A face in the dark

Pravesh Parekh, Amity Institute of Biotechnology

He quickened his pace as he neared his home. It was only nine and the usual hustle bustle of the city life seemed to be missing that day. The light cast by the halogen lamp on the deserted street made the place look more hideous than it really was.
“Why can’t they have decent lights?” he silently sulked as he tried to make his way through the lonely street. Though, it was a residential area, there was hardly anyone around. He read out a silent prayer and wished he had company in this dark and cold night. However, only eerie silence greeted him.
All of a sudden the street lights went off and darkness enveloped the entire area. He stood there frozen till the time power came back. The screeching sound of an owl perching on a nearby tree made him jump out of fear. To add more to the horror, a cat brushed past him forcing him to let out a scream and by the time he regained his composure, the beast had disappeared into the darkness.
Suddenly, the lights went off again and it was the soft tapping sound of the stick that echoed in the air. Slowly, the sound kept growing louder and he could discern the outline of someone walking with a stick. He turned around in alarm but could not see anything. Soon an advancing dark shadow of an old and fragile man came to picture.
The sight made him take to his heels but apparently the other person was able to keep pace with him. Panting heavily, he turned around only to see a wrinkled face of an old man with glaring yellow eyes and a noose around his neck staring at him. He made a dash towards his house and crashed into the arms of his surprised mother.
As he battled to let go off memories of last night, the news of the suicide of an old man in the daily made him jump out of his bed. The report said an old man was found hanging to death from a tree and the doctors had estimated the time of death to be around 8 PM, an hour before the incident took place.

END

   POEMS  

Nisheeth Saxena, Amity School of Communication

My beatitude slips away like an unwelcome guest,
knowing that all those things we love,
we possess gonna die someday or end.
This is where you walked away without a word
and I kept thinking about the end.
This is where you felt alone,
when I was with you till the end,
this is where I never wanted to go without you!
End, this is where you begin and I END.

Silver lining

Ishani Raj, Amity School of Engineering and Technology

When you can watch the night crawl,
in front of your eyes
When you can hark every torpid second
of the clock roll by,
When the gloomy clouds hover over
your malicious fate,
When you ask your moping heart,
is the silver lining of your clouds lost?
Wait for no light from the outside,
trust the oblivion rays that
pervade you inside,
No sorrow is mightier than the joy of your life,
wither every agony and pain,
languish each grief and woe, with the silver lining that lies inside you. 
Listen to your soul, resurrect your wisdom,
devour your misery with the aim of triumph.
Every pain becomes dwarf with your
monumental insight when you
fathom the power of that inner light.
There you will find the eternal silver lining for every cloud.