What If..

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 7; the seventh edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

He glared at the languid silhouette in the corner of the capacious hall, rage and fury flaring in his eyes. The pain was unbearable. An excruciating force was gripping his heart. He was too numb to feel. He clasped the machete so tight that his knuckles turned blue from lack of blood. His forehead and elbows were badly bruised from the clash earlier. But the agony and distress within him was making him callous on the veneer.
Crouched in the corner of the tenebrous hall, she shuddered. She was too shaken to cry out. She whimpered under her breath. She had never seen him like this before. The light from the streetlights reflected on the edge of the machete. Drops of blood trickled down the slick blade, spotting their new beige carpet. She wanted to fall on her knees and cry out. But something within her refrained her.
As he staggered towards the silhouette, bits of his past flickered through his eyes. The first time he had caught a glimpse of her he knew that she was person he would grow old with. She was the person he would sit on the porch with and look at stars in a clear night sky. She was so naïve yet exotic, so serene yet vibrant. When he had confessed his love to her, she had coyly nodded her head. Few months into courtship, he had proposed marriage and she had graciously consented. Two weeks later, they had tied the knot and moved into their Home, this house.
The blood tainted beast masqueraded by darkness, closing up on her, did not resemble the charming young man she had married. Those bloodshot flaring eyes were nothing close to the alluring eyes the love of her life had. A fiend had taken over her angel. The first time she had seen him, he had approached her with a bunch of white lilies, her favorite flowers. He had instantly stolen her heart. She was heads over heels in love with him. But she was dreading the moment, the moment when she would have to disclose the truth about her. Her anxiety coerced her to tuck her past away.  
He gazed at the frail crouching form in the corner. For a split second, his gaze was softened by the love he harbored for her. But a voice in his head bellowed at him. “She is a seething liar. She has used her cloying demeanor to allure other men into your Home.” Hatred and fury flashed in his eyes. He couldn’t believe his own thoughts. But his eyes couldn’t have deceived him. Today he had waited in anticipation outside the house for his adversary to arrive, the machete on his side. He had his moments of diffidence a few days ago. Today was the denouement.
She had been in an impasse ever since that anonymous man had showed up at their doorstep. Her better half was away for work.  He was in his late 50s, with a Porsche and a receding hairline. He seemed weirdly familiar to her. He showed up more than often at her doorstep, always in the absence of her husband. He offered exorbitant gifts and flowers. She spurned them all. Today he pleaded for a few moments to spend with her. That she couldn’t evade. She faltered. The predicament became leaden. He was the man who had compelled her mother to..
 “You Ho’! I won’t be fooled by you anymore.” He spurted out.
..compelled her mother to take up prostitution. That man was her Father.
He had felt an eerie gratification, a queer abatement of his agony as he had slashed the throat of his adversary. He had granted them no time to comprehend. Her dazed expression could not veil her agony. That infuriated him even more. In that instant he had committed himself to..  
She could see his rage going wild. Her mind and body were incapacitated. The remorse and lament held her back from elucidating and justifying herself. She had resigned to her fate. It was her redemption for keeping the truth from him. He moved faster across the hall. He hovered over her and heaved his arm. She peered at him for the last time, her eyes filled with tears. Before the machete could slash into her flesh, there was a deafening bang,
The machete was heaved high up in the air, all set to carve through her tender flesh. Before it could reel down, there was a smoldering pang in his back. He could feel the crimson spread across his clothes.
His lifeless body slumped on the ground. She couldn’t endure the pain in his eyes. He was still breathing. His breaths were short and he was gasping for air. She wailed at the top of her voice, “He was my father. But I had nothing to do with him. I loathe him. Why did you do this.. I loved you, I still love you and I will always love you.”
Each word lacerated his soul and severed his heart. He could feel his life drain out, but more than that he felt  remorse for his judgments, actions and most of all, his temper. His anguish and hatred flowed out with his cardinal fluid. His eyes were teeming with tears. It wasn’t for the pain or the fear of death. It was sheer despair. Despair at segregation from his Love and only he himself was culpable for it.
As she watched the cops take away his lifeless body, the only thought that she could conjure was that now she had a lifetime ahead of her, a desolate and solitary lifetime, to speculate.. to speculate What If..
What if.. she had confided in him? What if.. she had shared with him the trepidations of her heart? What if.. she had relied on him? Perhaps he would still be with her and they would have had a beautiful life together.
As he succumbed to his injuries, the last thought he had was regret and lament. “What if.. he had the fortitude to confront her? What if.. he had believed in his faith? What if.. he had harnessed his temper? Maybe he would still be with her and they would have had the life he had dreamt of. What if..

