By Abhignya Gk
She adorns her hair with a beret.
Before dawn, she hurriedly picks up her brushes—
Oh, how could she forget the canvas?
She rushes across the road to a tall building,
presses the button—floor sixteen—
and the elevator hums its way up,
taking her closer to solitude.
As she ascends, her soul feels lighter,
for this is her only desire, her only reason.
Lost in her thoughts,
how does she find her way back to Linda?
Her precious gem, her reason to smile,
her beloved daughter—
whose soul is now nowhere to be found.
The elevator slams open,
cutting through her thoughts like a knife.
She walks into her space,
fingers gripping the brush
as she sketches Linda’s face.
Tears spill, unbidden.
She feels the separation stretch into eternity,
since the last time she embraced her.
Her mind is anguished—
they say the deepest scars
are carved by those we hold closest.
She paints her in a black gown,
the one Linda was so excited to wear.
Poor girl, seen last in that very gown.
As the hours melt into the canvas,
she feels a strange elation,
memories flooding in,
her heart swelling as she recalls
the last goodbye, the twirl of that dress.
Her weary eyes deceive her—
for a fleeting second,
the portrait seems to breathe.
Her insanity whispers,
"Linda is back."
But not seconds later, she realizes—
it’s just paint on canvas.
And hatred coils in her heart,
for the one who snatched Linda away.
She takes the portrait and hangs it on the wall.
Not one, not two, but tons—
of magnificently painted portraits,
which were just the different forms of her,
in different, intricate styles.
Why did she paint her tons of times? You may ask.
Oh, just imagine how much she loved her!
To bits, I would say.
But she was in pain,
her heart screaming in agony.
All she wanted and still craves
is her daughter.
To come back to her,
back to life, untouched,
to smile, lighting the rooms of her mother’s heart.
Yet how unfortunate!
That she cannot come.
She has already gone too far to enter this world.
As she glanced at all her portraits,
something happens to her.
She travels to another dimension,
where her daughter is safe and cared for.
But knowing she is long dead, shoved deep down,
she mourns for her moon-like face to smile again..