In the soft limelight that pair of eyes held him captive. They reminded him of deepest pools of black water untouched by the sun, shimmering softly in the light of a far away star. They were so dark, but shone from a light within. There were both a predator's intellect and a prey's Innocence in their depths. There were secrets, lies etched on each swirl of the iris but at the same time there was a blunt honesty in that straight gaze. The moment his eyes looked that way Omkara knew he would probably not sleep that night.

Raising a nonchalant arm he let his fingers wander. Although the time had hardened his senses his fingertips were as responsive as ever, they smoothed out the softness and a lazy smile curled his lips. The polish could have deceived someone into believing the stone was a live skin; only the absence of warmth broke that illusion. The black stone was curved into a statue of a woman. Each of her features so accurate that he almost hoped there would be a beat under the palm he kept on her heart.

In the edge less light of the gallery she stood motionless, wordless and heartless staring at him with those half hooded mysterious eyes.  The agent bounced on the balls of his feet, unable to contain his excitement as a lazy smile curled Omkara's lips.

"Didn't I tell you, although the artist was a little inexperienced the artwork was worth all the money?" He said in a gushing voice his own eyes wondering over the stony features.

There was no reply.

"Isn't it completely marvelous job Mr. Oberoi?"

Still the silence prevailed. Unable to wait any longer the agent stretched out an arm to touch him on the shoulder. According to him the man was speechless after witnessing such a masterpiece but in his excitement he missed the bitter look that crossed Omkara's eyes.

" Do we have a deal Mr. Oberoi?"

Omkara stepped back from the circle of light, his expression blurred in the shadows of the night.

"You have a deal Verma," his tone was measured. " Quote your price and..."

"I don't think even five millions would be too much for this one Mr. Oberoi as you can see..."

With a simple gesture he silenced the man.

"And," he continued as if Verma did not speak at all. "Make sure he doesn't sculpt again."

Verma watched him frozen in mid sentence, his mouth hanging agape. Without letting the man utter what he was thinking Omkara turned to leave, his heels muted against the marble floor.

" For someone of your standing jealousy doesn't suit well Mr. Oberoi," the words called after him.

He stopped but did not interrupt the words hurled at him. " This is a lifetime's effort of someone, a man's dreams and hopes, an artist's soul!"

Omkara bowed lightly.

"His soul is a little too pure for my liking..."

Letting the words trail off he walked out, unconsciously feeling his pocket for the mobile he had kept in silent mode as he fetched his car keys along the way.

The words that he did not utter resonated inside his head, in a lull of incoherent thoughts.

"Too much emotions, too much pain. Those eyes reminds me of everything I've left behind, of everything I once was. Those weak moments, wrong decisions, everything for which I had to pay when destiny came collecting. I shall never return to that phase, no man should...no man should."

*

The ghostly moonlight made her shiver, each shadow seemed to chase her. There was no end to the maze of forest that laid before her, or the footsteps that followed behind. Beneath her naked feet twigs cracked into two, their sound was loud enough to be heard for miles. The anklets weighed her feet, holding her back like shackles of gold. With each step she took they screamed to the night, announcing the traitor who was tuning from her destiny was here. She did not have time to stop, remove them and run. For each second she wasted breathing cold puffs of night air brought her closer to a cursed life. Lungs burning, skin stinging and eyes blurry she continued to push her way through the labyrinth of nature.

No prayer came to her mind anymore, no faith she could hold onto remained.  There was only a crazy need to escape, a rush of adrenaline that kept her going, going and going.

The mess of blackness thinned. The forest was clearing. Her wary muscles moaned of the effort and her mouth gasped for burning gulps of air.  With the last of energy she could master she broke through the forest canopy and barged into the road. The night was thick and she had no idea where she had ended up in.

She strained her ears to catch the sound of the chasers behind but instead a different sound reached her eardrums.  A chill of fear ran down her spine but her feet  dug to the asphalt refusing to save her life once more.  The ocher headlights of the approaching vehicle blinded her vision for a moment. She did not move even an inch, just raised a uselessly numb arm to cover her eyes against the stream of unforgiving light.

"I want to live...I had always wanted to. To dream, hope, see the world...was that too selfish...too much to ask for?"

The thought froze on the surface of her mind and the blunt pain came. The cool depths of darkness and the hard ground embraced her at once.

*

Like a curse it seemed to follow him; the haunting shadows of his past self. They had peeped from the mysterious eyes of that black statue. Strange. That statue had been of a bride with so much emotions etched into her. Running from it he had knocked  down a real, breathing bride.

Blood as dark as the dress she wore pooled on the cold ground. The girl still had her eyes opened. He kneeled, watching the life fainting from those strangely dark eyes. They resembled the statue strikingly.  She blinked at him, raised a hand with tinkling glass bangles.  Blood was running down her forearm, dripping from the broken glass shreds.

"Are you death?" She muttered with a wistful smile.  "You're so eager to take me aren't you?"

He said nothing in reply to those whispered musings as he pulled her up, carrying her back to his car. Her bloodied mess of hair cuddled against his heart as he lifted her in his arms.  

" I want to live," she continued to mutter, slipping between consciousness and hazy unconsciousness.

"Stay with me, don't close your eyes," he replied effortlessly.

In the grip of that moment he forgot how much he had hated seeing those eyes on stone. How he had ran away from them.

" Stay with me."

*

For a moment there was darkness which slowly melted into colors, mist rearranged itself into shapes. She blinked once, pain nipped at her forehead. Pulse throbbed against her temples. The sun was rising outside the window she was staring at. It was an unfamiliar room. Heaven?

It won't be so painful then right?

Hell?

After all she had been living there for decades.

Slowly the recollections of the previous night returned. She heard the drip of her IV, saw the nurse dozing off on the sofa and recalled the long haired man whose shadow was the last thing she had seen. He was real then, not a fragment of her imagination. After being out cold for hours her brain was functioning sharper. They did not reach her. She was safe...For the moment.

"Miss!" The nurse was awake. " You're up!"

She looked at the woman warily. Her mind working on the thousand possibilities. As usual her survival was in her own hands. There was a certain quality about those who knew when to embrace the shadows and bid their time.

" who are you?" She said slowly. " Who - who am I?"

*

You made it to the end, thank you so much for giving it a chance!

I'm so sorry if it was disappointing.

Very keen to hear your take, do share your views!

Love,

Sakura