The Unsung Hero

NOVEMBER 10, 1938 – Vienna, Austria

9:30 a.m.

“Do it! It’s what we’ve all been commanded to do, isn’t it? So go on. Pull the trigger!” Shouts a stormtrooper proudly, clad in brown shirt and black pants with black boots reaching up to his knees, flaunting the Nazi’s swastika symbol on a red band worn on his left arm. The troopers are spread across the entire area. Something’s about to happen. And in a split second, another trooper pulls the trigger, and the bullet hits the window pane of a Jewish owned shop, shattering the glass into a million pieces. And something inside me says that life will never be normal again.

Change of Heart

“Meera?”

“What’s up, Mom?” I ask, sensing something horribly wrong in her voice over the phone like she might’ve just had a breakdown.

“Meera..your.. your.. dad..” she stammers and begins to cry.

“Mom, stop crying! What happened?” She doesn’t stop. Chills run down my spine.

“Your dad is admitted here in City Center Hospital. Come here as quickly as possible,” she speaks up after crying for about a minute.

“Mom, why? What happened? Is everything-”, she disconnects.

Aiming Tranquility-2

 

In the café, I pull out a napkin from the holder and momentarily glance out of the window. It’s evening now, and the weather is perfect. The lazy wind makes the leaves on the trees shiver slightly. A perfumery of scents outside chills me up. I close my eyes and breathe in the divine air, and turn my gaze to the napkin. I unfold the napkin and with a pencil, I begin to sketch my dreams on it…                                                                    

Frozen Dreams

 

The urge to interrupt him before he has finished is overwhelming. There are so many things I can relate to; it’s as if we are soul-mates. It’s as if we were born from the same star.  Oh man, I can complete his sentences. But I remain quiet, lost in the bliss of his warm and pacifying voice.

We both are kept in different cells, but the walls that separate us have been kind enough to let our voices reach each other. We’ve never seen each other. His voice is the only thing I can feel. It is the sole proof of his presence. I can listen to him all day.

Aiming Tranquility

I wake up into a brand new world. I drag myself across the snarled sheets, draw the curtains aside and throw open the windows.  The clouds are banded together to the infinite summer sky. It’s like a dome of solar cocktail-blue.  The grass looks downy smooth. The beaked chorus of birds fills the air. Beads of dew shimmer on the satin soft petals of golden-rod yellow flowers, and the sweet taste of the fresh air is a divine charm. My mind begins to wander…