The mist curled up,
the tall shadows of pines
stood still on the window panes.
The smoky eyes of the night
heaved a sigh.
The spectre of a young life stubbed out,
loomed large over the moor.
Moth-eaten memories
stashed away in grandma’s trunk
stifled a yawn.
The pale blanketed moon,
the attic, the stairways, the lonely rooms
witnessed a death avenged.
At the crack of dawn,
the grey-haired keeper
creaked open the villa’s gate.
The mellow light of the early sun announced his master’s death.
Horror writ large on the time-ravaged face,
the buried stories, their ensnared tentacles
had wrung out his last breath.
The cruel hand that shot his free willed wife;
hung helpless and cold.
A silent teardrop,
the master had lost his battle with the phantom of the night.
A photo id card lying by, sent a shiver down his spine
The past had come lapping on the shores of time
The young beaming face on the card
looked familiar to the one that remained hung from the wall,
the smiling hazelnut eyes, a baby held in her arms.
The card read,
Lisa Bradshaw
Investigating journalist.
The locals confirmed seeing the young lady climb up the
moor, she had said, she came in search of her roots.
Mallika Bhaumik has published poetry, short stories, articles, and interview travelogue in e-mags like Staghill Literary Journal, The Wagon Magazine, Cafe Dissensus, Oddball Magazine, Spark Magazine, Pangolin Review, Narrow Road, Ethos Literary Journal, The WomanInc, Learning and Creativity, Get Bengal, Glomag, and others. She has won the Reuel International award for her debut poetry book, Echoes, by Authorspress, which is currently available on Amazon.
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