Can you hear that?

Typewriter

16:41 - “To those who leave their homes in the cause of Allah, after suffering oppression, We will assuredly give a goodly home in this world: but truly the reward of the Hereafter will be greater. If they only knew!”

Friday, January 30, 2009

Inspiration Strikes at Random / 11:39 PM

The Boy, The Girl and The Book

Tick tock tick tock...

The sound of the clock echoes in the hollow halls of the almost empty school. A little boy sits alone in the corner of a classroom. His hair was covered in a thin layer of dust, as if he died and stayed in that position, untouched and unmoved.

“Meow... Meow... Meow...”

The boy remained still but he seems to be listening quite closely for another sound.

“Meow... Meow...”

The boy lifts his head slowly, revealing his electric blue eyes that seemed like devil’s eyes in the dark room. His head shifted slowly to allow those beautifully creepy eyes to survey every inch of the room. His features, although equally covered with dust as his hair, were amazingly perfect.

“Hmm... nothing. I’m probably ima...”

His eyes slowly widened as he stared at the corridor outside the dark classroom. Something or someone had left its spot.

Bang!

His eyes quickly shifted to the corner furthest from him where a few chairs seemed to have been knocked down. Something was in the room with him; he could feel its presence in his guts. For the first time in months, he was not alone. He wasn’t sure if this was more comforting or frightening.

“Na na... Na na na... Na...”

His ears twitched irritatingly as he heard a girl’s voice singing a song with only those few words. His body was drenched in his own sweat. The girl’s voice was both soothing and creepy. Somehow, he decided it didn’t matter. For some reason, he felt as if he had heard the strange song before.

He stood slowly, gripping the legs of tables and chairs around him for support. He took a deep breath of the musty smell of the classroom. He resembled a lifeless doll, moving only because he has to. He moved slowly towards the cluster of chairs that were knocked down when the ‘someone’ moved. The song starts to get softer.

The boy was suddenly determined to see the face of the intruder and walked slightly faster. His feet seemed to have forgotten how to walk after pretending to be a statue for so long. Now, only the tune of the song can be made out.

He walked even faster, as if afraid that when the song ends, the singer would vanish with it. In his haste, he almost tripped over something but he didn’t give it much thought. What matters now is that there might be someone else to share his loneliness with him.

He stood in front of the clutter of fallen chairs and found a pair of beautiful emerald eyes staring back at him. He remained at that very spot transfixed by her gaze. She was holding a storybook close to her chest. He stared at the book, momentarily at a loss for words.

For so long he wished for someone to talk to but now he just doesn’t have anything to say. The girl continued to stare into his eyes, as if she thinks they’re a beautiful set of eyes too. After awhile, her hands moved. The movement was so sudden yet slow.

“I’ve finished reading it but we could read it again together if you want.”

The girl held out her hand to show the title of the book: The Cat’s Tale. It was a story of a cat that got lost but no one could understand her distress because all she could say was ‘meow’. He knew this because he too had finished reading the book.

“Okay.”

The boy was a little puzzled at his answer but he sat down next to the strange and beautiful girl anyway as she opened the book with a smile, a smile so flawless even with the thin layer of dust on her hair, face and hands. He felt his mouth making a weird shape and realised he was smiling. He felt as if he knew her somehow and he held her hand as they started to read together.

“Doctor Adrian! Where’s my boy? Is he alright?” a mother cried in the busy hallways of the Chestnut Grove Hospital.

Doctor Adrian started scratching his nose a little. He did this every time he was nervous.

I hate being the bearer of bad news.

“Mrs. Evans, I really hate being the bearer of bad news but your child was found beneath the ruins of his school after that earthquake. Don’t worry though, he’s alive but I’m afraid he’s in a coma.”

‘Don’t worry’ was probably the worst advice to give to a mother who had just found out his son was found beneath the rubble of his own demolished school. Naturally, Mrs. Evans cried even more as Doctor Adrian brought her to Leo’s ward.

Scratching his nose all the way to the ward, Doctor Adrian asked Mrs. Evans to try and suppress her tears and led her into the dimly lit room.

“Mrs. Evans, please try not to shout ‘my baby’ in this room, it’s not going t...”

Doctor Adrian seemed to have lost his train of thoughts. He stared at the handsome young boy lying on the hospital bed. He couldn’t be sure if he had seen what he saw.

“What is it Doctor Adrian?” Mrs. Evans asked, finally aware that he wasn’t telling her to control herself anymore.

“Nothing.”

No, there was something. Doctor Adrian was sure now that he had seen what he saw. The little Leo Evans was smiling for a few seconds and at the same time muttering the name ‘Sadie’, the name of the girl who was found next to him with a book in her hands.

Obviously, he didn’t want to make Mrs. Evans wail even louder so he decided it was best not to tell her yet. But tired Doctor Adrian knew that wherever young Leo Evans thought he was, he was not alone.

Written by Hazwan Norly