SCARF WITH LILIES

 *Lily's scarf*

The favourite shirt was missing a button, he started sewing it. age did cost his amazing talent of putting the thread into the needle in one attempt. Finally, the black linen shirt with white lily on the chest pocket was looking soo well on him. 

Mr Subramaniam was ready for the special day now.

He took a day off from his job, the restless noise of chatter in the bank and dullness of sitting in the same place use to eat him alive. 

Weekends like this and the special occasion of the anniversary was bringing out the charm within him. 

He was happily doing things for the special day.

Favourite dish of the couple and 'aged red wine' was all that he needed. 

The sofa was all grey, which was in contrast to the current state of his life. The house was clean but the webs on distant corners and old tales hiding in the photo frame made sure that they stuck around. 

The weather was exhibiting its beauty too, the slow soothing wind and sun rays refracting from the glass panels were reaching the bookshelves.

The balcony had a Normal Indian view, one corner had a rose and lily plant and the other had vines from a money plant.

 the lower storey of the house had a garland and patches of grass all over. The butterflies were also dancing in the soothing wind, It sure was a beautiful day. 

The whistle of the cooker called him inside the kitchen. The dish was ready and now he was setting up the music. Everything he was doing today was her favourites. It's been lonely without her, 8 years and four months to be exact (3043days).

The pain did fade away but the habits didn't.

 He still calls her name in a grumpy slow tone before going to bed and still made sure that the lily plant gets enough water because those are her favourites. 

 boring and so-called life was being carried away by the memories and the enthusiasm she left inside him. The music was making him all jumpy and the jazz within him made him stand, he grabbed the broom and pretended like he's holding the miss. The dance was their favourite part and jokes about how his tummy is making the dance more difficult still cracks him up. The flashbacks were making him giggle relentlessly but the smile on his face slowly faded away. The sudden realisation of emptiness made him lose it. Wrinkles on the face appeared in an instant and he closed his eyes for a while.

  He ate the dinner quietly, and the wine made him all serious so he went through the photo album. 

The old photos are making him all sobby and soft, he wiped the tears and turned off the music. 

The old glimpses are very blurry but still! The love for her was very clear. He stood up and went to the balcony, grabbed his rocking chair and gazed at the lily for hours.

"The tragic thing about life that it works as a circle but to find the ways out of stuff, you need to look for the edges in it".

The lost ones never leave us, they still reside by our heart and make us realize that life holds a certain value...the value you can't admire while living. 

It was past bedtime, he stood and went to the bedroom. He was still following this same routine for 8 years never missed any ritual.

He then opened a cupboard with 'lucy' engraved in it. fingers ran through her name and the smile with pain flashed in his face. 

 He grabbed out one 'scarf' from the cupboard.

The scarf was multicoloured, with a white 'lily' on it. The fabric is so beautiful and soft to touch, it still carried her favourite scent. She was all over the scarf smiling at him with beautiful brown eyes. 

Touching the scarf was like touching her, a touch he can't forget. The scent of her presence made him calm and ready for sleep.

 

He puts the scarf beside him and kissed it. The feeling of her presence was so surreal that he fell into sleep instantly, calmly holding the scarf with his hand like the way they used to hold each other. She came up to him, tucked in the blanket and gazed at him with the purest form of love and left into the thin air.

All the chaos In his mind and a touch of scarf !

That black linen with a lily in chest pocket is surely a lucky shirt!

~life is a dark and a shiny place, but with you my dear I'm safe! We are together and millions miles away