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Image Courtesy: Deviant Art

38 Opinions:

Tulika said...

Relationships turn out be such quagmires in the presence of obscure inhibitions .

I loved "What If"..
Kept me glued till the very end.Impressive write up.. :)

Vibhuti Bhandarkar said...

Superb vocab; and amazing narration..very gripping, gory and touching all at the same time..gr8 going!!
ATB for BAT-7

LITTLE ON THE EDGE said...

WOW!......AN INCREDIBLE READ.loved it!

Anubhav said...

Wow !

Amazing writing style. The scene comes alive and you can almost feel the love and the pain of the couple. It's gripping to say the least.

Amazing. I repeat - wow !

Siddhesh Kabe said...

hey the naration is cool....nice!!!

Sureindran said...

this one is seriously great! Keep it up miss!

nil said...

I swear on you. I had tears in my eyes by the end of it. Annyesha,I don't know how you do it,I really don't..But the way your write things with so much simplicity yet such a passionate connection with the eyes of the reader.....
God..

It was a brilliant,mind capturing,heart stealing piece. God bless you,and the pen and paper shall always follow.

All my love,
Nilanjana.

PS-check your gmail spam..

Karthik said...

Whoa!!! Too bloody good, Annyesha.
Very dark and gripping. I loved the narration. Some people write only dialogues and call it narration. How absurd! They should read this story and then they shall know.
It's marvelous, it's compelling, it's apt, it's Annyesha! ;)
One thing I expect in a story (be it action, drama, or thriller) is intensity. And I wasn't disappointed. I'm truly amazed. Loved it to the core. :)
Cheerios!

Unknown said...

Too good.. am at a loss for adjectives here... just loved the narration... A very apt use of the topic given... Kudos!!!

Makk said...

Ahm..

Good luck for BATOM.

Ggr888 post.

Abhishek Behera said...

*wow* awesome.

p.s.: the dictionary came to my rescue :)

Shruti said...

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!
Ditto Karthik's comment! Actually am lost for adjectives! Superb Annyesha!

Tavish Chadha(sensible-bakwas.com) said...

brilliant narration... loved it completely... really awesome!

MADHU RAO | (INDImag.COM) said...

Sorry, late here , was tied up resurrecting my site ..

Wow ! That's some prose there :-) . Love your style and language (what's new, have told that empteem times :-) ).

A compelling read.

Good luck !

The West Wind said...

@Tulika: Thanks a lot. I am glad I could keep ur interest.

@Vibhuti: Thanks a lot for the kind words and Goodluck to u too.

@Little On the Edge: Thanks

@Morgankuze: Thank u. I am happy I could bring the scene to life. After all what else does a writer seek.

The West Wind said...

@Siddhesh & Sureindran: Thanks a lot. Such encouraging words are always helpful. Thanks for dropping by.

@Nil: thanks dear for all the best wishes. I am so happy that u like to read whatever I churn out. And u not only read but feel my words. And I loved the award.. thanks a tonn again.. I have put it up here.

The West Wind said...

@Karthik: Ur one of the people whose feedback I really look forward to. To be appreciated by a master story teller like u.. perhaps my lucky day. U gave me the smile of the day. I had tried my best to make it as intense as possible.
PS: I so loved ur 'What If' that I am totally overwhelemed. I guess thats what I am gonna dream about tonight.

