This window seat had been his object of affection but even as a beautiful landscape of lush green trees rolled by, he simply stared into nothingness. The candy he had been given a while ago had lost all its sweetness and was almost bitter now.
He had wanted to object putting it in his mouth but the stench of his motion sickness-induced vomit on his shirt which hadn’t gone despite cleaning up and the array of fresh and old hurt marks across his limbs made him follow orders and cower in terror instead.
How did he reach here? Last he knew he was playing hide-and-seek with his friends in a deserted building in the outskirts of his town. What had the stranger looking for directions offered him? Oh yes, chocolate, and not the 50 paise one he had to beg to his mother for. It looked expensive and was wrapped in a golden foil. It had literally melted on his tongue!
He had generously shared it with his best friend. Too bad, after they woke up in a room with ten other kids, suddenly he had branded him his arch enemy for pulling him in with him. He had been beaten black and blue for trying to escape once and was now sitting with the worse of the two bhaiyas they were travelling with. He hardly ever looked up from his crotch.
The bus halted at a refreshment centre. He didn’t know where they were headed or why. It didn’t seem promising. As the bhaiya sitting next to him stepped out to relieve himself, the boy relaxed a bit. This time he looked out the window and saw a couple of boys seemingly of his age playing with spare tyres at a mechanic shop nearby.
“Will I ever be free again? Can I switch this window seat with them?” he wondered.
‘This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.’
Oh this is heartbreaking. You’ve sketched the scene so well. I smell his smells and think his thoughts.
Thank you so much, Tulika. I’m glad I could create that scene for you. 🙂
so wonderfully put in words varsha…..
Thanks a lot for your kind words, Sudhir. 🙂
my pleasure……
Such a sad story…but told in such an impeccable manner. Very nicely written!!!
It is the sad truth of life, isn’t it? We see the view but sometimes it isn’t as pleasant for someone else.
Glad you liked it. Thanks a ton!
Stunning take on the prompt Varsha; something so innocuous as a view from the window seat has been turned into a serious tale of longing for freedom. Very well written, this will stay with me for sometime now.
I tried thinking of happy stories Shalz but this one kept spinning in my mind. His favourite window seat is his prison for now. How ironic!
Thanks a lot, dearie. ????
This is touching. I am overwhelmed. Something about this reminds me of a certain scene from The kite Runner 🙁
This is strange, but I felt something similar. You like that book?
I love love LOVE that book.
I was reading that book in the bus, on my way back home from work (back in Bangalore, in 2009)…and that scene I’m talking of, it hurt me so much, I was already in tears and felt so sick, wanted to puke…and got off the bus 5 stops ahead of mine and sat at that bus station, all numb 🙁 And then once I was a bit better, walked the rest of the way, completely lost and depressed. Hehe 🙂
I was at home and trust me, it was no better. I was crying like crazy the entire time I was reading. It just doesn’t give the reader any break. One assualt after another continues right till the end. What scares me the most was that story could very well be true. I’m glad I wasn’t alone. I thought I overreacted. 😉
Oh it didn’t occur to me ONCE that it was fictional. I may not have reacted the way I did, in that case.
Oh, one can never overreact to that book, I tell ya!
You thought it was real? Seriously? It did feel so, I can grant you that. It is written so well that it feels like the author went through it all. Sad, sad it is. 🙁
Your post has remind me my initial days of blogging. I had also participated in various blogadda campaign and had a good time with it. your write up was so perfect as per picture prompt. your fiction writing skills are excellent.
That is a wonderful take on the prompt. The twist in the tale and the longing at the end. caught me by surprise.
We all love window seat and now after reading this sad story we most of them go through… So beautiful expressed and well written…
I never thought you would make use of the prompt in such a way .. but lovely penned , you have great fictional writing skills
The end has such a deep meaning Varsha! Mostly what we see is just the half truth. You never know the real feelings of a person just like the boy who wanted to switch the window and be free once again.
Oh that’s a sad tale, not feeling good after reading it. But that means you have weaved an excellent story with your words. I am always amazed at your writing skills, how easily you build a story with just few words. Great work, Varsha!
Poignant tale, so well written.. I thought there was a happy ending here.. but yes, it is on the reader to decide the end.. may be he will set himself free..
Wow that’s a wonderful take on the prompt. From the view from his window seat to his desire to be free again, a lot of emotions and thoughts crossed my mind while reading this. How painful and hard it would have been for children who have experienced this in real life.
You have taken the promt so beautifully. The story is heart breaking but your take to potrait the story is brilliant.
Varsh, you have very well justified the prompt and stated a story that no child would want to be inthat position. Sometimes freedom has its own dimensions.
To write based on prompts is easy. But to take the prompts to another level is only possible by those who are immensely talented. You are that talent. ❤
You have beautifully penned it, Varsha. For a moment I felt as if I was the boy. The emotions revealed were so realistic. It was heart-touching read.
Oh lord. This writing left a hollow pit in my stomach :-(. Please do write it further and tell us how he escapes.