"Brethren with a mask"
Arya slowly heads back to his room. Stella was still sitting beside Maya on the bed. Arya stood on the doorway. The kitten jumped out of the bed. It then started circling around Arya's feet and rubbing itself against him. Arya didn't not lift it up this time. He kept looking at it. He then lifted his face and glimpsed at his mother, who was also looking at him but not asking anything. Their faces were full of sadness and worry of what's ahead of them. Arya's eyes then moved towards his wife. Unconscious Maya, seemed to be worry free.
Arya is now flooded with thoughts. How most of the people in the Welfare Society belittled him. Sometimes for his age, sometimes for his absenteeism. He recalled Uncle Morris's words who had bestowed upon him the responsibility of the family. He recalled how Maya has also never been interested in him. He remembered how his beloved left him years back.
"What are these papers for?" Stella asked abruptly.
Arya looked at the papers and said, "These are important. I will tell you tomorrow,"
Stella sensed that the papers were really important by seeing the way Arya was holding on to them. She understood it might have been handed over to him by the one who just knocked their door.
Arya puts the papers in his drawer. Seeing Maya asleep, He opens the book again. He starts flipping over the pages hopefully. "Unconscious walking!" He murmurs and keeps on flipping the pages of the book. Seeing Arya working on something and Maya sleeping, Stella leaves the room.
Arya kept on flipping the pages, he was tired. The kitten suddenly jumped over the table and sat down on it. It started licking itself. Arya was no longer feeling happy. The kitten was no more a reason to bring a smile on his face. Maybe it was really hard for anything to become a reason for a smile on his face now. He looked outside the window. The moon was in a full round. The sky was lit with its light. Dew droplets were formed in the leaves of the trees in their backyard. Yet… none of these were enough to bring even a little joy to this thoughtful one.
Arya sighed and looked back on the pages. "Unconscious walking" his eyes read, inactively. "Unconscious walking" He was startled this time. "Found it!" He murdered. A smile covered his tired face. Without wasting any time, he starts reading,
Unconscious, Unconscious the one who is…
Will head forth to the calling of his…
Will walk past thy house and not stop
Bringing this one back to senses is thy job
Who is the one who gets unconscious you ask?
The one who is brethren of his with a mask!
"Brethren with a mask?" Arya asked himself.
He reads again,
Unconscious, Unconscious the one who is…
Will head forth to the calling of his…
Will walk past thy house and not stop
Bringing this one back to senses is thy job
Who is the one who gets unconscious you ask?
The one who is brethren of his with a mask!
"Okay, okay what after it?... "Calling of his!" He kept thinking upon the phrases and words, " Not stop, Mask!" What is happening?" Arya thought. Everything was getting perplexing for him.
"Ah! Ahh!" Maya suddenly screams in pain. Hearing this Arya jumps off his chair and rushes to see her. She was sweating. Arya sat beside her and started observing her. She was crying with her eyes still closed, yet not moving. Sweating profusely, Maya kept on crying in pain but she wasn't moving. Arya could not understand what to do but, what he did understand was that his wife was in pain. Not understanding what to do, she held her up and hugged her tightly… for the first time.
He felt unusual, right after hugging her. It was a completely different feeling. Arya felt warm after a long, long time. Maya's screaming stopped. She clung on to him like a child. Arya had a smile on his face, subconsciously. He was trying to see her face but couldn't. Her face was partially covered with her hair. He could only see his nose and eyelashes from a top view while she still clung on to her and he hugged her.
The book still laid open on the table. Arya completely forgot about it. He was immersed in this very moment. He knew that he was somehow helping Maya to get out of her pain but he still wondered what pain she was enduring. "Why does she keep going to the lake?" He asked himself. He then suddenly spotted Maya's mouth was open. He gently lifted up her jaw to close her mouth but her mouth opened again while she kept clung on to Arya in her sleep. He moved her hair from her face. "She is cute though!" Arya thought while gazing at Maya's round face.
He started recalling their wedding day, for the very first time. The decorations he never pondered upon suddenly flashed upon him. The flowers and their fragrance. The little flower girls and other little kids loitering all around. The musicians and the music and of course, his mother's happy face and the phone in her hand, through which Wini was seeing everything via video call. He never took anything seriously.
The vaccination drive was risky and Arya's life was at stake. "But, I will do it because I must!" Arya thought."My family and the other families of this city must survive!". He held Maya and laid her back properly, with the pillow under her head. He got off the bed. "Evil must not be entertained!" Arya thought and clenched his fist in determination.
His eyes then fell upon the water jug, it was empty. He took the jug and headed towards the kitchen. As he came down the stairs, he found Stella on the couch. He saw her weeping with her head lowered. Arya rushed towards her. He kept the jug on the table near the couch and sat beside her. "Mom, you are sitting here and crying whereas you should have been in your bed now, sleeping. Did you see the time?" Arya said gently.
Stella looked at Arya. Her eyes were filled with tears. She held his face in her palms and said, "Son, my son! I can see you growing. I can see you rising. This city, it is a drowning son, drowning into something evil. Do something son, (starts weeping)... Do something. I don't know why my heart feels like saying this to you today. But, I can't take this anymore. Everything is turning gloomy day by day." Stella said and kept crying.
" And? Do you think I am sitting idle?" Arya asked and smiled.