Gabriel and the Nameless Woman

                       Mr. Lonely

Gabriel was sitting on a shore staring at the calm and quiet sea after him. The waves push through his legs, leaving his toes wet and the moon rays brightened him clearly, showing the pain that his eyes hold. Beside him lies a red small diary and a pen above it.

“Lonely, you seem. What’s hurting you that this calmness couldn’t heal” asked a woman from behind him.

Peaceful was the voice that he heeds and her beauty was astonishing. Her hair was swaying with the wind and the moon shines on her face. Her doe-shaped eyes and her lips portray an angel on earth at an unlikely time. She sat beside him and glanced at him.

“Who are you young lady and why are you here, that too at an unlikely time?” Asked Gabriel with the same wonder in his eyes.

The woman snubbing his question, moved to took the diary that set beside him. Her hands leafed the pages and her eyes quickly scanned the phrases in it.

“Beautiful are your words. There hides a lost love. Am I right?” Asked the woman.

Gabriel took his eyes from her and loosed it to the never ending sea. Small drizzles started to fall on them and the coolness of the wind surged.

           With you in that lake side, I dreamed,

           The lake that still to be discovered

           The lake that still to be explored

           But the time fades my dream,

           Now the lake or your face I cannot dream

She read a part of the lyrics written in that diary aloud. Poetic was her sound with a tune and rhythm added to it that well equaled the words.

Numbness was on his face, no smile nor sorrow when he heard her sing. But his thoughts were tightened on her identity, about the purpose of this woman’s visit to him.

“Why you read my phrases without my permission, young lady” He frowned.

“Words are to be read, my darling. Its purpose is to move from one eye to many. From one lip to many. From sound to sounds and from thought to thoughts. Cursed will be its life if you keep it shut in this small diary.” She answered slowly with the same peaceful voice.

“May I know your name, young lady?” Gabriel loosed his tightened thoughts to her.

“Name? I am nameless. I give the choice to those who needs me and it is open for you too, Gabriel.”

He didn’t ask her how she got his name. He clearly ends everything he writes with his name at the bottom. Quickly he felt her hand on him and with a gentle squeeze. The hand slowly came up and fondled his neck. She drawn him to her bosom, and she exhorted him to her.

It was after a long time Gabriel has been knowing a touch of love, a warmth of a body, a care in between two hands. Tears burst out from his eyes and he started to weep so loudly.

“Cry my darling. Let those sorrows wash off from you and blend it to the sea. Let this moon gleam on you a new light that shows you a new life. Whatever it is just free it from your thoughts and kill it.” The women pressed him so tight to her for him to get more relaxed, more care he needed.

“Sylvia you are. I name you Sylvia. That’s the name of my mother. It was she who cared me like this, gave me the love that I am getting now.” He said, still weeping.

“Say everything you wish to say, my darling? I am all ears.” Sylvia told him, allowing Gabriel to rest on her lap.

She ran her fingers through his hairs and gave a gentle kiss on his temple. The kiss relaxed him and he was free from the hard rock that was on his mind since his dark days.

“I was sentenced for 12 years and it was some days before I was released.” He started to tell her the reason for his sorrowfulness

“I was a singer in a bar long back. Dolphins Bar was its name. It was my songs that made their business grew. It was then she came into my life. Veronica was her name. She was a waitress in Dolphins. A young girl migrated from a village, far to the east in search of jobs. Innocence was on her face and her look was lovely. I soon fall in love with her. I dreamt to live a lifetime just looking at her beauty. Everything around me vanishes when she passes by. Her scent flows in the air, giving a trail to her way.” He sighed and continued.

“The days was so lively and was colorful with love in it. One Sunday I took her to a cliff which shows the calm blue ocean beyond it. It was evening and the sun was about to set. The sea birds chirped returning to their nests and the colorful fishes can be seen through the crystal blue sea. I proposed her and she couldn’t refuse my love. From then on, all was in my mind was Veronica, her smile, her scent, her village accent. So I wrote like this:

          

           O my Veronica, Mermaid you seem

           Your smile was fresh so your scent was refresh

           Song was your voice so be you are my mermaid.

           You swim in my mind and you swirl in my hand

           You sleep with me twined and woke with me shined

           O my veronica, a charming mermaid you seem

The rain poured very heavily when the song ends. But Gabriel and Sylvia sat there to continue to the story and to let his sorrows drain out. Sylvia was very impressed with the song he sang.

