Coveted
And unto He cried….
The sun was setting. The ground reflected its crimson glow. He sat there. Against the dark silhouette, his face grimaced with an angelic disposition. His bare body represented the ‘freedom’ he longed. Slowly the shackles of society and the fetters of shyness were moving towards him. He led out a cry. A scream if you may. The scream was not out of pain or desperation. It was his heart’s cry. For once he wanted to let her know, how much he loved her. For once, he did not care about anything, anyone. For once he wanted his heart to take over.
“Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon
thine arm, for love is as strong as death.”
It didn’t matter to him if she loved him back. All his heart needed was a little acknowledgement. He was fed up of putting up pretence. Hiding behind a happy face, only he knew the depth of his solemnity. That grin was tiring. Suddenly he realized he was nothing but a joker. The painted face was a tool to camouflage the bruises of his soul. A seagull nearby was preparing for a flight. As a child he had read the story of a sparrow and a boy. A boy who was, once in love with the most beautiful girl in his class. And a sparrow who was so moved by the boy’s love, that she sacrificed herself to break a curse that would enable the boy to win his love. Sitting there, the man thought was he the sparrow or the boy?
Stirred by the sudden noises, he saw the branches had started to grow on him again. Should he succumb or should he let go? ‘And unto he cried once again’. The harder he tried to let go, the stronger their hold grew. The last ray of sun saw the last bare part of the man getting ‘hidden’ again.
P.S. this post was my interpretation of the picture. Taken from the profile page of Mr. Siddhant Karnick, the model. Photography by Vivek Tickoo; Art direction &pp: Sarbani Pradhan; Special effects make up : Rita Verma. Model Courtesy: Talent Hatz Entertainment.
