“Oh! God…It’s awful…something incredible. I never thought the JFK airport would be such a mess. It’s in derelict. Where gone all its splendor and majesty?” Durga said to herself, and stopped in her track. The fall, which had completely wrapped the airport in its cold spell, blurred her sight. But she could still see heaps of debris, stones and rubble all over the airport as if an earthquake had devastated it.

“Where’s Krishna?” she murmured, looking around the airport with her hands clasped and face full of horror. The lounge was terribly empty and wore a look of fright. A band of security guards were clearing the wreckage.  Durga now saw Krishna rising up from one of the heaps of debris lying in the middle of the runway. ‘Durga’ he moaned as he was running over to her with blood oozing all thro his body.

‘Krishna’, she screeched. Her voice trembled, and she felt as if someone was strangulating her and smothering her breath. She woke up with a bang and sat on the edge of the bed, ‘A nerve shattering dream’, she thought and dried the sweat on her forehead with the free end of her sari. She didn’t want to sleep again fearing the recurrence of the monster dream. So she rose up from the bed and walked back and forth her room, looking out for the morning star thro the half opened window.

When darkness was on the wane and it dawned not fully, Durga came out of her room and looked out for athai in the hall. But her m’law was not there.  She now ran helter-skelter to the kitchen where she found athai was busy making vermicelli pudding for breakfast.

“Are you all right, Durga?” athai spoke warmly. “Why did you get up so early?”

“I’m all right, athai. But I had a bad dream the night before.” Durga said in a voice still tinged with fright, and sat on a footstool near the sink. “Do dreams foretell something, athai? I saw Krishna standing amidst debris of JFK airport with blood streaming down all over his body. I’m very much scared. I don’t know what the dream portents? I won’t call it a dream but a nightmare. It still sickens my heart”

“Don’t get scared? Krishna will be right. Athai spoke softly and soothingly without looking at Durga as she was still stirring the pudding with a ladle. “All expectant mothers do have such ominous dreams. Don’t read too much into them and make you scared. It’s not good for the baby you’re carrying. Chant ‘Rama Nama’ twenty one times before you retire to bed”

Durga nodded reluctantly, went out of the kitchen and then started doing her morning cores with her lips chanting’Rama…Rama’ But, however much she’d tried, she couldn’t drive away the shadows of the dreams from her mind. Lurking inside her heart it came bouncing upon her on and off.

Long and hot was the day. Durga had a catnap in the noon as she didn’t have a wink of sleep the night before. When she woke up, she still felt the heat of the scorching sun in her room. Suddenly she thought about her appointment with Dr. Lakshmi, the gynecologist.’ How will I go out tomorrow braving the scotching Sun.’ she moaned and switched on the TV for watching one of her favorite serials. She was disappointed a bit when the serial was put off giving way to a special news bulletin. Durga became curious.

“Today a Black Tuesday for America”, the newscaster, a flamboyant young lady who is known for her dimples and wide blue eyes, read the news in somber tone. “ Terrorists, having hijacked four civilian planes crashed three of them into the Twin Towers and made them collapse. Pentagon was also hit by another plane. Over 5000 people are feared dead.”

Durga felt thunder-struck. A big shudder passed thro her body, but she continued watching T.V without batting her eyelids.

 News footage now showed the collapsing of the Twin Towers. They were plummeting into the street below. Pedestrians were seen running along the Brooklyn River. Interminable billows of smoke hung over the Manhattan sky. Red tongues of flames melted the monumental structures of the Towers. The Twin Towers, one of the world-renowned monuments, which stood against ravages of Time, were heaps of debris now.

“Krishna”, Durga screamed her head off. She felt her adrenaline pumping through her body. Wild thoughts started rattling her head making her suddenly remember that ‘Enrow’, Krishna’s office, was in the 60^th floor of the collapsing Towers. With her heart skipping a beat, she felt dead for a moment.’Krishna, where are you?’ she burst into tears and cried convulsively. For a moment she thought of running over to her mama and telling him the blood chilling news about the WTC.But she controlled herself thinking that it would give jolts to the old man who was convalescing after a massive heart-attack.

News channels were still flashing out the heart-wrenching scenes that were witnessed in and around Manhattan. Hundreds of panic-stricken people were running hither and thither in search of their relatives or friends. Some people were running from out of the heaps of the debris with blood oozing from their wounded bodies. Hospitals went haywire, not able to accommodate all wounded patients.

Durga took the remote and flickered off the TV, as she couldn’t bear watching the blood curdling scenes further. ‘I want to see you, Krishna. Right now, I want to see you,’ she wailed.

