Dead Cockroaches

I
My body was warm inside the blanket. It was raining outside. Thunder shook the windows and lightning sent flashes of light through the cream-coloured curtains. The room smelt of naphthalene balls which I put among my clothes for fear of the cockroaches. I shuddered with the thought of having dissected cockroaches in my twelfth class. The naphthalene smell seemed to change into the stench of dead cockroaches mingled with that of chloroform. Mosquitoes brought me back to my senses. I had forgotten to switch on the mosquito-repellent. I crept from under the blanket. My feet touched the cold floor and I liked the feel of it. I slowly walked towards the outline of the repellent. The repellent glowed red when I switched it on promising me a mosquito free night.

II
My body was warmer inside the blanket. The dawn was already awake. Amma was knocking the door. I didn’t want to part with the blanket. It had almost become a part of my body. When Amma’s knocking turned into banging I threw away the blanket. The floor was cold still. My body shivered refusing to take in the cold. I switched off the mosquito repellent and moved towards the window. There was a dead cockroach lying near the window. I turned my head away from the lifeless form. The cream curtains parted allowing me to open the windows. Birds’ chirping flowed into my room. Some bhajans also pervaded the air from a nearby temple. The peas in Amma’s kitchen garden were gleaming with raindrops. Everything was soaked in rain water. Even the sambar for breakfast seemed flooded with rainwater but was tasty. I swallowed my idli with sambar as I was already late.
III
My body was cold under the chiffon churidar I was wearing. It was raining again. My umbrella failed to protect me from the slanting raindrops. The bus was crowded as usual. Wet bodies were compressed against each other. Sweat and rainwater mixed together and suffocated me. It was a heavy downpour when I reached Kottayam. The town was also crowded with people; people getting into and out of buses, shopkeepers opening shops, students waiting for their friends, cobblers waiting for customers, people going to office and so on. I bought a coffee from a nearby café. It burnt my tongue and my taste buds stopped working. While having the last sip of my coffee my eyes met a dead cockroach in one corner of the café. There was already a procession of ants going to take charge of the dead body. I left the café with a burnt tongue and a sick mind that was full of dead cockroaches.