Amayra lives in a monochromatic world. Her world is dark and dreary. Her depression isn’t a sadness so much as an absence, an absence of color, taste, and future. She hasn’t left her apartment in weeks, and the dust is settling on her life, just like it has settled on all her belongings. The statues that she had so lovingly bought, the pictures she had found after scouring through multiple markets are all covered with dust these days.
Amayra is laying on her sofa with the same listless expression on her face that she has carried for the last two months when the doorbell rings. She waits for a few minutes hoping that whoever it is goes away but they don’t. She hears the doorbell ring again. Reluctantly, Amayra gets up from the sofa and opens the door. There is a delivery person standing there with a small package in her hand. She hands over the package to Amayra and after obtaining the OTP, leaves.
Amayra closes the door behind her and walks back to her spot on the sofa with the package in her hand. She doesn’t remember what she had ordered and she doesn’t really care at this point. She has not been to work for weeks now, has lost her will to do anything since her best friend’s death and nothing is enough to make her feel interested in the world around her.
Nevertheless, she opens the package just to see what it is. Out falls a book, it’s a small book, and the title is unlike anything she has ever read. She doesn’t remember ever ordering this book but she opens the cover. Inside is a note attached which says, “Whenever you feel lost or sad, read this book. I know it will help you in ways I can’t”. The signature reads Anika and Amayra can’t believe her eyes.
Anika was Amayra’s best friend. She had died two months ago due to a cardiac arrest that had taken everyone by surprise. Amayra had taken the news of her best friend’s death very hard on herself. She had lost her anchor, a part of her soul and now she was unable to function.
Amayra once again looks at the book. She then looks inside the packet to find the receipt. It is dated some three months ago. Anika had pre-ordered the book for her. Without giving it another thought she sits down and opens the book and starts reading. Before she realises, four hours have passed and it is only hunger and thirst that make her put down the book and get up.
She fixes a sandwich for herself, devours it with a glass of water and goes back to the book. As she finishes the book, she finds herself crying. But these are not tears of listlessness. These are tears of coping and finally coming to terms with her loss.
The book is a fictional story but Amayra finds it unnervingly close to herself. The protagonist, though finding herself backed in a corner, never gives up. She finds joy in little things in life and eventually gets back on her feet. This resonates with Amayra because the protagonist is named Anika and Amayra takes this as a sign from her dead best friend that she too must get back on her feet and start living her life.
Today, Amayra goes to her bedroom and after cleaning the mess of last two months, she lays down on her bed to sleep. Tomorrow, she will clean the whole apartment; she has decided to rebuild her life piece by piece but today she wants to sleep. She hugs the book tight, as of hugging Anika and falls asleep in a deep, calm sleep.
This post is a part of Plot Twist Blog Hop hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed under #EveryConversationMatters blog hop series.
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