It took a helluva of time and efforts before she found herself standing on her legs. She then fumbled her way to the pooja room. She stood before the framed photograph of Lord Rama, held aloft her folded hands and then prayed: ‘Oh! Rama, save my Krishna…’ her voice trailed off with tears rolling down her cheeks.

The moment she got out of the pooja room she felt better and strong. She suddenly saw streaks of light in her otherwise cloudy mind. ‘Krishna, what a fool I’m? She scolded herself in undertones. ‘Nothing will happen to you. You’ll be all right. What rattle my mind are assumptions, fears and wild imaginations. I should get rid of them. Lord Rama will be with you, Krishna.’

She then walked lumbering into the hall and picked up the telephone.”Durga. Look over there”, athai shouted from the kitchen. “It’s raining. Unseasoned rain. Not a good omen.”Durga looked out of the window and saw the downpour. It hurt her a little, and she felt scared inexplicably. But she did not give in. She bestirred herself and rang up Krishna’s New Jersey apartment.

The phone was ringing endlessly on the other side. There was no response. She gasped for breath. To her annoying, the voice mail chirped in:’ do you have any message for Krish?’ ‘Krishna, where are you? The happenings over there shocked me. I’m on tenterhooks. Call home” Durga spoke rapidly smothering her cries.

It was still raining and she smelt a strange odor coming from the soft, damp earth. The fact that Krishna was not in his New Jersey apartment gave tremors to her chicken-heart. She trembled as she fell again into the vortex of imaginations. She now felt sympathy for the baby in her womb. She fantasized hearing a tiny voice calling her ‘amma’ from her paunch and dabbing her tears with little, nice hands. She gently stroked the mound of her belly thinking that would soothe her tiny tot. She tried to calm herself again, and dialed the’ Enrow’.

“Hi, this is Enrow. What I can do for you? A grim woman’s voice answered.

“Excuse me”, Durga stuttered and her voice broke. “ I’m Durga, calling from Chennai. I want to know where’s my husband Krishna? I rang up him in his New Jersey apartment. But, I got no response”

“What did you tell his name, mam?”

“Krishna… Rama Krishna”

“Plz tell me your phone no. I’ll check up our records and call you back ASAP.” The line went dead the moment Durga gave her phone number.

“Durga”. She now heard her mama calling from his room. She hadn’t seen him since morning.’ Poor man, he will fall dead if I tell him about the catastrophe the Twin Towers had.’ She said to herself. ‘Durga” mama coughed and called her again.

She now reached the sink in one bound, splashed water over her face and dried it with the palluv of her sari. After tidying up her hair, she ran over to mama’s room. Dropping her head down, she tried to put on a fake smile on her lips.

“What’s wrong with you, Durga? You look crest-fallen” Mama spoke quietly, looking deep into her eyes.

“Nothing mama. I’d headache but it’s gone now”

Mama became silent as he went into his usual trance. The silence in the room was so intriguing that Durga wanted to break it.

Have you ever been to the WTC, mama?” she tried to be casual feigning innocence.

“O, yes… many times” Mama came out of his reverie hearing the word WTC.It enlivened his spirits suddenly. Durga now saw a flicker of light in his eyes.

“WTC…a nice and wonderful building” His eyes went wide when he said this” It’s a tribute and a standing ovation to the American architectural excellence. Both the Towers are of same height around 1300ft. I had been to the top of one of the Towers many times, Standing over there I’d often wished to pluck the moon and stars as they seemed parking themselves on tops of the Towers. What a fantasy… this catching of moon and stars” Mama laughed.

“Krishna’s office is in the 60^th floor. Isn’t it, mama?”

“Yes dear, you’re correct. Enrow is in the 60th floor. Krishna is a workaholic and he always stay late in the office.” Mama’ spoke proudly about his son.

Durga pursed her lips tightly lest she would break out the news, telling him that the Twin Towers had since been razed down to the ground by the terrorists. The Towers are now only heaps of debris. So, Durga now wanted to stop talking about the Towers with mama and go out of his room. The ringing of the telephone in the hall gave her the wanton excuse.

“Hello”, her voice quavered

“Mam, this is Enrow. What did you say? Is your husband name Rama Krishna or Radha Krishna. We want to make ourselves sure about the name as we’ve so many Krishnas in our records.”

“Rama Krishna, sir”

“Thank you so much. Sorry to have disturbed you again. We’re now rechecking all our records. Will get back to you soon.” The voice trailed off and the line went dead again. Durga flung herself on the floor with disappointment. Her eyes spotted the framed photograph of Krishna hanging on the wall. He was all smiling, and his eyes were glistening with charm and radiance.

