What a Wonderful Day

I was looking out of the window, it was midnight and I heard some mumbling discussions right outside the window, but when I looked there was nobody still I decided to wait.

Time 2:00 in the morning and I was frequently tossing and turning, with barely sleep in my eyes and an itching hump down my lower back, I got out of the bed and glared at the bed sheet it was all crumpled. I walked towards the window and instantaneously I was struck with a cold breeze, cooling me down and admiring my decision to shift to North Dakota instead of Phoenix, Arizona. I kept looking out of the window.

I was running and consistently peeping back, a guy in a black coat was chasing me all I did was kept looking at him and increased my pace. I turned my head back and I bashed into a wall that suddenly appeared in front of me. I opened my eyes and saw a bed-side table, stroking my forehead with my hand I got up and kept back the duvet laying on the floor, I was very dizzy. I opened the window and the breeze hit me again, it always a good start to the day when a cold breeze hits you.

I know it was that day. I was waiting for it since three years. I picked my jacket and went down the stairs of my apartment while rushing out towards the door, I found my leg tangled in a bed sheet all crumpled. I just cleaned my house how come I missed this mess, whatever! I will wash it later right now I have a very important appointment. I went towards the exit of my building as usual the door was rusting and stuck, I don’t understand why even I pay maintenance. I don’t want any bad mood; I went down descending the staircase. There was a small window in front of my building across the road; a lady had her small coffee takeaway kitchen. I loved her coffee and that was my first move when I head outside in the morning. I knocked at the window and wished a beautiful day, picking up my coffee mug I went towards the bus stop.

My wife Rossie and my sweet little angel April are at her Grandparent's house for Christmas, I will be joining them later, first I want to finish up with my appointment.

It was a good view as I expected, children running in the park, teens arranging their picnic date, old-timers taking a stroll and me watching them while sitting on a bench, as I expected. A hand tapped on my left shoulder I looked back it was Mike. I greeted him with a warm hug, it was years since we last saw each other, last week when I read an advertisement regarding publication house in need for writers and I rushed to call them, only to figure out it was owned by Mike an old friend. I always wanted to be a writer. Mike looked happy, we took a stroller and discussed the work. He then asked me about my sweet family, I have a small eight years old angel and a beautiful caring wife I told him, he seemed very happy for me. It was afternoon and my stomach was howling for a snack, I offered Mike, let’s have a lunch together remembering our old times, and I stomped upon a beautiful cake with my leg tangled onto a beautifully arranged bed sheet for a picnic, with an abashed feeling I helped myself get up and apologized to the young couple with embarrassment dripping off my face. They both looked at me and accepted my apology while expressing it through their smile, very good people I never knew someone could be this kind, not to create more awkwardness I rushed towards the gate of the park.

Mike and I reached my favorite food joint and I asked him to taste my favorites. I went on the drive-thru, I tapped on the window and waited for a response, a young girl opened and looked at me in anger, I was confused. She said don’t you understand it’s a drive-through and people are supposed to be ordering their meals while sitting inside their car not walking on foot. I looked at her and said I am sorry, she smiled backed at me with a delightful smile and handed over to me my regular meal, I felt bad for ordering it through this window but she rejoiced my belief in kindness, I took the drink in my right hand and my other hand reached towards grabbing the food. While grabbing my food my arm was unable to hold a tight grip and it ended up spilling over the floor, Mike said its okay while picking it up for me.

We were sitting in the parking lot enjoying our meal and he asked me about my parents. I huffed and replied, my mother writes to me sometimes but he is still not happy. My father wanted me to be a part of the army and serve the nation, but I had my plans. Now when I looked back at the disastrous sight generated by both the world wars, I feel proud I could live. I reached out inside my jacket and took out a newspaper; I asked Mike have you read today’s paper?. He nodded sideways, I read him out the preferred article I was referring to,

“A world war soldier strangled her nurse to death, doctors say he was under the medications for Bipolar Disorder and suffered delusions, he was a sniper and killed many people. He was found passed out with his rifle on the window ledge in an abandoned building inside a warzone. The nurse body was discovered inside the laundry room under the washed sheets.”

