QUIET

Its quiet here, I’m all alone,
There is no sound at all
But of the rise and fall of my breath
That seems to fill the hall

The click of the switch,
The knock at the door
Stir me from my lost stupor

I rise, or do I?
I do not know, my legs don’t seem to move
I stare at that spot on the wall
Where the images are bright against the white

I need to pull myself away,
I need to open the door.
Coz I can hear someone out there,
He bangs the door even more.

Dragging myself with dreamy eyes,
I manage to pull open the bolt
That seems like its welded shut

Its dark outside
My eyes unfocused,
I cant really see very well
I try hard to unclutter my mind and focus at the task on hand

And then I see him
Old and wrinkled with the bluest lovely blue eyes
His wrinkles seem to ripple like the waves
“yes” I say and stand and stare at the unusual man

“Some water please child” he says to me
Im too transfixed to react
“water, child” he says again
I silently obey like in a trance

I quickly pour the water out, into a tall glass,
And run back as though
He were a bright magnet and I an iron fly

I extended my hand with the glass, still too stunned to talk
And our fingers brushed as he took the glass
COLD, colder than ice

It sent a chill up my spine
As my eyes truly opened for the first time
Because to this day,
I have never known anyone alive to feel so cold to the touch

“Thank you young one” he said
Gratitude in his eyes
And noiselessly drank the water
While my mind strained to make sense

He put down the glass on the threshold
Stood up straight and looked me in my eye
He grabbed my hands in his
The chill filled me anew

“Calm down sera, I mean not to scare, the child of one I loved
But he sent me here, just to check,
That his beloved grandchild was alright”

“Who?” I demanded with more strength than I felt
“Tell me who you talk about.
For I have never heard of you,
Let go of my hands its cold”

“Dear one, he still sings for you,
The songs of your childhood
Those very verses that gave you
The name you chose for him”

It dawned on me who he spoke of
It had to be none else
And tears filled my eyes again
For I missed him the most

“He loves you child, even now
He thinks of you all the time
And longs to carry you in his arms again
And let you drink out of his glass of wine”

I sobbed uncontrollably, my face in my hands
My body shaking as I collapsed
The tears would not stop
Of the beautiful memories, of the loss

I finally looked up my head filled with thoughts,
To ask the man what else he knew
But to my dismay and utter shock
He had disappeared

I ran to the banister
My first thoughts were “he’s a ghost”
But I saw him walking far away
As I ran onto the road

Am I supposed to laugh or cry?
At the memories that flood my mind?
Of the beautiful memories that fill me up
Of the loss that changed my life..