Hello Readers! This is a collection of 3 short stories I wrote about the lockdowns/curfews that were implemented within my country in 2018, 2019, and 2020/2021. This is the first part of the second story of the collection. You can use the following links to read the rest.
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“Happy Easter!” Maya called out as she saw her best friend, Taniya coming into their house. Taniya’s family will be joining Maya’s for the Easter Mass at their local church.
“I brought you Easter eggs”, said Taniya, hugging her friend and handing out a bag. “I’m so excited about today.”
They arrived at the church at 7.45, 15 minutes before the Mass started. The priest conducted the Mass. He also prayed for the people who lost their lives, loved ones, and homes last year during the riots. More than a year had gone by, and the memories were fading in the minds of most. But for people who had lived in the areas of these happenings, the memories were still fresh and horrifying. Maya suddenly felt an unusual feeling in her stomach. She felt like something wasn’t right. She pushed the thought away, but it kept bothering her. “It’s probably because I’m remembering last year,” she thought.
After about one hour, some police officers suddenly came into the church with the security guard close behind them. One told the priest something in a quiet voice. Maya noticed that his face had lost the merry look of Easter. He turned to them and informed them that it isn't safe to conduct the Mass now. Everybody started whispering to each other and checking their phones. “What do you think is going on?” Maya asked Taniya.
The priest announced that the Easter mass had to be canceled and everybody should be heading home. He said that anyone who didn’t feel safe at home was free to stay at the church, but it’s better to go home. Everyone poured out of the church doors and quickly headed home. Maya and Taniya’s families also got into their van.
“Mother, what happened? They can’t cancel the Mass like this!” Taniya was telling her mother. Her brother Adam was on his phone. Her little sister Anika clung to her mother’s skirt.
Maya quickly checked the news. The bold headlines in the news shimmered in front of her eyes, and they started to fill with fear. “Terrorism Strikes Again”, the words said.
“Oh no! Look at this”, she showed her phone to Taniya. “Churches and hotels bombed?” Taniya was speechless. “Churches bombed? On EASTER?’’ Maya was saying. “Have they got no feelings at all?”
“What are the churches and the hotels, Maya?” Taniya was asking
“Two churches in Colombo and…one in Batticaloa. The hotels… Cinnamon Grand…and Shangri-La” Maya was shocked. “How CAN they destroy such huge hotels. Such beautiful places.”
“Twenty-five people dead…...” Taniya said, taking the phone from Maya’s hand. “Oh, the poor souls. What a terrible way to die. May they rest in peace.” Twenty-five dead so far, Maya was thinking. She had a feeling that things are not going to get better anytime soon.
They arrived at Maya’s house, but nobody was in the mood to celebrate Easter. The adults sat in the living room discussing the crisis with Anika sleeping on her mother’s lap. May, Taniya, and Adam went to Maya’s room.
Just after Adam closed the door behind him, Maya started talking. “First it was the LTTE war. Then it was the riots last year. Now it’s BOMBS? Why is it like this?” She was almost screaming.
Adam spoke. “The internet is updating pretty fast. They say that the death toll is now over a hundred.”
“Oh no…”, Maya sighed as Adam’s phone began to ring.
He looked at his phone screen. “It’s Evin. Excuse me”. He went out of the room.
Taniya looked worried. “I hope they are okay. Their family was in Colombo today… wait a minute… Anaya is his cousin. Does that mean she’s also in Colombo? We better check on her. Oh! I really hope she’s okay.”
Maya covered her mouth with her hand and reached for her phone with the other. She dialed Anaya’s number and called. But she didn’t answer. They tried to call her three times, but she didn’t answer. They were trying to call her the fourth time when Adam came into the room. The look on his face told them that something was wrong.
“They were in a church that was bombed.” Taniya’s face was horror-stricken. Adam went on. “His family is okay. I’m sorry, but your friend Anaya and her family had been at the front. They got hit by the bomb. Their grandmother and her mother and sister are in the ICU. They… hadn't been able to save the father and Anaya”
Maya looked down, hiding her face in her hands. She didn’t want to look at Taniya, as she knew she’ll find nothing but grief in her face. Anaya had been a close friend of theirs, since their primary school days. She couldn’t believe that she was not among the living anymore. How many people had lost their friends and family like this? She wondered. Anaya’s mother and sister are unconscious probably. How would they feel when they woke up to find that they had lost half of their family. If they woke up, she thought. It’s possible that their condition was also poor, considering that the other people who were with them died. NO! She didn’t want to think about it. What was happening right now was bad enough. She didn’t want her wild imagination to make it worse.
“Rest in peace Anaya.” She heard Taniya say her voice no louder than a whisper. She could sense the grief in her voice. When she looked up, she saw that Taniya’s eyes were filled with tears. She felt her own eyes fill up. She looked down again. All three of them sat there, speechless, for what felt like forever. After a while, Adam checked his phone. “Three more explosions had happened. 210 are dead. More than 400 injured.” He quoted the news. “They say it’s a suicide bombing.”
Written in 2019
Edited in 2021
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