Mike interrupted me and said that’s enough, I responded ‘yes I guess’, even I am not comfortable with it. The date says 11th of November 1950 that is six days back and it’s hardly 5miles away from my place, it gives me chills. I share my condolences to the family of the nurse and the soldier, what wars have made him do.

Anyways I got to go have some errands left.

I headed straight out towards my bed after reaching home, I felt very exhausted.

The sunrays transiting through windows and landing straight on my face made me enough awake that I went towards the window with dizziness on my head and closed the curtains, there was a putrid odor escalated in the air I checked my windows but they were closed. I went back to sleep, the next I was up by the buzzing of the alarm clock. It was late. I hurriedly went to the bathroom to get ready; I don’t want to miss the coffee she shuts down the window at sharp 11:00. I was running five minutes late, I moved the crumpled sheets under the bed to conceal the mess, and grabbing my jacket I headed straight out. And I was right there was no coffee for me the mug was empty. It was my fault.

Today I had planned to go to the pool, I like swimming. The pool was open but had no other members, first I thought why it might be empty but later I realized except for me no one enjoys swimming in the cold weather. The water was indeed cold, I felt very light inside the cold water floating on the surface. My head was freed of all fatigue. Then I gave away completely and closed my eyes relaxing.

I opened my eyes; it was all dark I somehow managed to get out of the pool reaching towards my clothes; it was very cold I was shivering. I somehow managed to reach home and just go to bed.

I heard glass shattering so loud that I woke up bafflingly and looked at the window, it was broken I took out my legs off the duvet to rest on the floor and my reflexes ricocheted them by flinching. The floor was very messy and now with shards covering all over the cloths on the floor, the entire floor was messy with clothes, shards, crumpled papers, and scattered tablets from the small bottle, it seemed like no house cleaning was done but I clean it every day. Watching my steps I made way through the dirty mess covered with shards and came back with a broom to clean it up.

It was 2:00 in the afternoon I missed my coffee again, I engaged myself in cleaning the apartment.

There was a knock at the door; I heard it while cleaning the floor, after no other responses I thought it must be some other sound, engaging back into cleaning I heard the doorbell ringing. I rushed towards the door and opened it,

“Hello dad, how are you doing?” a lady in her fifties said to me.

I was all perplexed and didn’t utter a single word.

“Dad it’s me April,” said the lady while holding some family photo.

The confusion got even deeper with her addressing me as my Daughter, she was not alone she came with another lady, I was standing still and she just entered casually as if she is my daughter.

I holler at them saying excuse me, I guess you are at the wrong address.

She responded saying,

“No Dad, but first tell me how are you?”

I couldn’t figure out what exactly was going on, I asked them to please leave. I thought it's better to act as if I am leaving out for some work so that the unwanted guest will leave as well. I went up to the bedroom and grabbed my jacket and came down in the leaving room, I asked them politely,

“Excuse me, ladies, I had to rush out so I want you to leave.”

And I headed out towards the main door, I was again struggling in opening the main door of the building while rushing and struggling I dropped my jacket. I wanted intruders out of my house so I quickly grabbed my jacket into my right hand and reached towards the doorknob with the other hand; I was knocked down with a feather while looking at my arm. I was missing my arm below the elbow, I looked at it while turning my hand around. I turned sheer bewildered. Freaking out I opened the main door with my right hand to head out just to stay rooted in my place with bizarre unexpected events happening with me. While feeling stunned I just kept looking at the dark narrow stairs leading down, I gathered the courage to go downstairs and I was directed towards the storeroom. Stroking my hand all over my face I was standing, just standing. This was supposed to be the main road and there was the coffee place, I hurriedly went to open the window. There was a crooked mug kept right in the middle while water dripping straight out into the mug from the drainage pipe. I gagged in disgust and headed straight out from that place.

I came out all startled with an unascertained occurrence of the uninvited muddle; the lady asked me if everything is alright, I rushed back into my bedroom while not answering her.