The West Wind said...

@Tamnaya & Makk: Thanks .. I really appreciate ur feedback.

@Abhishek: Thank U. Grateful to the dictionary as well.

@Shruti & Tavish: I am so grateful that u liked it. I really appreciate feedback from awesome writers like u.

The West Wind said...

@MadhuJi: I am totally flattered by your words. I just read ur post.. and it was so amazing. I am on cloud 9 that u like my post. Thanks a lot. Goodluck to u too.. I am so going to torn between voting for u and Karthik..

harsha said...

excellent narration, gripping and interesting, loved your post, i think 'simply superb' is the word to describe it.

Anonymous said...

Loved this. Again ur narration style is amazing. You chose the words wonderfully.Good luck to u!

Neha said...

all have said what I would have said too...excellent one..loved it..

Shilpa Garg said...

A very different plot, beautiful characterization, amazing narration and a wonderful story!!
All the best for BAT-7!
Cheers :)

The West Wind said...

@Harsha & dilontherocks: Thank u.. Good luck to u guys too..

@Neha: Thanks for reading my post.. and appreciating it.

@Shilpa: I am glad u liked it..it means a lot when it comes froma wondeful writer like u.

swayambhu said...

Beautifully written. You held my attention till the very end....wonderful post! All the best for BATOM.

Also, your blog looks very nice!! Its my first visit here, and I'm impressed. Very impressed.

Megha said...

So well weaved...nicely written...I like it :)
All the best.

And your blog template is awesome.

Anonymous said...

Haunting. There seems to be a slight twist towards fantasy! :)
The story and the picture go really well together, and with your blog theme too! :P

Mural! said...

I've seen people with a good vocabulory....i've seen people who can narrate with elan.....and now you

was completely hooked though I could guess what might happen next :P
All the best for BATOM 7

The West Wind said...

@Swayambhu: Thank u so much. I am glad I could keep your interest. As for the blog, I had no idea about html so I have put in a lot of work into it. Welcome here.. do keep visiting :) Goodluck to u too..

@Megha: I am so glad u liked the post and my template..uff hours of mehnat :) Goodluck to u as well.

The West Wind said...

@BlabberBlah: Well yeah this is totally the product of my fantasizing mind.. doesnt have anything to do with reality whatsoever. Maybe or maybe not this can happen in real life. Welcome here. I hope I didnt scare you away..

@Mural: I guess it was a little bit predictable.. but I am glad I could hold ur interest until the end. Best of luck to u too..

Dhiman said...

Though I could guess the relationship of the woman and her father but still read till end just for your narration compelled to go right upto the end...

Mahesh Aadhya Kalal said...

I read it....
read it again..
will read it again...
I am considering this for voting ....
I will read it again after BAT 7...
I will comment once i feel gratified with the post....till then i will be reading it again and again....
I mean it.

What made me to write this unique comment is "Narration" of the post.

Kudos and hats off ....

PS : Am deliberately avoiding some adjectives to use them later.

The West Wind said...

@Dhiman: Thank U.. As I said before, the twist was not that unpredictable I think. But happie that it was worth reading.

@Mahesh: What can I say.. I thoroughly flattered.. and totally over cloud 9 that atleast someone will be reading my post again and again.. Thank u for coming by and also for the awesome comment. Ur comment totally made my day :)Thank u so much..

nil said...

Lady,i just can't get over this post. What writing lady,what writing!

nil said...

Oh and thanks for putting the award up! It was my pleasure :)

buckingfastard said...

i luvd ur use of words!! made da whole read quite articulate... da build up was impressive but thou i da climax was bit guessable..kept me hooked!! :D

The West Wind said...

Nil, thank u so much.. And the award .. it was an honour for me :D

The West Wind said...

@Buckingfastard: Thank you for the kind words.. the climax was oretty predictable I agree.. But then I am glad I could hold ur interest :D

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