A night without end

The days of Lira

Lira waited for a confirmation of the time and place for her classes from Ceasar. She was excited to know what is in store for her as she decided to take a break from her traditional studies and looked at her music career. She loved her mother and felt her struggle. She wanted to achieve much as she felt there were many stories left to be said through her songs. But whenever she started something seemed to whisper not now. Her melodies she felt were often not her own and painted pictures of a childhood she did not have, a romance she has never felt, a pain or loss she had only felt once when her father died. But the pain she felt was almost physical so she learnt to distance herself from that music, consciously choosing ones where there was no pain or darkness only light. Music that did not make her feel despair but hope, not darkness but light.

Fasi understood her deepest wish of a musical career while Elena her mother wanted her to be made traditional in her pursuits if studies. Ofcourse music and education could go hand in hand but she still chose to take a break for an year to decide on it.when Ceasar's option was given by Fasi, she knew she was blessed. Now she tried to be patient. Ceasar had not wanted money for her classes. He said to Fasi, he needed none and was happy to coach her. She was starting to doubt it. 

She picked up her phone and tried calling the number was Fasi had given her. It did not answer. After much thoughts , she sent a w******p introducing herself as Lira, the girl who you will coach ..

The message came in the evening giving directions of the place to go at seven in the evening. It said , "Dont be late." She reached five minutes later than seven to find a dark house looking infront and no response to the bell in the front gates. She waited for half an hour, all the while feeling some one watched her which was impossible as the house was on an empty stretch of private road. The night started to fall and she picked her phone to message again. When a response came," Come on time. 7Pm tomorrow."

She cycled back, often wondering if she was being followed. She could not be sure but she thought a dark bike was always near. The next day, as she started there was a storm, sudden. The weather forecast never indicated it. Caught in the wind and dust and partially blinded for leaving her cycling glasses back home, she desperately messaged afraid that now Ceasar will refuse to teach and coach her. Suddenly a strange thought came in her mind ,was his name Ceasar.. was there another name.. She was shocked to see that she had sent that message. A message came back, " My parents call me King, I was called Raj before , I am Ceasar to my fan, but if you are to be my student you will call me Kaiser. My student will call me Kaiser." 

She stood transfixed as in her childhood the hero she dreamt of was often called Raj by others and Kaiser by .. a lady whose face was partially in veil. The veils were lifted when the lady, met the Kaiser of her dreams. But Lira always saw a long shot and one day when she tried hard a voice had whispered, look at the mirror. She had stopped trying after that a little shaken and not wanting to know the meaning . She feared she would need help as her neighbourhood uncle who was eventually abandoned by his wife and family for he kept seeing flying horses. Aunty had told Lira,"Richard is not mad but evil. I see him sharpening knives and he says he will be attacked.Never go to our house when I am not there."

Lira wondered why she thought of that uncle today. Was it because Aunty was the one who looked after her when she would be home earlier than her parents. Uncle had never liked it. He used to come round shouting at Aunty to return and look after her own kids. But Aunty was immovable. " My kid is twenty one and twenty two and able to look after themselves. " 

But life often appeared to Lira as if an alternate reality, she heard it all but she often felt like she was watching it from a distance. The usual emotions attached to these conversations was something she never felt. It was as if she could only love a few and that was limited. She wondered often if the deep love, emotion, l**t that her friends felt for their boy friends, lovers would ever be felt by her.she questioned how much she loved her own mother. She cared but did she love. What was love ? 

The closest she came to loving anything was music. Hence the life in music will be a blessing. She often remembered her father but as days went by it seemed Fasi's image got imposed there. She had never told Fasi but even as a child whenever she had looked at her father she had often felt a sense of wonder if this man was indeed her father..this nice, kind, dedicated man. She had felt as if the father she deserved was a cruel man. Yet the father she had was the most loving and ideal man possible, despite all the struggles he faced in life, he put his family first. 

Her childhood was a happy one, though for some reason she often felt she was livings dream, someone else's dream and her reality was in the songs and stories.. Lira realised that the storm had stopped. 

She tried to remember the faces of her songs But as always she saw a hazy shot that seemed to today flicker and disappear. She concentrated on her cycling, many of her childhood falls had been believing she was in a different land and hitting a wall literally, where there was not supposed to be one. She cycled into the driveway of the private property. She noted today that there was a heavy gate but it was open and a guard stayed in the shadows observing her. It seemed they knew she would be there. She assured herself, ofcourse they knew, she was after all a visitor with a time. She looked at the watch and it was 8 pm. Where had the time passed  ? 

She knew that the door would be closed. But it was opened today to a knock. She was instructed by a wired voice to reach the second floor West side. The strange decor of the interiors puzzled her. It did not seem like any modern house but it was all sand coloured and bare. Beautifully bare, she added. She almost hit a wall in her dream walk and realised it was a man.. a very tall man. As she looked up a pair of darkest black eyes looked back at her. The time seemed to spin and the sand coloured walls seemed to dissolve . She refused to lose consciousness like heroines of romance books but straightened her spine but looked down . The eyes were that of a predator, inhuman,brutal , vengeful ...looked down on her..

As if from the distance of time she heard a rumble ,"Finally..".

She stood still, stood straight but bowed her head.