There will be blood...

Prescript:- Manifestations of the color Red...Asbah sparked off this sort of a tag with her tale. She showed the grotesque and evil side of the color in Sinister Red...Kajal followed up by coupling the color to the feeling of jealousy in The Shade Of My...Priyanka followed up with Mesmerizing Red thereby manifesting the feelings of happiness and joy...Maverick gave it a twist with his abstract take on the same theme in Asphyxia...and now yours truly humbly presents this tale which uses the color as an analogy to human emotions as a whole.

A glass of red wine in his hand and a cigarette between his lips, he was lost in a reverie...of moments spent together under the night sky...of waking up and watching the red of the new dawn in embrace...of bare foot walks on unnamed beaches hand in hand...of the incessant whispering of those inane sweet nothings...of the crimson red of the blush which formed on her cheeks when he praised her beauty...of that dazzling red gown which he had gifted her on their first anniversary...of that breathtaking sight which she was in that gown...of that first night together in the throes of passion...of those countless bunch of red roses which he always brought for her...of the red of the blood which oozed from her hand when she pricked a thorn...of those promises made of togetherness forever...of protecting the flame in face of thunder...of keeping the flame of love alive forever.

And he saw her today with someone else...sharing a drink with someone else...laughing at someone else's stupid jokes...matching steps with someone else...embracing an alien body...whispering sweet nothings to someone else...blushing red at someone else's words of praise...the promise was broken...the flame of love wisped off...forever was made to be a lie...a lie which despaired him from within...which engulfed from all sides...a lie which broke his very reasons of life...which made every other truth bland and barren...a lie which numbed his senses...which pierced the heart...a lie which he could not take...which needed redressal...a lie which needed a penalty.

He had called her to their farmhouse...asking her to wear that red gown...she had asked him why this sudden urge to be at the farmhouse in the middle of the week...he had promised her a surprise...and surprise her he would.

He saw her from the terrace as she came out of the car...as breathtakingly beautiful as ever...with a slight smudge of blush on her cheeks wearing the red gown, Red...the color of eternal love..of happiness and joy...of bliss and togetherness.

She had a quizzical look on her face wondering what the surprise was...he did not move to kill the suspense...instead he led her to the dining table for a dinner lit by the yellow and red flame of a candle...his face was an impressionless mask as he studied the fakeness of her smile, of her words, of her promises...she could not see but his face was turning red, Red...the color of anger, of jealousy, of rage.

They were dancing together...arm in arm like old times...nothing had seemingly changed for her..nothing was actually the same for him...as they continued to match steps he remembered an old song

I've never seen you
Looking so lovely as you did tonight
I have never seen you
Shine so bright
I will never forget
The way you look tonight
The lady in red
My lady in red

They were soon lost in the throes of passion...in the heat of the moment...in the fervor of craving...an intense togetherness called out to them...shreds of layering prohibiting the union were discarded along with the red gown, Red...the color of passion, of pleasure, of lust.

"I love you...have always loved you...will love you to eternity...yet you have betrayed me, you have broken the promises, you have proved forever to be a lie and you will have to pay for it...in eternity shall we meet again and maybe then you can forgive me for what I do to you now"

In a fluid movement he put his hand under the pillow, the silver of the steel gleamed in the darkened night and then without batting an eyelid, in one swishing movement which reverberated into eternity he slit her throat...red liquid spurted out as if a new fountain had just sprouted out there, showering his face in red...there would be no intense togetherness, no union of souls...the lie had been answered, the betrayal redressed.

There was a look of surprise still etched on her face...and yet there also was a look of recognition...that this was the end...Her body was again covered in red...a hue of deep crimson red clothed her body...she still remained his Lady in Red, Red...the color of revenge, of blood, of Death!!!

Asphyxia

Pre-Script: Asbah sparked off a wonderful thought train with her post on the colour red.

Priyanka followed up with her brilliant take on the same. Asbah named it 

"Sinister". Priyanka called it "Mesmerizing Red". If I could, I would group 

them under a tag called "Shades of Red"! Here's my take on this subject 

titled "Asphyxia"!

What a colour! Deep, melliflous, flowing like an incessant river, peaceful on the surface but possessing a potent undertow! Yes, thats what it was! The colour RED! 

        He had always had an affinity to that colour right from the start, but that day it just became something much more! He had been dreaming that day...or was it real....it had been so very vivid. There she was standing, on that seashore....in a crimson red dress.....Ohhh, yes.....crimson red......such beauty in that colour, the glow reaching her face making it almost seem incandescent....like a divine angel walking the face of this earth....with outstretched arms she had beckoned him. A simple act, yet so seductive that he found his feet carrying him into her arms.....he melted there. When their lips met...it was a pleasure like no other, where a thousand emotions cascaded through his mind, flowing with excitement through his heart...and ending up pooling in his soul...where they formed a tumultuos sea of feelings, the waves of which crashed again and again on the walls of his heart....reverberating through his entire body. The night was chilly but her embrace was as warm as a cozy blanket, and as she nestled her head against his chest, he lost himself in the lovely curls of her frizzled hair which appealed so much to him!

        And then with him standing there with his eyes closed she had left him......as his eager gaze darted about to sight her, she was walkin out over the sea....He tried calling out...but somehow his voice failed him...He lost his ability to move, his feet stuck as if in quicksand....he dropped to his knees....she was already out onto the sea...she gave him a final look...an angelic smile....and dissolved in shimmers which twinkled bright red and then disappeared in an infinite red mist.

        Unlike his voice, his tears did not fail him. His eyes clouded over and agonizing pain trickled down his face....hot white pain....the pain of losing someone who meant the world to him....in whose company he didn't care about anything else...Someone who took away a piece of him...his dreams, hopes...and almost everything else.

        The world turned a shade of black which increased in magnitude with every passing instant...he rolled over and fainted!

        Eyes wide open...he had lived it again....as on many other nights. That dream or nightmare.....he was so confunded...an imaginary act so powerful; that one part of it made his heart want to live it endlessly, eternally and the other part so cruelly painful that he cringed even at the thought of it! A dilemma that had no answer....just the lone option of living through it, with it!

        He walked to the window and stared outside.The world looked peaceful...a stark contrast to the inside of him which was heaving like a sea in the middle of a violent hurricane. The world stared back at him with red eyes....everything after that day had been imbued with a red tinge....crimson red.He dressed and walked out, gazing..at the crimson hues of the red flowers....the red colour of the buildings....the red of the just rising sun.....the sea blood red and flowing...and people a bright shade of red. Monochrome......how that word stuck to him, except that his world had only one colour,which flowed, superfluous.... imposing itself on his mind, painting his soul, and with that tainting his dreams!

        He walked on nodding his head at the strange numbness...which almost unfallibly accompanied this feeling...and disappeared in a red haze!!!!!!