As she stood on the bridge a gust of wind blew the hundred or so flags in her direction. The yellow one flew over her face and blocked her vision. It was a beautiful yellow, a shade she liked. She hurriedly removed the piece of cloth from her face as if she could not miss even a single second of gazing at the wonderful expanse of nature in front of her.

She could do nothing but marvel at the beauty of nature. It was serene yet in way so strong. She loved it so much that she could spend every single day of her life here, in the middle of nowhere. It was a place that she longed to be in, where she had no worries, no one to please but herself.

If only life were that simple, if only life were that uncomplicated. If only all that she had to ever do was stand here and look around.

Oh well she thought I might as well enjoy it while I’m here. She was so glad she had decided to come to Manali all by herself. At first her family was appalled to say the least by the idea of a single woman travelling so far away from home. After all she came from a culture where single women were supposed to be depending on someone to take care of them. They were not supposed to come to Manali just to be themselves. That’s what her father had thought.

It took enormous amount of persuasion to get her family to understand what she meant by being “herself”. Finally they gave in and let her go.

“Hi I’m Jacob”

She was startled at the sudden interruption in her thoughts.

“Oops I didn’t mean to scare you, Sorry”

He had hazel eyes, and sharp features she noticed.

“I’m Renu”

“You a tourist too?”

“Umm well…” Don’t talk to strangers beta, and don’t let anyone know you are alone. Her father’s words started ringing in her ears.

She shut off the voce irritatingly and said, “Yes a tourist, like everyone else here” and could feel herself smiling.

“Oh that’s great; I was wondering what you were doing here all alone leaning over the edge like this. For a second I thought you were going to jump off” he said a smile forming at the edge of his lips.

“Nah, I’m just this far from being that frustrated” she said gesturing with her finger and thumb.

He laughed almost a musical laugh. She liked the twinkle in his eyes when he did that.

“How did u know about this place? Not many people know about this bridge?”

“One of my friends told me I had to be here if I was Manali, soI asked around and after getting lost twice here I am”

“Oh well then I’m really lucky to have met you here eh?” he smiled that smile again

Don’t trust anyone. Her father’s voice again.

“Well if you say so” she felt the blood rush to her cheeks, and embarrassed she turned around to look at the beautiful expanse of the valley.

“You seem to know this place quite a bit, do you know those woods on the other end, they say are haunted”

“Ah! Yes they all are, aren’t they?” She giggled

“I’m serious there’s a legend of a whispering ghost out there he is said to have taken peoples souls away just by whispering into their ears.”

“Yeah right, and I’m the spirit of the first woman he killed and I’m going to have to do much less than whisper to kill you” she retorted sarcasm heavy in her tone.

“I can prove it to you, I’m a researcher on the subject and I came here after hearing numerous such incidents all the way from London”

“What kind of crazy people have the time to research on such things?”

My kind of people, and I don’t look crazy do I?

“Can’t say much we’ve just met”, she shrugged her shoulders.

“Hey look I’ve got a lot of gadgets with me too if you can’t be convinced.” He hurriedly took out weird look machines and wires and sensors of some kind from his backpack.

“And you think that would make me come out in the woods with you”

“I was hoping it would” he said it in a barely audible tone

“Oh well alright what’s there to lose, I’ll come along”

Was she a bit too trusting of this man? She pushed the thought away. He looks alright to me.

They stared walking towards the woods. She was stealing glances towards him all the while. His eyes were beautiful, so was his face.

As they were walking a sudden gust of wind blew the hundred or so flags in their direction. The yellow one flew over her face and it went right through her as if she wasn’t there.

She looked around; the guy with  hazel eyes was gone.

She’d made it!

She’d really made it!

At the sight of the colourful flags blowing carefree in the cool mountain air, Sheila’s felt her heart skip a beat.

She’d never seen a more beautiful picture than the multicoloured, welcoming sight before her eyes.

Exhausted, she sat down on a large boulder. Taking her handkerchief from her pocket and without diverting her eyes from her goal she slowly wiped the sweat from her forehead and upper lip. Her heartbeat began to slow down, her breathing became more relaxed.

Letting out a long sigh, she closed her eyes for a moment.

Breathing deep, she greedily gulped the clear, crisp mountain air into her damaged lungs.

The cool, gentle breeze brushing her cheeks brought back sweet memories of years gone by.

How she’d loved it when he use to stroke her chubby cheeks with the back of his hand.

“Did I really have chubby cheeks?”, she thought, as she fingered the starkly protruding blue veins on the back of her gaunt hand.

Feeling herself sliding back into the dark hole of hopelessness and despair, Sheila shook her body and lifted her gaze to the distant snow-clad mountains. The beauty and strength emanating from these mighty creations gave her the necessary push she needed to carry on.

Standing up, she took resolute steps forward, crossing the bridge that would bring her to the holy temple. Here she would offer prayers for the strength to fight this terrible disease.

She’d come this far, she’d conquered the long serpentine track all the way to the top and she just knew she could conquer the rest.

