16 Sep 2009
Posted by Oblivion in
Fiction
| 12:47pm
The Man Booker shortlist is out and Coetzee is in the running for the first hat-trick. May the master win! Besides Coetzee (for Summertime), the others are:
A S Byatt, The Children's Book
Adam Foulds, The Quickening Maze
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
Simon Mawer, The Glass Room
Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger
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16 Sep 2009
Posted by Oblivion in
Fiction
| 12:40pm
Yesterday.
He wanted to know how she is. Hurriedly, he mailed. To ask how she is, to tell her that he will always stand by her. He looked at the monitor; he saw her face. She was in front of him, he felt. He was talking to her, tenderly holding her hand. Wanted to hear her words. One word, at least. One smile. He would ask no more questions, speak no more words to hurt her more; he just wanted to see her smile. Expectantly, he clicked "send".
Instantly, he received a mail delivery notification. The email account does not exist, it said. When life mocks and luck betrays, the unfortunate one stands no chance. Disbelief took over. He knew it was going to happen, for she had told him. And he also knew why she had. Yet, yet he refused to accept. He sent the mail again. With the same result. He sent it again. And again. And again. It had no loophole. There was no furtive path open for his words to reach her. No generous messenger, no instant messenger, no messenger. If only he could hug her once, he thought. But melancholy was all that held him in its cold embrace. Holding so tight that it was almost choking.
In the bitterest moments of life, the only music that plays is the pulsating beat of one's heart fueled by the rending pain. A line from Coetzee's Disgrace that occurred to him a few days ago when she took the train, occured to him again: "A day like any other day, clear skies, a mild sun, yet suddenly everything is changed, utterly changed!"
It was a city of millions. Yet he felt utterly lonely.
Today.
He sends the mail again. The result is no different. He wants to see her. Her smile. He wants to look in her eyes. Once. A walk in the darkness, life has become. It's a city of millions. And he feels utterly lonely.
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