“From then on, all the songs I sang was written by me and was sung to impress her. I got recognition and fame within the bar circle. Many other bars contacted to me to sing for them. But I refused as my love is in Dolphins. Days passed. Nothing is stable in this world so is my happiness too. Devil started to work on things that was going smooth. The business for the bar increased and the customers flooded in. It was then a business man on his solo tour visited Dolphins. He was fascinated by the beauty of Veronica. His desires was not for love, but for sex. He needs her for his sexual desires. One day when I was singing in the bar, the owner of Dolphins tricked her to the room of Andrew, the solo Businessman. He tried to take advantage of her, but she resisted. Powerless being Veronica, she at last knifed him with a small pocket knife she always carries with her. Unfortunately the man died. She cleaned herself from the blood on her body and informed me what happened. Soon the police came and I was forced to take the guilt of crime on me for love.” Gabriel stopped suddenly to wipe the tears flowing again from his eyes and continued

“I took the punishment for her to be happy. For her to believe that nothing has happened to her life. I took the punishment just to live with her happily after a thing happened unfortunately. I was sentenced to 12 years. Till today, she hasn’t visited me in the prison. I controlled everything in the name of love. I started to write my thoughts, my feelings for her, which was like:

         Over the hills and trees we flew to the sky

         Through the clouds to the land of love so high

         We sang and danced and hugged and kissed

         And flew back to the earth, so blessed

 

         I sang to our mates on the land we saw

         For the words from them was a big “Wow”

         Smiles and cheers were trapped by a net,

         For my queen was trapped in the blue squared net

 

        My love was brave for I loved my queen

        My beak was strong and my claws were long

        I pecked and beaked and freed my queen

        But my love ends in a round strong cage

 

“I wrote many more songs and poems which was that you leafed before Sylvia.” Gabriel told pointing to the red diary that still lay beside him. She nodded in reply merely touching the diary with her fingers and smiled. Her eyes too was filled with tears on heeding his story.

Gabriel continued” I was imprisoned for our love, for her to be strong to receive me when I am free, but she was not there to receive me. Meanwhile, to escape from this cursed town she went back to her village and was later got married with a farmer.” He finished his story and was again went weeping, this time with his face fully covered with his palms.

He with cracked sound continued “I lost my valuable 12 years for our love to succeed. But that love betrayed me and left me blank in my life. I don’t know what is left in my life to live. So was I here, thinking to end my life in the never ending sea.”

“Do you believe in the quote that, ‘EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON, Gabriel?’ asked Sylvia

“No. I don’t have any beliefs now. A blank man I am”

“Listen to me. If it wasn’t for that girl, you will never identify a talent in you. You wrote many poems and songs in these 12 years not to impress her but for your own relief. Publish them all and renown yourself as a writer. Look around the perils in the world. Travel around and sing for the helpless. Write songs for the helpless. Be their voice. To unite them. There lies your purpose in life. Don’t cry for the past that has gone. It has gone and will never ever return. Think about how we can change the impact of past for a better tomorrow. Not only for us, but also for those around us. Now you sleep peacefully for all your sorrows are drained away and an idea for your life has been shined. The next morning should be a morning for a new Gabriel. Now sleep peacefully” she finished with a gentle kiss on his forehead.

The rain was stopped and atmosphere came to normal. Wind was strong which dried the wetness in them. Sylvia sang him to sleep with a beautiful lullaby.

The next day, when Gabriel woke up, Sylvia was not with him. He checked around, but she was not to be found. He passed everything through his mind once again. He reminded everything that has happened last night. He couldn’t conclude what happened to him as a dream or reality. But now Gabriel has a purpose. He was a changed man with so much enthusiasm to be the voice of the voiceless. A positive man that spreads that positivity to those mingle with him.

This man’s journey was a great revelation to those avoided in the society. He wrote songs for them. He sang for them. Everyone loved him and respected him. One of his diehard fans was the son of Veronica which dream of becoming like Gabriel when he grew up. That was a great punishment Veronica could get in her lifetime.

But still the mystery remains about Sylvia who visited him at an unlikely time and left him again in an unlikely time. He continued his travels around the world with a hope to meet her on his way again at an unlikely time.