You're Late Again

5th December 2019

“You’re late again!!!”

And here I am again, presenting a pink excuse, draped in an alluring apparel of lily lovely lies, to which she wouldn’t really fall, but rather just give in with a smile, surrendering to my silly smartness or maybe smart silliness.

“In all the time of dating me, 5 monsoons came and went by, and I am surprisingly staggered how none could teach you the simple skill of being just at the same time you decide…

So Mr. Ashish, how do you feel?”

—“Umm, about what?”

my nervousness fogging my memory enough to forget the wave of sarcasm that follows her words after she's practically annoyed

“About being generous to the hands of clock to let them win the race while you loose?”

man even in the attempts of trying to be the most hauntingly terrifying figure humanity, or at least I, have ever witnessed, she still looks like a manifestation of the most beautiful imagination of what one can call a blushing angle, with lips less vibrant than scarlet and more than the maroon, what I would describe as the perfect red

and what less could I speak of her hair intervening her words by tapping her forehead like a kid interferes playfully in a talking session, and much like how the mother gently pushes him back towards his play area, she gently fondles her silk dark fringes behind the back of her temples

Even within the words of wit, that try to conceal it, her care still manages to escape sometimes through the pauses in expressions of relief from seeing me, and other times through the eyes that can make anyone poet.

“How’re you always beautiful?”

Well I thought I said that in my head, but her sudden pause, blushing astonishment and the melting of her otherwise ice-speared anger said, I had said that. Subconsciously but true.

“What?”

“Well madam, you can, oh I said that, oh- wait I didn't mea-, I mean I did, but no- wait, oh OKAY WAIT, I MEAN, I mean,

you can choose to act this way, but you know that you are just acting angry, and I, I know because I know you more…

And so I apologize, and now if you allow, shall we bring the date to where it is supposed to be?"

“Fine…but don't be late again… I wonder if you'll even reach at our wedding on time…”

Late again… ha?

The curse of being addicted to not being punctual, took me 7 years to get rid of, and a sacrifice, but wait, what was it again? And how did we end up here?!

The string of blood pulled out of my head and the cuts on my hands resting on my laid arms in the blood-bathed floor of this room with a flickering bulb, dark creaky cracked walls with moss protruding at spots and scars at places, say otherwise.

And so do the eyes of tortured corpse of this man in front of me… although the flies resting on this and the 3 other cadavers in the room confirm my belief that they are dead, My bad, I KILLED THEM..

WHY?

Oh yeah, this was a romantic tale…until, 3 years ago…

9th December, 2021

"Where are you Ashish? I swear to god IF YOU GET LATE AGAIN I'M NOT TOLERATING IT ONCE MORE, TWO YEARS OF MARRIAGE AND YOU STILL CAN'T GET OVER THIS HABIT UGHHHH—”

“Calm down Prachi, I know we're going out after a while, I just missed the—”

“The clock again? Yeah right!!!!! That's your go to excuse, it's been for 5 YEARS OF DATING AND 2 YEARS OF MARRIGE, EVEN YOUR EXCUSE HAS BEEN MORE PUNCTUALLY CONSISTENT THAN YOU'VE BEEN!!”

“I swear to god your sarcasm in anger can give any comedian a run for their money”

“YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY?! I'VE BEEN WAITING AT THIS DESOLATED STREET WHERE YOU PROMISED TO PICK ME UP AN HOUR AGO!!!!! AND—”

*Silence*

“And what?”

“Ashish there's, someone I feel—, something, just went by me…”

“What? It must be a passerby or maybe a stray animal, don't think to much”

“Yeah it might be, how long will it take for you?”

“I'll be there in 10 mins”

“Okay come soo-”

*Muffled distorted noises*

“Hello? Prachi? Prachi? Hello what happened?”

“Ashi-” (in a screaming voice) HELP!!!!

“Hello? HELLOO PRACHI, WHAT HAPPENED, WHO'S THEIR. SHIT!!!!"

It took 10 mins and those ten minutes to her, were what became the headlines of the newspaper of 10th December, 2021

Woman waiting for husband at a local desolated street gets assaulted by 4 drunk men, dies of injuries before reaching hospital.

They tried to force her into rape, and when they saw my car approaching, they stabbed her right in the belly, 5 times, in anger, before leaving a suffering body, growling in pain behind and vanishing in the darkness of the night.

I was certainly not at the rightest of times, picking her up in my arms, I rushed to get her seated at the back of the car, where she held my hand with all the dying grip she had, brought me a bit closer, kissed in my cheek and with a smile of more grief, or pain, or maybe tragedy, she said, her last words

“You're late again…”

25th December, 2024

"It's hard to convince myself Mr. Ashish that you aren't the killer."

"Why would I kill them sir?"

"Because of what they did to your wife?"

"It's been 5 years to the tragedy sir, and how would I know that they had run away from jail? Someone killed them and is neatly planning to frame me for it, and you are falling into it."

"What about your presence near the murder location, seen by the camera at local store?"

"I have told you, that was a mere coincidence or probably a plan of the killer to take them to a place near me and frame me, please find the real culprit."

"Hmm.. fine we're leaving you, we don't have a lot of evidences either, you may go."

(As he turns to walk away, the cop still asks)

"If you were permitted, would you have done this then?"

"I don't know officer, but, wouldn't you?…"

Leaving it on the note, that I haven't killed the men, because I haven't, I just slaughtered the demons, I think it's about the time I should run.

Nah, not from the city, but to home, she must be angry at me.

“A chocolate brownie, an ice cream, extra large please!!”

“With a bunch of toys too, right! And she loves flowers, rose will be fine! Hope this works enough as an apology.”

Thoughts encircling my head as I opened the door and there she is,

“PAPA!!! You're late again!!!”