Hasitha Adhikariarachchi
Did you know that Karma reads all your thoughts? Karma was always watching me vigorously, always beside me. The greyhound sleeping on the doormat will always see through your heart. I couldn’t hide from the glance of the bearded black man sitting on the sofa. The wind is everywhere.
After I had met him, I thought you were not good enough for me.
“Maya, I can’t live without you.”
Your words were sincere. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings.
(angry) Did you speak with Karma? Did you tell him how you felt? Did he promise you to take revenge? Did he tell you I will be lonely, and you’ll be happy with a better one? I think of Karma as a greyhound sleeping on the doormat or a dark-bearded man sitting on the sofa. I think of him as the wind. Karma never spoke to me. He only watched my thoughts, words, and deeds. He never tried to understand my plight.
“Shall I buy you a drink?”
A typical pick-up line. But I let him buy me a drink. HE told me about his plans for the future. I liked him; I thought HE was better than you. I felt He liked me.
You guessed that you and I had the exact needs. But you were wrong.
Because HE understood me, I thought he loved me. So the next day, I let him sneak into my room. You didn’t know it then. Karma looked through the keyhole. He saw my naked body. The dark-bearded man looked through the keyhole. The greyhound sniffed the keyhole. The wind seeped through the keyhole.
The greyhound groaned. The dark-bearded man frowned at me. The wind formed a tornado. My friends knew it. Only I didn’t know. They told me about it, but I didn’t care. I didn’t believe them. I was scared I would never enjoy my life. Karma didn’t care that I was tired. He didn’t forgive me for wanting a break.
“Maya, you are an independent woman.”
You used to tell me so. I was on my own, and you admired that about me. You didn’t want to change me. You loved me the way I was. I didn’t like my life the way it was. Perhaps, you didn’t wish to burden yourself with my worries. I wanted you to support me, but you didn’t, so it’s your fault too.
He got a pressurised girl where he wanted, so it’s his fault too. With him around, my life was supposed to get better. Nobody could save me from my delusion.
I didn’t know that he had let strangers look through the keyhole. I didn’t know there were other men who saw my naked body.
The next day, he ignored me. You had walked away a long time back. Strangers recognised me everywhere I went. People were mean to me, so it’s their fault too.
Strangers commented on my body. They wanted to touch me. They called me a bitch. They had seen my naked body, and he had let them in. The barking greyhound chased me; the dark-bearded man slapped me. The wind formed a tornado, and I was torn apart. I was scared. I screamed for help. But you didn’t hear me.
The greyhound pretended not to hear my cry. The dark-bearded man cast aside my tears. The wind was as smooth as if there was no storm a while ago.
“Maya, I told you so,” the wind echoed my friends’ words.
“Maya, you are an independent woman,” the dark-bearded man teased me with your words.
The greyhound barked at the moon. I’m all alone in the bath.
I feel cold. Karma is watching me.
“Will you avenge my death?” I ask.
Karma is silent.
The night is quiet. The wind is calm.
I wish I had known it earlier, the ‘Karma’s law.
I only see the bloodstream coming out of my wrist.
