I sat among a large crowd of people; the situation is a bit blurred to me now. On my left a family played with a baby and my thoughts were also on that baby. A feeling of good will hovered about. I believe that I exchanged dialog with the people of the family and I wonder whether I was a part of it.
Happiness without laughter, the family is at ease with its surroundings. Being in such busy bee-like hive doesn’t disrupt its harmony. The crowds buzz around circles uninfluenced by the family and the family untouched by it.
Here my vision deviates from the baby and strays into the crowd. My eyes make contact with those of an unknown lady who at first was lovely to look at. Staring at each other for moments that must have lasted eternities, she draws in closer. She penetrates through various parameters aging incredibly until she finally violates the parameter that defines my personal space looking old and decrepit and smelling of a vagrant.
Menacing is her presence; the family’s happiness turns to caution, they laugh to distract and defend.
The elderly women looks ancient and is heavy set wearing shrouds, aprons and a kerchief on her head resembling those of the gypsy world. Her smile shows no good will, and reveals tiny dagger-like teeth ready to take bite out of you to provide itself with the merest morsel of food. The smile sits awkwardly on her weather beaten face. The sun and wind have rapped the skin of all its moisture leaving dried out canyons and cracks clinging to the corners of her eyes where once great rivers of tears flowed.
The ancient woman puts forth her hand pleading its case, shaking it, rattling some coins within it hide-like skin. I explained that I was neither judge nor jury and I apologised but without compassion or sympathy. Again she puts forth her hand, making her presence more dominating, begging for only enough to feed her unwanted children some bread and milk.
The family builds a boundary of backs; they turn away and distant themselves. Her eyes stare at mine half threatening and half pleading, enforcing fear which I redirect in self defence and intent to pierce through her eyes with an equally threatening stare. Her smile ceases and her mouth opens to attack, her words like spears penetrate through me leaving no physical wounds, no real evidence that I had suffered and injury. Her heavy harsh voice rasped with a thundering whisper which was only heard in my mind:
“I who have lived many years and many lives of suffering, who has all the scares of time engraved in onto my body, feels it my duty to share with you, one who is unscaved by the passage time, a little of what I possess.”
Before I could move or even think the ancient woman dove towards me with such speed that by the time I was able to realize what was occurring she had already kissed my cheeks with her chapped lips, cracked with dried blood. A gust of wind then arose blowing in leaves twigs and debris with great ferocity that I was temporarily blinded because of all the rubble, when it was finally subdued and the rubble lay stiffly on the ground, the woman was gone and my cheeks were left with the sensation of having been rubbed in the sand.I turned about to locate the family only to find that they have blended into the crowd looking like zebras running to and fro. My eyes struggled to focus on anything but it felt as if I were trying to make out figures on a television set that had snow on every channel. Eventually my vision narrowed to the point that I was quite myopic and at the end of the tunnel I could only distinguish blurred snow. When I surrendered my struggle to spot the family, it was already too late, the crowd was gone, the family gone with it, and my vision lost. I was left in total blackness crying and cursing the ancient woman.
Happiness without laughter, the family is at ease with its surroundings. Being in such busy bee-like hive doesn’t disrupt its harmony. The crowds buzz around circles uninfluenced by the family and the family untouched by it.
Here my vision deviates from the baby and strays into the crowd. My eyes make contact with those of an unknown lady who at first was lovely to look at. Staring at each other for moments that must have lasted eternities, she draws in closer. She penetrates through various parameters aging incredibly until she finally violates the parameter that defines my personal space looking old and decrepit and smelling of a vagrant.
Menacing is her presence; the family’s happiness turns to caution, they laugh to distract and defend.
The elderly women looks ancient and is heavy set wearing shrouds, aprons and a kerchief on her head resembling those of the gypsy world. Her smile shows no good will, and reveals tiny dagger-like teeth ready to take bite out of you to provide itself with the merest morsel of food. The smile sits awkwardly on her weather beaten face. The sun and wind have rapped the skin of all its moisture leaving dried out canyons and cracks clinging to the corners of her eyes where once great rivers of tears flowed.
The ancient woman puts forth her hand pleading its case, shaking it, rattling some coins within it hide-like skin. I explained that I was neither judge nor jury and I apologised but without compassion or sympathy. Again she puts forth her hand, making her presence more dominating, begging for only enough to feed her unwanted children some bread and milk.
The family builds a boundary of backs; they turn away and distant themselves. Her eyes stare at mine half threatening and half pleading, enforcing fear which I redirect in self defence and intent to pierce through her eyes with an equally threatening stare. Her smile ceases and her mouth opens to attack, her words like spears penetrate through me leaving no physical wounds, no real evidence that I had suffered and injury. Her heavy harsh voice rasped with a thundering whisper which was only heard in my mind:
“I who have lived many years and many lives of suffering, who has all the scares of time engraved in onto my body, feels it my duty to share with you, one who is unscaved by the passage time, a little of what I possess.”
Before I could move or even think the ancient woman dove towards me with such speed that by the time I was able to realize what was occurring she had already kissed my cheeks with her chapped lips, cracked with dried blood. A gust of wind then arose blowing in leaves twigs and debris with great ferocity that I was temporarily blinded because of all the rubble, when it was finally subdued and the rubble lay stiffly on the ground, the woman was gone and my cheeks were left with the sensation of having been rubbed in the sand.I turned about to locate the family only to find that they have blended into the crowd looking like zebras running to and fro. My eyes struggled to focus on anything but it felt as if I were trying to make out figures on a television set that had snow on every channel. Eventually my vision narrowed to the point that I was quite myopic and at the end of the tunnel I could only distinguish blurred snow. When I surrendered my struggle to spot the family, it was already too late, the crowd was gone, the family gone with it, and my vision lost. I was left in total blackness crying and cursing the ancient woman.
