The myna squawks irritably before alighting on the window ledge.
One for sorrow, two for joy, I hear mother’s voice intoning as I cross my fingers, hoping to undo the curse, as the myna peers into the room, which smells of dampness, medicine, and disease.
I want to avert my eyes from the myna, but her beady, yellow eyes have hypnotised me. I stare at her instead of my mother, lying frail and helpless on the bed in front of me. The machines that keep her alive hiss and beep repeatedly.
One for sorry, two for joy, the chanting in my mind reaches a crescendo as I wait for another myna to join the first.
One for sorry, two for joy, the chant becomes mournful as the beep of the machines soon falls silent.
Harshita Nanda is based in Dubai, UAE. A shortlisted candidate for the Rama Mehta Writing Grant, 2023, her short stories have featured in many anthologies, including Lightning Strikes: An Anthology of Flash Fiction by Indian Writers. Her words have appeared on Kitaab, Porch Lit Mag and Roi Faineant Literary Press.
That ending is devastating!
ReplyDelete