NIGHTFALL


A tiny crimson smudge on the horizon was all that remained of the sun.
All of a sudden, the park emptied.
Gangs of strays noiselessly slunk away into the growing dark.
Visitors, young and old, made haste to leave,
Even the usual stragglers began trudging their way home.

I quickened my pace,
Trying not to look at the now forbidding Banyan that loomed in my path.
Trying not to think of its invisible inhabitants,
Trying to subdue the growing disquiet in my heart amidst
Trilling cries of strange birds
And mournful howls of unseen hounds  Sounding more like disembodied voices
Urging me to hurry on and not stop
Or look back,
Lest I confront my own demons.

                                                                                 - Renuka Rane