She could still remember the night when Krishna, on completion of his leave, was packing his things up. He would leave for US the next day. Durga sobbed uncontrollably resting her head on Krishna’s shoulders.

“There, there… stop crying Durga. He stroked her head, pinched her cheeks and whispered. “What’s this? You’re crying like a child. After all I’m going away from you for a year only. I’ll be home this time next year. What then? I’ll take you and the baby to US. Don’t cry as if I’m going for good.”

“Don’t talk like that, Krishna” Durga wailed again. “I need you, Krishna. I want you to be with me all thro my life.

The next day Krishna took leave of her after kissing he passionately. She went along with him to the airport and saw him off with pounding heart. When the plane took off and went up tearing the sky, she walked out of the airport like a corpse.

The telephone rang again making her to jump out of her sweet and sour nostalgias. She got up and picked up the receiver.

“Mam, Enrow again. We have good news for you. Your husband is safe. He is now in Santa Clara attending some business. Will call you soon. ”

“My God! Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.”

Durga hung up with a sigh of relief, and felt suddenly a surge of new blood running thro her veins. She was all smiles now and her face became more gleamed. ‘Oh! God you’ve saved my Krishna.’ she cried aloud, ran to the pooja room, and prostrated before the framed photograph of Lord Rama. She sat in the pooja room for a while as she wanted to assuage her battered mind and trembling body. She then stalked into mama’s room.

“Mama, don’t you know the news.” Durga spoke matter-of factly and her voice was clear. “Terrorists have struck down the WTC. They crashed down planes into the Towers and razed them to the ground. America is shell-shocked. Go watch. Mama. TV cannels are flashing out all the gruesome scenes.”

“What do you say, Durga?” Mama jumped out of bed and shouted loudly. “Is it true? What about Krishna?”

“Krishna is safe, Mama. He is now in Santa Clara attending some business. I’d checked up with ‘Enrow’”. Durga switched on the TV.  Athai and mama now sat on the sofa motionless with fright writ large on their faces. Durga sat on the floor resting the chin on her hand, and her eyes were fixed on TV. Commercials were now on the run.

The Enrow’s Information Bureau, which was opened temporarily at Manhattan, was in jitters. The Bureau was flooded with people who were roaming about all through the building and enquiring about the whereabouts of their relatives or friends whose photographs they were holding on their hands. Both the inland and overseas phones were ringing endlessly. A retinue of beleaguered and overwrought staff were attending the phones and answering the queries with suppressed emotions.

The CEO of the company was in rage. “What’s her name?” he snarled at the assistant who was sitting in front of him.

“Mrs. Durga Rama Krishna, sir” the assistant answered quietly with downcast eyes.

“How come, you have given such wrong information to that lady”. The CEO shouted loudly going high on his paroxysm. “Have you checked up all our records before answering Mrs. Durga’s queries? It seems that you haven’t checked the casualties’ list. We all know poor Rama Krishna was in the office when the mishap occurred. We all know clearly that he is now a part of the wreckage. Don’t you know this?”

“I’m sorry sir” the assistant’s voice broke. “I was confused by similarities of names between Rama Krishna and Radha Krishna. I came to know about the faux pas only when I got a call from Radha Krishna’s family from Ban galore. I re-checked the records. To my great shock, I found that it was only Radha Krishna who had gone toSanta Clara”.

“Hell with your faux pas”, the CEO shouted again, and his eyes flared with anger and rage. “But how’re you going to convince Mrs.Durga. Poor lady. Look, I don’t want any more dilly-dallying on our side. Now call a spade a spade. Call Mrs.Durga now and tell her that her husband had gone dead like thousands of unfortunate people who were entrapped in the melting Towers. You should also apologize for having given the wrong information”.

“Yes sir”, the assistant got up and dialed Durga’s house rehearsing in his mind as to how he should talk to Durga when she comes on the line. The telephone started ringing on the other side.

Following the commercials, news clips showed again the collapsing of the Twin Towers. Papers, half-melted irons and debris were falling from the Towers. Smoke was billowing from the tops of the Towers. People entrapped in the melting Towers looked like toys. They were seen jumping from out the burning Towers. ‘Oh! God’ shrieked a woman’s voice. Athai and Mama were sitting dumbfounded and watching the gruesome scenes on TV.

The telephone rang. ‘It seems a long distance call. It must be Krishna’, Durga said to herself and got up joyfully. Her eyes gleamed and face bloomed.

She frisked like a lamb and picked up the receiver.

*****

P.s: I don’t have any right over the picture.

[This story, written in Tamil, was published in a newspaper in 2003]

easwar arumugam.