DIANA

Life never comes to us on fair terms. It always tends to punish more than it rewards us with and we, in hopes of a better tomorrow, surrender our desires and dreams in the lap of uncertainty. We walk past our dreams every day hoping that someday, one day, we’d be able to trade them, whatever the cost.
“Excuse me! Excuse me, Miss!”
A distant voice silenced my screaming thoughts. I tossed around to see if the sound had a face.
“Yes?” I questioned.
“Sorry to bother you, Miss, but it is not safe for you to roam around the streets at this hour”, the man in beige pants and white shirt exclaimed. “I hope you are in no trouble.”
A little hesitant with my reply I meekly answered, “No, I’m fine. I just came out for a walk.”
“You see miss, this is a very small town and this colony is even smaller, so the residents here know each other. I have been living here for 10 years now and I don’t seem to recall your face at all.”
“Uh, actually you are right. I’m not a commoner here. I once travelled past this place in the daylight and it seemed pretty. So, I just came here to discover its nightlife. Work never permitted me a chance of discovering it before today.”
“Since you mentioned that you’ve visited this place earlier in daylight, I believe you’re not a vampire waiting for people on deserted streets to feed on them”, the man said with a smirk.
“Well, then, you mustn’t trust a vampire to tell the truth”, I replied trying to match the level of his humour.
We both had a good laugh.
“Do you mind if I accompany you on your expedition?”
“Well, if you don’t have a job to attend in the morning, you surely can.”
“Quite well then, tomorrow is a Sunday”, he exclaimed with glee.
“Oh! I forgot.”
“No office goer has ever forgotten a Sunday. It’s a shame!”
I smiled feebly and we both kept walking.
“Tell me, is it your first-night escapade or you’ve been on such solo night walks before as well?”
“No, I’ve been to a couple of places but only in the daylight. Nights are tiresome after work but I wish I could roam around the streets at night more often.”
“Why do love these streets on nights? There is hardly anyone, living, to enjoy the nightlife.”
“ Because empty roads don’t question your presence.”
The man seemed embarrassed as heard my reply.
“No, no, I didn’t mean it in that way. It’s just that the lesser people you come across there’s lesser the chances of getting judged. People often judge us on a surface level, whatever they see, whatever they hear. They never know our silent stories or struggles. It’s never a fair judgment. They see us in the broad daylight with all the pomp and hustle-bustle of ongoing events. They never know how lonely and dark our nights are.”
“I feel I made too early a judgment of you. You seem to be too young to have known life this closely. Tell me, how old a vampire are you, 200?” The man smiled.
We came to a halt right before a majestic cemented structure that stood royally with its head touching the sky. “You know, someday, I’d own an apartment in this building. It must be blissful to have a place to yourself where you can always come back, a place to call home.” The chaste moonlight fell on the nameplate of the building. It read – Diana.
“I’ll tell you a fun fact. All these buildings, here in this colony, have been named after Roman Gods and Goddesses. Isn’t it cool? The man chirped proudly.
“Very much”, I commented with an air of uneasiness.
We continued to walk after the halt. The darkness of the night engulfed the street. The faint streetlights seemed tired and the moon yawned. It felt as if my sight dwindled and my sense of hearing magnified. The rustling leaves and the scratching sounds of our footsteps created an eerie atmosphere. The obscure indistinctive shadow of the trees and the towering structures seemed as if we were all in a dead man’s world. The breeze turned into winds and the sky began to weep in slow motion.
Tagore’s words began to echo in my ears as if – “the rain seemed to say – this awakening is a dream. This world is vain”. I was dragged back to reality by the distant sound of the friend-like stranger.
“Let us seek shelter under the porch of Diana”, the man suggested.
“It is just drizzling. I guess it will stop in a while. And by the time we’ll reach the crossroads.”
“Are you sure?”
“Nature can be predicted. Humans cannot. So, till the time rain is a natural occurrence I’m as sure as hell.”
“Why not be sure about heaven? Why hell?” the man questioned.
“Because I live in one!”The man laughed at my reply. It wasn’t much late when we reached the crossroads.
“I guess I should go back now. Thank you for your company gentleman!”
The man smiled. Just when I was about to leave he said, “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself to you. I am Andrew Frank, a deacon at the Church you see on the street right to you. Pay a visit to the church someday. It’s magnificent.”
I stood there in surprise. Not knowing what to say further. This might have prompted Mr Frank to take the conversation further. He asked “What are you, Miss? And how do you identify yourself as?”
On learning who I was, the deacon stood there more shocked than I did. He seemed to have frozen in his shoes. I had to proceed on the street left to me. From the corner of my eye, I could still see a shadow-like entity fixed on the grounds.
“I am Diana – a prostitute.”