. He has always tried to fill your place in the best way he can, but who will fill your place in his life? Though he is the best one can have, I wish you were there, because sometimes it takes a woman to know. The transition from girl to womanhood was so hard, without you there to show me the way at the turning points. Life has taken its toll on both of us, it is a half-life that we live. Still, life is beautiful, because you made me view it so, teaching me to fight till the very last breath. Wherever you are, I know you are watching over me. One day we will meet again, in paradise. And that day I shall be whole once more, at peace like the white flowers on your grave.