April came to visit her Dad with a friend, she did it every weekend. Her confused friend asked her; ‘is everything alright' and she replied yes, it’s normal now. My dad is suffering from Bipolar Disorder, she huffed. That is why he seemed a little puzzled no need to worry it's okay. There was a lady who looked after my dad but now she is not attending calls, I feel bad that I cannot be with him for every hour. Her friend asked about his condition out of curiosity, he served in the world war at a very young age and came out as a very different person, my grandfather told me. He was filled with remorse for consecutively forcing my dad to join the army, she responded to her. April’s friend went towards her and empathetically caressed April while sharing her gratitude. April was emotional after seeing her father in this condition, his left hand is half-cut and his right leg is partially paralyzed so while walking he drags his feet, sometimes entangled items to his leg, he doesn’t realize. April added.

I don’t understand what’s happening to me, I went towards my bed making a way out through all the mess, and it was again all messy. I stomped upon the scattered tablets while going. I picked them up again filling them up inside the bottle, the bottle had a name, “olanzapine” on it, and I kept it on the table. Unable to comprehend I decided to go downstairs but I saw the lady who was assuming to be April standing at my bedroom’s door. She asked,

‘You haven’t answered my question dad?’ she said while making a bed out of messy and crumpled bedsheets.

I did not know what to do so I told her. My daughter is just eight years old how can you be…

“Dad this is not 1950 it's 2010” she replied while interrupting me.

This was getting worse and I generated trust issues when I looked myself into the mirror, I was baffled. There was a man or rather an old man standing with grey hair and grey beard with a missing partial limb and a handicapped leg. I rushed downstairs.

The floor was covered with rotten food spread all over the floor. It was a kitchen I looked at the window in-between the passageway and kitchen, a swarm of ants already gathered to pounce upon the food spilled on the floor. I was amazed. The more I was scrutinizing my surroundings the more it startled me, I saw my wet clothes right outside my bathroom laying on the floor and my bathtub filled with water, but I never kept my bathtub filled, in fact, I barely used it.

April and her friend were cleaning the house, her friend came out from the balcony with a red bed sheet and a ruined cake with fungus in it, he just kept looking while standing still in the passageway while her friend took it out off the balcony and dumped into the dumpster outside. April came down shouting, “dad what’s this putrid odor? It’s very intense?”.

While cleaning April’s friend came across an old envelope, she hollers at April and called her down in the leaving room, she asked her ‘what’s this?’.

“Where did you discover it?’ April said while being amazed,

“I was looking for it”, she added.

It was an old letter written by Sylvain Thompson, April’s dad, she told her friend. Then April took out the letter from the envelope and started reading,

 “Dear Martha,

                        I know I am late, I should have written to you earlier but due to the critical situation and malfunction in delivering messages, it was not possible to reach you but yaa now I am here, first things first I am all good no need to worry and the war is ending soon, so I will be expecting to see you soon, probably two more weeks. And hey when I will be back we all will do the thing we talked about, if you remember that night laying on the grass and I don’t want to describe it any further, you know why. When I will be back we will stroll into the park like you want, we will go out on a picnic, and we will spend quality time together. I was thinking to open a fast food joint or maybe just a coffee house, don’t worry things are going to be all good. I want you to understand that there is going to be a time where I will be sitting right beside you looking at the beautiful valley and then I will say, “What a wonderful day”. Soon. Till then keep missing me, hope to see you soon, I love you.

With love from,

Sylvain Thompson.”.

Tiny globules burst out of eyes with a running nose repetitively sniffing, April was very emotional after reading this letter, she said while sniffing that, her mother never read this letter, she was long gone before my father coming home. April went to the other room by saying, ‘excuse me'. Her friend was very touched by her condition and sat there contemplating.

It was late in the evening her father came out from his room, April handed him a cup of coffee and invited him to join them for a coffee, he was still puzzled and star-struck, she knew it wasn’t his fault, she felt bad for him. Amidst all this her friend notified about the strange odor which turned unbearable, acknowledging it April went to scrutinize the surroundings and to find out the source of this smell, she entered into the passageway leading straight to the end of the apartment than turning right and then entered into the laundry room.                                                           

                                                                           ***       

-Rohit Jagtap.