Wednesday 2 November 2011

The Haunting by Iqra Khalid

Sweat trickled down her temple as her eyes darted across the room.She was  breathless with fright.Her teeth chattering with fear,Leslie looked up at a familiar figure,seated on an arm-chair;a frail,old man in his fifties,glaring down at her with looks that could cut steel.His very presence sent shivers down Leslie’s spine.Slowly,she murmered,”Father!”.As if hearing her voice was unbearable,the gentleman yelled in rage,
’’Father! Is that all you have to say to me after five years? You ungrateful child!” “But,Father,It wasn’t my fault.I was just…….”.Leslie tried to clarify.                                                                      But she was cut short by her father,who declared,                                                                       ’’Lies! All lies!Of course, it was your fault.Every single moment of pain and sorrow in my life has been brought upon by you,ever since the day you were born!”                                                                                                                                                                 “Believe me,Daddy,ever since that day,I curse myself a thousand times,for ever existing and I swear that I would have gone to any lengths to make sure that vile day never occurred in history.Please,Daddy,forgive me! Forgive me and free me of this pain!”                                        Tears oozed out of her eyes and fell onto her burgundy,cashmere-woven cardigan.Expecting clemency out of her father’s actions,she looked up and gazed pleadingly at him.But the old man’s anger knew no bounds,especially on this occasion,where he had no regard even for his own child.Rising up,he stomped towards his daughter and pointing a finger at her,screamed fiercely,                                                                                                                                          ”Don’t you dare try to hide your filthy lies in your crocodile tears!You would have never tried to prevent it.As a matter of fact,the world wouldn’t have been surprised if you had watched me dying and left my body to rot in its own way!”                                                                                         Those words hit Leslie like a ton of bricks as the memory of that fateful day came flooding back.Sunday Morning was boring as usual.In an attempt to pass yet another monotonous day,she decided to go down to the mall with her friends.They were happily passing the time away;strolling by the shops,scanning through the windows,looking for anthing that catched their eyes.But who knew that Leslie’s father,the one man so close to her,would meet such a terrible fate in a tragic accident.                                                                                                                                              She had seen it all with her own eyes;her father driving,the lorry approaching from the opposite direction,the speed and the brutal force of the impact,the pool of blood dripping from his mutilated body,his helpless screams and yet,she just stood there,bewildered,unable to move.Her eyes were lost in a daze,as she stared ahead, shocked and terrified at what had taken place right in front of her eyes.Tears of despair streamed down her face as she helplessly looked at her father’s body.If only she had walked over and gone for some help!
 The haunting memories of the past enveloped her like a dense fog of misery and sucked out the remains of her composure.Her panicky eyes flashed,encompassing the room with the fear of an unknown presence,lurking about in the dark of the night.She gulped in fear,becoming restless.The familiar face of her dead father flashed continuously in front of her eyes and his rasping voice filled her ears with terror and guilt beyond her imagination.The massive burden of the situation was over-whelming and was tearing her apart.In a desperate attempt to break free from this madness,Leslie’s hands crawled up to her tangled hair and tugging it,she shrieked with all her might,shattering the unbreakable glass of her imagination.She was dying to let the silent screams of her conscience be heard.
 Gasping for breath,she wiped the beads of perspiration from her face.She was drenched in tears and her cardigan was soaked in sweat.She rubbed her eyes and scanned the room for any sign of her father.None.It was just another figment of her imagination.She shook her head as she slowly rose from the couch.She gently walked towards the window and stood besides it,glancing out at the storm as the rain pattered on the window sill.She shuddered.Strangely enough,the silence of the night made her feel colder.But what worsened it was the fear that the repressed memories of her past may creep out of her mind and haunt her once again.

1 comment:

  1. For me, this isnt exactly a short story. She sees him, she has a small flashback and then she's back where she was and he's not really there. it all happens too fast. also, she goes to the mall with her friends and shes inside, strolling and suddenly she's witnessed her fathers accident on the road? it doesnt come together well. maybe if she came out of the mall, saw her father crossing the road and screamed out "dad" and as he stopped to look at her, a car hit him and she stood frozen? it would all make sense. Right now, it kinda seems like a blur. However, your descriptions are good.

    ReplyDelete