One evening I was walking across a huge ground and watching the stars that were especially bright. I tried discerning shapes in the constellations and was amazed on an instance to find one that resembled a human face. A man bumped into me at that moment and asked me to help him find a cab. I hailed a few but all cab-drivers did not seem to notice me. My new acquaintance laughed sinisterly every time another cab went past and I did not understand why.
In some time the bright night got a little darker and I lost the man somewhere. Instead I had this very tired feeling in my bones. I kept looking at the stars and had a feeling that they were not as bright as some time back. I also had a very strange feeling that the ground I was strolling on had fewer people than before.
In some time something very strange happened. The stars got visibly brighter and I espied the face in the constellations just as before. I looked around with an uneasy feeling and sure enough, again there were more people on the ground, all looking edgy, some running towards the street and some idly and dejectedly sitting on the ground. I had a tremendous urge to run but I did not know where to. A kind looking man stopped by and said gently, “Sister you are accursed. Run and try to catch the 12am train if u can. It is the only possible deliverance.” I thought that he was madman talking about curses and deliverance. He shook his head sadly and walked away.
Then I discovered something stranger. There were two sets of people on the ground. One set had dejected eyes, glazed all over and grim set mouths, almost looking doped and the other set looked like regular people hanging out on a weekend night. Furthermore I found out that the regular people were not noticing the weird ones at all. I almost bumped into one of them in my preoccupation and stopped to apologize. They did not even see me! With dread I started to believe that maybe I really was part of some accursed group and with this realization, started madly running towards the station where I now saw many of the others were headed. I was not in time of course and had a stitch in my side going quite fully out of my mind with crazy fear. Again the stars dimmed and I lost my sort, seeing only regular people strolling by. Again and again this cycle repeated with me trying to reach the station before the stars dimmed but missing every time. I kept getting back at the same ground I began from and as the night progressed, the crowd of weird guys kept getting larger too.
Finally, close to a quarter to twelve, on the appearance of the starry face, I really scrunched my nose in determination and ran as fast as my weary legs could carry me. I reached the station just as the clock was striking twelve and could see a sinister black train approaching. I knew if I did not board this train I will have to live through it all again and again and again till the next new moon in my accursed life and hope to get another chance at this method of deliverance. In desperation right before the clock struck twelve and the stars dimmed again I jumped from the platform right in the way of the train and let it run over me.
The stars never dimmed this time. I was running like the wind with the train without even feeling it. I felt less fearful than before but still not quite sure of what was going on. Whose was the starry face? Yama’s? Was this deliverance? Or was I in for another cycle of penance, purging my sins and checking off my karma of many lives?
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