Contempt has its place. It had found its way to my face as I scanned the shoddy,
crumbling bedroom of my cousin sister, where her books and clothes were strewn about in such a
manner that I couldn’t make my way to the chairs placed awkwardly in the corner even if I
wanted to.
“Be careful, this building has been known to fall apart time and again. Just last year my
neighbor broke her leg when her ceiling fell on her bed,” she slurred, shamelessly inebriated. I
could feel her eyes scanning my face, but my expressions, much like hot bile, made its way up
no matter how much I tried to suppress it. I shook the plastic cup of coffee I had in my hand and
took a sip.
“You always had a Western stride about you, no wonder you were so admired in the States,” she
thought out loud. I laughed in my head. Admired didn’t even begin to cover it. Adored could
be a better word, even revered, perhaps. Almost as if on cue, the sunlight shone through her
murky window, placing a glowing, golden spotlight on me as I said,
“I suppose that could be why I was admired. ‘S a shame you could never make your way there,”
She took a sip out of her reeking flask and sighed, leaning back onto the wall. A little smile
danced on her face as she turned to me.
“It’s not like I didn’t try. The universe had different plans. Its plan for you was fame,
admiration, money,”
She slowly began standing up, taking a step towards me with every word she spat out of her
mouth.
“You’re the star. But me? What was the plan for me?” she asked. I would have felt pity, if it
weren’t for the overpowering stench of alcohol that spewed out of her mouth.
“I suppose I don’t have to answer that question for you,” I bit back. She cackled horrendously,
as if it were the funniest joke she had heard.
“No, you’re right. You don’t have to answer that. In fact, you don’t have to answer anything.
Karma’s a jerk, but never to you. Our family was devastated after that wretched flood, there was
no one to take care of the kids, no one to pick up the pieces and no one here to tell me that
everything will be fine. No one other than you. You promised everything will be fine. You
promised we will go through this together. It's your turn to feel karma’s wrath!,” she cried,
pulling out a dagger from the pockets of her pajamas. She charged towards me, eyes wild and
bloodshot, hair flying in all directions, tears streaming down her face. But on her way across the
room, her foot caught onto a stack of books lying on the floor. She fell comically, arms flailing
everywhere, her knife flying across the room, falling right next to me. It was just too perfect. I
picked it up and twirled it around my fingers.
“You’re right. The universe has other plans,”
Stepping forward, I towered over her withering, weakened body and kneeled down.
“If you expected me to apologize for looking after myself, you’ll have to think again. I never
liked this place and I never liked its people, especially not you. I am glad I left, and I am glad I
left you behind,”.
Eyes blazing, I raised the hand holding the dagger above my head, tipped my head, and smiled at
her pitiful, sorry face,
“Any last thoughts?”
Her face brightened, a smirk spreading across her face, as she rolled away from me. A dreadful
creaking noise emanated in the room, and I looked up. Cracks in the ceiling shaped like
lightning bolts in a thunderstorm widened, and within milliseconds, the whole of it crumbled
down onto me. It was an instant death. My mangled, ruptured body painted my cousin’s carpets
a sticky, crimson red.
A few days later, when I was lowered into my casket, my crying cousin sneaked over to me and
whispered into my cold ear as she slid the knife under my still body,
“So now you know what karma feels like,”.