That empty bottle on the top shelf needs a companion and so do I

By -

I was so lonely. Nearly suicidal. I needed someone to unravel the stagnancy, unearth the source of my pain and disperse it into the Ganges. I wanted salvation. And God gave me you.

'Will you talk to me today?' I texted.

'Of course. Call me after 11,' you replied.

I wanted to talk to you as a woman, not as a friend. I have a dark-shameful past which I needed to share before I could reclaim the woman in me. I took out the cheapest wine from the refrigerator. $16 bottle from Costco. I took out the tallest glass from the cupboard and filled it to the brim. One-third of the bottle was gone. I drank it in 5 minutes. Another glass in 15. The whole bottle under 45 minutes. Before 11, I was drunk, foggy and free.

You called.

'Can I speak freely to you today?' I asked. 'Have you ever not talked freely to me, but anyway, go ahead,' pat came your reply.

In my drunken state, I don't remember where I started, I emptied all that I had in me. I was digging my own past. There was dirt all over me. It was suffocating and confusing. I felt dishevelled, filthy and messy - just like my past. Fully clothed, I stood naked in front of you. You knew every demeaning thing I did in my life. I unbuttoned my top one button at-a-time. Showed my cleavage, breast, waist, and the deep-untraceable-unreachable wounds under them. You became the only man who saw the scars on my body, touched them with your words and told me to wear them with pride.  You own me without even laying a finger. At one point, I was so exhausted, I started weeping.

'Don't. Don't weep. It kills me.' There was more uneasiness in your voice than pain in my broken heart.

'F**k you,' I said lovingly.

'One day, I will,' you replied and both burst into laughter.

My memory is wavey after that. Did you blow kisses on the phone? Did you cry? Actually no, leave it. Don't answer these questions. I'll miserable if the answer is yes.

I've kept that empty wine bottle on the top shelf of my closet. One day we will drink together and there will be one more bottle to add to my collection.

Please come. Let's have a drink. That empty bottle on the top shelf needs a companion and so do I.

Location: Mississauga, ON, Canada

Comments

  1. Urvashi singhJuly 24, 2019 at 1:42 AM

    Wow u have unbelievable writing skills...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Durga Prasad DashJuly 24, 2019 at 7:43 AM

    Interesting

    ReplyDelete
  3. UppalJuly 25, 2019 at 10:09 AM

    Intriguing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AlpnaAugust 26, 2019 at 12:04 PM

    Simple yet complex

    ReplyDelete
  5. nivi_the_free_soulNovember 10, 2019 at 1:30 AM

    Lovely ♥️

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownNovember 10, 2019 at 12:07 PM

    You just touched that part of me were am so caged to even look rest alone speak abt it. U make me see it from a different angle. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMarch 5, 2020 at 3:07 PM

    Beautifully written..C.relate, I called a girl , my school friend and expressed my feelings for her, after 15 years after parting ways in school...we began to enjoy talks, video chats and conversations as we happened to live in India,Canada at that time....and then she stopped replying any further...I'm still happy that I atleast told her which I should have decades earlier....we both have hit 30 and both unmarried..I don't why I type this... anonymouity feels so free, unchained and liberated...I don't think she will, but if she happens to come back in my life, I'll show her this post, this comment, and thank the author....

    ReplyDelete

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