“You had to bring him up here, didn’t you?” Susan said as Rufus ran circles around her

“What else was I supposed to do? Leave him alone at home while we go hiking for two days?” Mark defended.

“We could have left him with Sharon.”

“You know he hates Sharon!”

“He’s a dog! I’m sure he can adjust for a couple of days”

“Oh so he’s just a dog now?” Mark turned to Susan, “And who says ‘Come to Mommy’ a million times a day?”

“You know I love him and didn’t mean it like that. He is not just a dog, but he is getting old and I don’t know if he’ll be able to go through the trip.”

“He is not old. Look at him running those circles around you.”

“He is eight, Mark. That’s like 80 in dog years.”

“Dogs don’t have their calenders. Eight years is just eight years. He’s in the best shape of his life. Aren’t you Rufy?”

Rufus let his tongue out and wiggled his tail.

“See. He agrees” Mark proudly flashed his whites.

“Don’t you agree that your Paa is a stubborn old man, Rufus?” asked Susan with her hands on her waist.

Rufus turned to her and wiggled his tail again.

“And he agrees” she retorted.

“Guess you’ll be staying at Sharon’s next time, eh?” Mark gruffed.

With that Rufus sprinted across to the other side of the bridge.

“Told you he didn’t like Sharon”, Mark grinned, “I’ll go ahead and see he doesn’t wander off too far.”

“Wait for me Mark. I can’t cross this bridge on my own.”

“Guess Rufus ain’t the only one getting old.”

“Its got nothing to do with my age. I’m scared of heights.”

“Why the hell did you agree to go on a trek then? What did you think, we’ll be going to the middle earth?”, said Mark, who was already half-way across the bridge.

“I can see now that it was clearly a mistake. Now you’re coming back here or what?”

“I better check on Rufus first. Come on wifey, you can do it. Its just a bridge.” Mark got off the bridge and went after Rufus.

“Mark. I demand you come back here… please. Please, come back. Mark! Maaaark! There’ll be no breakfast for you for a month. Six months! I mean it!”

She stood there with tears in her eyes. The place looked the best like never before. She had been to this place since she was a kid. She was born and brought up in this heavenly place. But she wasn't sure if it was in fact heaven as others believed it.  She doesn't remember since when but she would often walk through the market place and take the small path across the tea plantation to be with herself. Be it in happiness when she would have felt like sharing it with her mom or in her sorrows when she would like to weep in her mother's lap. In her tranquility she would many a times remember how she had seen her mother being brutally killed by her drunken father's tyranny.

Shakti doesn't even remember how old she was when her helpless mother had left her all alone in this world. But her mother had no other option left when her husband had sold her off to a rich tourist from France. It was then that she had given poison to her 5 year old kid before she had jumped from the 'Heaven's Terrace' believed to be the most beautiful tourist attraction in the Western Ghats. Though Shakti was saved by her neighbour who found her lying unconscious in the nearby garbage bin at the end of slump where they lived but there was no news about her mother until three days.  3 days later her body was recovered by the police on the bank of the river which ran between the mountain ranges. Shakti was then brought up by her neighbour while her father had abandoned her. Her new mother, their neighbour told her about everything when she was 16. The person who brought her up was her mother's best friend whom her mother knew since her mother had arrived after getting married.

Shakti was told that her mother had gone to God’s place into the mountains since God too needed good people. As she grew older she realised what the truth was. She had always felt like being with her mom when she was here. Today was also no different when she wanted to be with her mother once again. Like never before, she felt her mom closer. She could feel the beauty of the place and how heavenly this place has been over the years. Things have changed and people around her as well. But two things are yet to change! Heaven’s terrace has no signs of change and has stood like it has been taken care of by God’s own people. The other one is her Father.

She was just 14 when suddenly her father had come and claimed to have her daughter. Upon insistence that he had no right on her, he had abused every one of having killed his wife and devastated his family. Everyone knew what he was up to. But no one could stop him from doing what he did to his wife and daughter. He sold his daughter to the brothel in the foot hill. Shakti was just a kid to understand anything about this and before she could realize, she was the prostitute who was wanted by the tourist visiting the place. Having no other choice she had accepted her cursed life and had nothing to gain and lose until she met Rahim.

As she slowly took each step towards the gate crossing the flags tied with the faith by the travellers for all their secret wishes to come true, she remembered the first time she had met Rahim.

Rahim was a guy from the nearby village who too had visited the brothel to satisfy his physical needs. His build was of a guy in his twenties. As his eyes had met hers she could see the honesty in his eyes. Though Rahim had come to satisfy only his physical needs but his eyes didn’t reflect an animal. He was escorted by Shakti into a corner room. Rahim broke the silence and asked Shakti her name. ‘Julie’ she had said. Rahim asked her actual name and this time Shakti spoke the truth though she was not entitled to do so. It was after long time that she had shared her actual name to someone. She didn’t know why she was truthful to Rahim. But there was some magic in Rahim’s eyes which perhaps made this 19 year old girl fall in love with him. They spent two hours in the locked room talking to each other. Rahim spoke about his tryst with life and how he had struggled to earn a living for his widowed blind mother since the age of 14. His mother had died a month before and Rahim was in deep pain and wanted to talk to someone. May be this is what he wanted. Shakti listened to him without speaking a word since he had paid for her. She could draw parallel to her life. She had tears by the time he finished speaking. He seemed much more relaxed and better as he had spoken out his heart to someone stranger to him. Sometimes it’s easier to share feelings with a stranger. That was the case.

