I'M STILL HERE...

Here i was, awaiting the dawn,

A blank wall on my right and a sea of empty desks around,

The blackboard showed most  of yesterday's notes,

And the clock kept ticking away...

Three hours more...I sat waiting, waiting and waiting...

A dozen places i could've been at this moment,

My house? No, that was where i always cried.

My Gran's place? No, that was where everything started.

My native place? No, that's where my family was.

My best friend's house? No, she would be fast asleep.

My school? No, it makes me nostalgic.

Mt. Everest? The pyramids? Statue of Liberty?

Hell, no!! They no more interest me...

Nothing but this place... My College. My Classroom.

Time must've run fast 'cause the door opened... Finally!! 

I sat up all glowing eyes and beaming smile :)

One by one they all came, in pairs and groups.

My best buddies took their seats next to me,

The other close ones filing into the nearer benches... FRIENDS.

They're all i need now... They're all i've needed for the past month...

Lessons started as usual and went on till break.

The usual chatter,laughter and noise filled the air,

People gathered around our desk and lunches were opened.

"Hey, thats my favourite!" i exclaimed over a dish. No one heard me...

When a bottle was about to roll off, i stopped it. No one saw me...

When something funny was said, i burst with laughter. No one noticed me...

When i was jostled into the group, i winced. No one felt me...

The reason no one saw, felt or heard me was because...

Well 'cause, i wasn't one among them anymore...

I'm no longer flesh and blood...

I'm no longer breathing...

I'm no longer visible... 

I'm no longer alive...

All i was, was a mere ghost...

The imprint of a soul...

A shadow from the past...

A mere memory of a girl..

A girl who had sat in this very same bench,

A girl who had laughed with these guys,

A girl whose life had ended just a month back,

A girl who had sat here, every minute of that month...

Just to be with the ones she loved.

The ones who had meant everything to her before her death.

As if sensing my presence, i quite voice said, " I miss her."

Everyone went still, and i knew what they were thinking...

The painful memories of losing me.

I knew 'cause i had wept with them when they wept over me...

Wanting to comfort them, though i couldn't...

Wanting to reach out and wipe away their tears...

Wanting to say the words they could never hear from me...

Not then, not now, not ever...

" I'm here... I'm still here......... "