THE AIRPORT TALK

The man proceeded towards the lady seated at the corner of aisle 4..He rather plodded to her, an aura of confidence reigning in him as he took a seat beside the lady..From what he made out,the lady was crying profusely-tears trickled down from her lachrymal glands as if water leaking from a tap..The man brought out a newspaper from his attache and feigned  getting engrossed in it, but all the time kept a keen eye out for the girl.. When it had gotten to a point that it would seem rude,the man blurted

:"You okay miss?",hiding a carefully structured smirk.

The lady retaliated rather: "Do i look okay to you?..Do people bleed tears when they are teeming with delight?"

"Sorry mam,i don't know for i haven't cried in my life. So by my standards it is rather odd.",came the man's witty reply.

He also added :"I didn't catch your name mam?"

The lady sobbed :"I never mentioned. Hi!i am Clara",and directing a hand out to shake she further said :"And you are?"

The man replied coldly : "Call me Mr.X,eh?",and a convex curve appeared on his face.

For a tiny moment,the lady's face lit up as she said :"o ho,trying to be mysterious,are we??..okay then Mr.X it is!!"

Mr.X now improved on his posture,as he leaned forward,and in a manner that said "I am ready to accomodate your thoughts" all over and he asked: "As far as i have heard that our flight is an hour late and given the complex web of life it is likely that we may not ever meet again.So as far as i am concerned it is better emptying out before a stranger,than somebody you know cause they won't judge you."

Clara : "Do you want me to share??..And even if i did you wouldn't understand me cause probably you won't be in a position i am in."

Mr.X :"well give it a try!!..who knows,life works in ways neither you nor i can fathom..Just give it a try..I assure you one thing-a patient ear and a cold heart",again hiding a grin.

Clara : "well even emptying myself won't help cause i won't ever get over this..You see on Thursday i came home from office with loads of presents for my little brother-he was going to be 12 that day and man o man was he excited??..:)..My mom made his favourite chocolate mousse and dad was supposed to be giving him his very first bike..I and john,my boyfriend,were there too and so was my sister..You could say that we were all happy like hell as it wasn't only a birthday but a reunion of hearts that beat the same tune-love!..Everything was fine until,until....",and stopped,she couldn't proceed.

Handing out his bottle,Mr.X said: "Drink and breathe.You will feel better."

Clara gulped down waters as tears now bolted out of her eyes..

"Proceed",said Mr.X..

Clara : "A hideous dark hooded monster of a man broke the door with a deafening thud..he stormed in,paralysing our reflexes, shot my brother in the head..We were all stunned,shocked,spell-bound as screams and wailings of my mother pierced the air..The whole house had then turned into a slaughter-house..4 bullets!4 bullets was all he took..first my brother,then my boyfriend,mother and finally one for my father..i broke down in agony..all my foundation,my memories,my elixir of life wiped away within seconds..i shrieked in agony as pain crippled me in every way possible..i begged him to kill me but a devil that he is,he spared me and left me to brood to death.Now Mr.X,tell me how can you relate to me??..Right now i am leaving my life back in the place which i thought to be home and on my way to a new place in search of answers or death. So now you tell me."

"Pathetic,"he said,"I am really sorry for your loss. BTW can you describe the man,or should i say the monster of a man?"

Clara :"what?..That's the question you ask??..Tell you what he is the reincarnated form of the devil..why?why?..what wrong did they do?..my brother,he wasn't even twelve.!!..I curse that man with all the pangs of life and may he face the same,only then will he understand."

Mr. X replied :"I am a psychiatrist and i was trying to read the dark corner created by that "monster" in the corner of your heart..So,you say that that "monster" should suffer the same,eh??..As far as i know,or as far as i have learnt :"To err is human,to forgive is divine!"..why don't you advocate this in your life..you will feel much lighter!!"

Clara : "And i am a student of physics..According to me life is governed by Newton's third law :"To every action there's an equal and opposite reaction!!..what do you say to that?"

Smiling a grin,the man,or Mr.X said :"Okay,fine then.So you would want the same for that "monster's" family,am i right?"

Clara : "Yes,obviously!!..He won't understand otherwise!!",her voice carried the roar of thunder.

Mr.X :"So allow me the opportunity of telling my own story..when i was small ,6 to be exact,we lived in small town off the shore..we were a happy family-parents,two brothers and an elder sister whom i adored..Then one day when i was in school,i heard a tantrum coming from down the road.we all escaped from the clutches of our headmaster and ran off to see what was the issue..I found people gathered about our little farmhouse in large numbers. what i saw was something beyond description,all my family,each and every one of them was shot in the head by a shooter who robbed them off everything..And guess what?..it was my sis's 12th birthday!!..Later the shooter was caught and even served jailtime..That day i promised myself that i will get my justice..i kept a close lookout for that man from then onwards..Found out that later he improved on himself and made a life and a family.The same questions that haunt you now,haunted me then!!..And likewise i too never forgave him cause as you said :"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction",right?..BTW,don't you wanna know the name of the shooter,Miss.Clara?"

A bewildered Clara uttered :"who?"

Mr.X :"Mitchell Stevenson."

Clara's eyes opened wide :"my my my..???"

Mr.X :"yes,my dear,your father!!"And the shooter who killed your family,a monster,as you say was born out of the actions that shook me to my very root.I didn't kill you that day because i wanted to tell you this today so that you will find logic in my actions..You can't deny your own words that you have said and neither can i but we both deserved to know this...You yourself on your own terms told me in a way that what i did was the humane enough to keep me sane even after killing or should i say avenging my family's slaughter."

Words halted in Clara's throat as she couldn't bring herself to say anything.Her mind screamed to her as she couldn't come up with a reaction..

Mr.X proceeded on :"But you see i haven't forgiven myself..i have committed a crime which is not a crime on our terms,right?..i lived to die on this day..and die i will!!..My name is Andrew Simpson"

Saying this he handed over a cheque to a statue like figure of a person-Clara ,took out the gun from his attache and shot himself in the head...