Regret

When the sun went down, 

And the universe was visible.

The thousands of stars witnessed

The darkest room in the city 

Always had a soul awake; 

A lamp flickering, a pen scribbling.

Pages and pages full of words.

Words of what if.

What could have been, and what is.

Words of dreams and reality.

Words that should have been said, 

But weren't, by the not-so-brave.

Words that shouldn't have been said, 

But were, by the short-tempered.

And words that were said and not meant, 

By the mouth that spoke in ego.

In the magic of stardust, 

These words transformed into feelings, 

Falling down as teardrops 

Soaking the insomniac soul, 

In regret of lost opportunities.

~ Suranya

Grave Matters

The last thing I remember I had a glass of water, and I fell into a deep slumber. I woke up feeling suffocated, unable to breathe. And before I knew, my bed seemed to be a cold marble cot. I struggled to move in the small box, dusting off the dirt from my body. Where was I? In the moonlight, I could sense I was beneath the open sky. How on earth did I end up here? I was on my bed, in my room.

I sat up and looked around. A thousand more marble cots. With tombstones. A thousand more like me roamed around the place. Children giggled. Lovers danced. Ladies gossiped. I walked away from my cot towards these unfamiliar faces. None seemed to notice me.

And then I felt a tug at my waist as I turned back, almost in panic. Your eyes met mine after an eternity. I almost choked. It's you. It's really you. Like you always were. I inspected your chest in panic. The bruises of that day were gone. I smiled, relieved. You have healed. We have? Healed. You smiled at me, took my hand and whirled me across the floor. Never in my life had I felt this light, this happy, this free.

I held on to you while you slowly let your hands slip away. I panicked. I cried. I called your name again and again. Your smiling face faded away in the light of dawn. Suddenly, I felt uneasy and suffocated. The next thing I know, I was back in my cot, unable to move till the next night, waiting to reunite with you.

A Moonlit Night

The tourists have dispersed, the ASI officer checked every nook and corner of the premises and shut the door of the wonder in marble. It was another moonlit night. He smiled, swaying the large set of keys on his way out of the premises. One of those nights, when the Taj looked absolutely like heaven was imagined to be. The silence of the place was filled with the rustling of leaves, and the moon shone on the marble tomb like a radiant pearl. In the distance, on the opposite bank, stood the Agra Fort. The marble of the palanquin-shaped roof shone as well. And the moonlight entered through the jharokha, creating a design of flowers and leaves on the marble floor of the secluded fort.
The breeze blew again. Cool and silent. Somewhere far away, the fading music of a mosque was heard. The Taj resonated with what was perhaps footsteps. She turned to see him arrive. White as the moon, his attire shone just like hers. Eyes met and smiled. It was a night of union, of two souls who were forced to stay away from each other by fate. It was a night of reunion. Eras ago, on this very moonlit night, they had promised each other an eternity at this very tomb. A war had changed everything. But had it really? Janni smiled at him the way she used to, blushing slightly, as he whispered, " I am here Princess." Chhatrasal never forgot his promise. He always came back home. To her. To them. And their love.
Eras later, they met each moonlit night, two souls, one love, on the marble shrine of love itself. And the breeze made them dance. It whispered their story. But everyone said it was Mumtaz and Shah Jahan who were united every moonlit night on their tomb. Janni smiled, holding on to his hand. No religion, no identity, no responsibility was to stop her now. She was a soul beyond a name, yet for him, she was his Janni. He tightened the grip around her hands. Tonight was about them. About their love. Secret. Precious. Immortal. Just like their souls.