Rahim visited the brothel frequently then after and insisted on paying only for Julie. When she was not available he would return back. Months passed by and they realised that they were in deep love with each other. On a thunderstorm night they were close enough and spent the whole night together for which Rahim had to pay extra. Shakti had been touched by innumerable people of who were rich, old, young and poor. She had seen every type of people who had one thing in common – an animal within. For the first time that night she had felt love. She had felt the softness in the way Rahim kissed her and took her into his arms. For the first time she had love. This was the happiest day in her life that she remembered.

Shakti was in tears, as she walked slowly looking towards the clouds that kept changing their shapes in the sky. She could see them engulf the distant mountain with their long stretched arms. She could feel the way Rahim used to hold her tightly against his wide chest. She used to get lost in his arms and dream about a better future which she could see in his eyes.  He had promised that he would soon take her away to a dreamland where they would live happily ever after. He had started working harder at the mountains cutting trees with much vigour. He had got a new life to live. He wanted to start afresh. He had to earn a good amount of money soon enough to start a new life with his beloved. He had found Shakti and of course her name which was given by her mother got the justice. Her mother wanted her to be the symbol of strength. And look today she was turning out to be someone’s strength for life. He worked harder and his visits were not that often as they used to be. Shakti didn’t mind that since she could see a bright future. She would often come to 'Heaven’s Terrace' to wait for her freedom. She could see her beautiful hut in the woods. She too had tied a flag for her wishes to come true. She knew it would come true some day. But this was not heaven’s choice.

One day Shakti fell ill and was to be admitted to the nearby hospital as her condition was serious. The reason for the sudden health problem was not known until reports came. She was infected with HIV. Heaven broke over her head. She couldn’t believe it at the first time. She insisted the doctor for a re-examination. But the report was nothing different. Her dreams had scattered. She couldn’t believe that just when she had started living and was happy with her life, God could do this to her. She had always believed that her mother was with God and it was she who had fought with God to give her a better life. And there she was achieving all she wanted. But that wasn’t true. She was once again betrayed by her own destiny.

After Rahim had come into her life, she had always declined to her owner and fought with the brutal lady who used to send her to the customer. She had told her that Rahim would come and pay all the amount for her. But it was Monsoon and peak season for the travellers to visit this Godly place. The brutal lady didn’t have any interest to lose the hefty money that would come during this time of the year. Rahim too hadn’t visited since a month. So she had tweaked Shakti’s arm and sent her to a rich man from foreign in his fifties who had lodged in an expensive hotel. She cried thinking of that dreadful night which had changed her life upside down.

She didn’t know what to do. Rahim was unaware of it. She wanted to meet him and hold him in her arms for the last time. But she didn’t. She had earlier denied meeting him when he had come to meet her. She had been ignoring him for more than a month now.  She knew Rahim would never leave her and she didn’t want his life to be spoiled. Thus, she had decided to go away from his life. She was now at the gate where she knew was God’s own place. It looked like never before. She could feel her mother waiting for her at the other side. She could feel her Mother embrace her for the first time. It was bliss.  She felt like in the arms of nature. There was a sense of freedom, to have been freed from the shackles of this dreadful life. Her mother must have also felt the same. The place was so peaceful. She could feel the pain of departing from the one you love. Fifteen years before her mother had left her apple’s eye behind and today she was here leaving her life.

Was she actually taking her life away or was it Rahim’s?

Posts on this prompt:

Postcard by Joaquin Carvel

Sanatorium by Sarah Hina

Entombed by Metaphoracly

Vacation by Lena

Homecoming by Margaret

Coming Home by Karen

The Right Thing by Aniket Thakkar

With all flags flying

And purpose, face the challenge;

With all flags flying,

Your standard, raise with glee;

With all flags flying,

Your banner, determination;

With all flags flying –

The best that life can be.

The flags waved gently in the breeze. Red, white, green, blue – all the colours had merged into one for her. She had been standing there awhile – waiting. It seemed to her everything had receded into the background – the sound of the wind, the water gurgling past below the bridge, the trees making that special whoosh whoosh noise. All of it had disappeared.

She remembered a time when everything had been simpler. When he had held her hand and gently led her across the bridge. When he smiled that special smile of his, the one that made his eyes go all crinkly. When they had been together.

That time had passed. She was alone now.

She heard a cry from mid-way across the bridge, 'Mommy!!' Her four year old stood at the other end, impatiently waving away. Her all pink outfit stood out starkly against the green and brown mountains. Her curls (so much like his) feathered around her face.

How bravely her little one had ventured across that bridge – no looking back – just strides that had already taken her little feet some distance away. She wondered if she had the same kind of courage.

And looking at the child, she took her first step forward, hesitantly smiling…