Two Sides Of A Coin

SHA' TARA

MARIAM

I had to stay in the hospital an extra day, so that they could do a final check-up. After the doctor assuring my mum that it was just mental exhaustion and shock which led to me fainting, we came home with the assurance from the doctor that I could go back to my normal life, and I need to stop over working myself and stay away from what triggers my mind.

Now I was in my room drinking tea and eating the puff-puff my mum earlier made; and sure enough, I was thinking of what Malik said, who was I to judge? Besides it was my curiosity that almost made me die, literarily, but I still wanted to know what happened. Do we have people like him in this world, are there others that have up to five people sharing one body, like the legion I have heard about, what if he’s -?
I wasn’t able to continue my train of thought because my head started pounding, and it took everything in me not to shout, I didn’t want to scare my mum again.

So I dropped my tea on my bedside table and went to lie down, I needed to stop over thinking; but that seemed like an impossibility with me, because my mind went back to Kucheli again, was I offended that she didn’t come in with Malik?  No. I looked up at the covered painting Malik dropped by the hospital bed when he came to visit. He didn’t need to tell me it was from my friend because I knew; also I had not opened it because his speech was still ringing in my head like wedding bells.

However, my inquisitiveness got the best of me, and so I stood up and went to my wardrobe, where the painting was leaning on it, the other side of me wanted to check, the other part of me dreaded checking it, what if she painted something I didn’t like or something I won’t understand until I ask her? If the painting was something I wouldn’t understand then I’ll just pretend I do and tell her thank you. But the truth is, I had a feeling I would comprehend and I might not like it.

I carried it to my bed and put it in the centre, it felt a bit heavy and it was quite big, I gently tore out the brown paper covering it, and I was blank when I saw it.
It was grey all over with just some splashes of colour in some places.

The first thing that caught my eye in the painting was a man in the middle; his upper body was hidden into shadows that surrounded the painting, only his legs  and both of his elbows down to his hands were exposed. On the man’s left side, there was a girl, whose face was covered with a big cape, only showing her lips, which she was biting intensely; as if to prevent herself from talking. However, the tears running down her face proved otherwise, and on her chest were her heart was supposed to be, there was a big hole, in which the man was stuffing money, plane tickets, shoes, clothes, medals, while the same girl on his left; strongly clutched unto the arm stuffing the things even to the point that the man’s arm was bleeding a little, like she was silently to stop what he was doing.

Focusing on the man’s other side there was another person, who was on the floor, facing them both, while the person was, lying down on his/her side. The person on the floor by their feet, held the other hand of the man, while gently touching the feet of the other girl. The person on the floor just had a big long shawl covering them from neck to toe, only the head was left, the person was painted in such a complicated way that you wouldn’t know or make out who it was. Was it a male or a female? One wouldn’t know. 
Behind them, the darkness clouding them was midnight blue, and you could make out a woman’s hand, with long manicured nails, coming out; her own face was in the form of smoke, from her head to her nose, she had a sinister and crazy smile, because only her mouth was left to show what her face was.

The woman was coming out of the darkness, because half of her body seemed to have merged with it; making it look like she was stepping out from evil itself. Whereas her other evident half  wore a red, silky body hugging dress, that reached to her feet but it also had a deep long cut at the apex of her things, showing smooth long legs. It looked like she was out to seduce and kill at the same time. The three people in front didn’t know what was happening behind them, neither did I.