Reaching his destination he carefully stood on the ledge of the bridge, making sure no one was around to stop him. The wind had ceased, giving him a clear night with a starry sky. He stood, balanced, the bag filled with bricks would make sure his death would come quickly. It was the only way he knew how to repent from all the lives he had destroyed, with his lies, with his charms, with his intelligence. He never forgot what he did in Mogadishu, Somalia
Ibrahim looked at his watch. He should have been at an office meeting, where he would find out if his promotion was successful. He had applied for it months ago. But it didn’t matter to him now. Nothing good should happen to Ibrahim. Nothing good.aakhiraa u socdaa bye bye
The icy breath he drew in almost chilled his bones. It was so cold. It would be colder down there too, he thought, looking at the icy water below.
His heart suddenly shivered with deep sadness. He wished there could be another way to start over, to repent. But he had lived alone all his life and he didn’t have a counsel to tell him what else he could do. All he knew were from the dark side, business men who stole, lied to people, broke women’s hearts, killed innocent people. Just like he did.
He closed his eyes and took his last breath, but something made him put his right foot back on the ledge. A voice, distant at first, but clearer by the minute did it become. “Don’t do it,” he saw a young woman with a scarf wrapped around her hair walk slowly towards him. Fear and hope reflected in her eyes.
Time stopped as they looked at each other for what Ibrahim thought would be the first and last time…
***
You decide how this short story ends. Will Ibrahim jump off? Or will the Muslim woman save him? Or will something else happen? It’s up to you! akhristayaal
I think they should have a strained, but moving conversation about life, forgiveness, and why he feels the need to end it all…
ReplyDeleteOf course… his foot could always slip, causing him to inadvertently fall over the edge! BUT his bag of bricks gets caught on the railings, leaving him suspended in mid-air… Ironically, the very device that he was going to use to end his life, has now saved him from death. His natural survival instinct returns, and he realizes he doesn’t want to die, after all.
As I read this a particular piece and the comments afterwards, I found it interesting about the different views each one had. Here Kalif has presented us with a particular piece that is often played out so many times in reality thereby showing us the complexity of the human mind and our driving desire to belong… From my perspective and personal experiences I feel that this particular piece has the opportunity to continue into a short novel as an example. Why, because even if the man and woman in the story do not eventually find themselves in love, there is the opportunity for the characters to teach us the reader about the value of caring and life itself and that there are many reasons to live it until it is our natural time to depart.
ReplyDeleteYou have created a real cliff hanger here Kalif, sxb for which you have now brought your readers into the action. Well done…
PS: Did you ever think of or do you write on a professional basis? I ask because I find your articles here well written and intriguing to the point that I find some to be too short as I thirst to read/know more about the characters…