THE SECRET OF THE EARTH

She was crying uncontrollably on my shoulder. There was nothing I could say to comfort her other than holding her in my arms very tight. I stood there in that alley, our usual meeting place, dimly lit by the generous rays of the sun, who seemed to be the only one in the realm of nature who stood by us, our love for each other. The rains had stopped falling. The winds had stopped blowing. Everything seemed to have come to a standstill.

As I stood there watching the people of the Muslim community walk to the station as flocks of sheep, I thought about myself, about her and about everything that was happening around us. Our separation was inevitable. All the forces were against us. Religion had made us all blind.

I remembered one statement Gandhi had said. ‘An eye for an eye has made the whole world blind’. But there I was, vision unstirred, standing witnessing probably the greatest tragedy of mankind. India was to be split into 2 separate nations. The other named as Pakistan.

We would never see each other again a few hours from now. One of us would go away to the promised land, to start a new life, a new nation, all in Allah’s name as promised by Jinnah.

I could see her family looking for her already. I would have to let go of her, watch her walk away from me, my life. I hated Mr. Gandhi for doing this to us. People said that he was the only one responsible for this separation and I believed this. Many of our young minds were infested with plots to kill this man who denied us our love and our rights.

She looked me in the eye. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. And the very plight of not being able to hold her in my arms forever was like 2 knives stabbed deep into my chest and being tried to pull apart.
Strangely I didn’t cry. I was feeling an upheaval of emotions. Anger, revenge, love, desperation, all you can possibly think of. All of these could be strong enough to dry up your tear glands I thought.

‘I cannot do this. I just cant!’ she said.
This was it. If I didn’t do something now then it would be too late before I could do anything later. ‘Look at me love’, I said. ‘Listen to me carefully. No matter how far we go, my love for you is not going to fade at all. I will love you till the end of my life and beyond. You have to go now’. She clutched me ever firmer. I knew she had understood and that I meant it. I pulled up her chin and kissed her. I felt her touch as I had never before. And it would remain with me forever.
She looked at me again, not crying this time. ‘I love you’, she said and ran away into the sea of people. I lost sight of her within seconds.

I walked out of the alley. From a distance I could see the calm sea of people turning into a storm. A storm that may change the face of this land forever. I looked down at the earth. It was red in color. It was really strange when I felt that the earth wanted to tell me a secret. I bend down and put my ears to the ground. Within the grumbling of the earth I heard something. Not surprised as I was, I too wanted to share with the earth my secret. I picked up a handful of red earth in my right hand and saw it escaping through my fingers as I held it tighter.

By that time I had removed the pistol from my pocket and was holding it in my left. I rechecked if it was fully loaded. I did not want any one bullet to go astray. And I walked into the storm to find the man who was responsible for my loss.
Years later I stand in front of that alley. Running though the reels of my memory. The wound on my heart did heal but had left a big scar, which reminded me of her and nothing else. I looked down at the earth. The mounts and contours had indeed changed, but the color was still red.
I at once knew.

I smiled.

I knew I could trust the earth.