A thousand suns

A thousand suns bring me light,
A thousand rivers quench my thirst,
A thousand clouds for my flight,
A thousand times I feel cursed.

He checked himself in the mirror with a passing glace. There was some stint that was causing him discomfort. It took him a minute to identify it. He straightened his tie with measured precision. The perfection brought forth a smile and a merry whistle. Meticulousness had always been his forte. He would rather be caught naked than with a crumpled shirt on. With such ideals, it was not a mystery why he lived a lonely life. Although his skilled precision and affinity for perfection had established him as the proprietor of one of the largest manufacturing firms in the entire world, no woman had been able to ensnare his heart. Solitude was his sole companion. There was the housekeeping lady, of course, but she had been properly scared by an exhibition of intolerance towards the minutest flaws.

“Not a single dust particle will be tolerated around the house”, she had been instructed in the most authoritative and strict tone possible, and the poor lady, desirous of keeping her post, had been terrified. She obliged to a large extent and was most attentive while receiving instructions, but that was all. His cold and calculative manner insured her against feeling any affection for him.
                                                                         He was not a bad person at heart. His domestic as well as office staff received respectful treatment and, if situation called for it, was provided financial help. He would readily grant a worker whose wife was ill a paid leave as well as financial aid for hospital expenses, but he would not think twice about harshly rebuking the same worker for inefficiency in his task. It was incapability that he could not tolerate. But regardless of his good nature, his expectation of optimum performance did not allow many workers to entertain feelings of affection towards him. They were either in the debt of his help, or disgusted by his expectations, if not both. But he seemed oblivious to everyone’s feelings.
                                                                                               And so, on this particular day, the 5th of May to be exact (as he would like one to be), he straightened his tie and walked out of his office. As soon as he stepped out, his secretary followed him, babbling about his upcoming meetings and the important mails he received. She was telling him about one mail from a girl named Jessica, who claimed to be a childhood acquaintance and wanted to meet urgently, when he suddenly stopped. The secretary, Emma was her name, took one look at his face and the words froze on her lips. His complexion had turned ghastly pale and his eyes were widened in surprise. She tapped him on the shoulder.

“Mr. Woods, sir, anything wrong?”

He stood still. It was as if he had been staring right into Medusa’s eyes.

“Mr. Woods?”

Silence.
“Jay? What’s wrong, Jay?”

She shook him by his arm. He slowly turned to face her. His eyes were bloodshot. His lips were parted, quivering.

“Who did you say wanted to meet urgently?”

“Jessica. Should I tell her you are busy?”

He weighed this option. It seemed plausible. He was a busy man now, running a thousand manufacturing units and conducting meetings with the biggest shots in the market. He had made a career of avoiding her until now, and he could easily do what his secretary suggested. Except that he couldn’t. He had everything going for him, enough money to sink a ship, one of the largest estates in the entire world, a successful business. But he was alone. His parents had died in a road accident ten years ago. There was no family to speak of. There was no one to claim his assets after his death, no one to weep on his grave.
                                                                                                 The silent nights alone in his home echoed of melancholy. His solitude was gnawing into the emptiness of his life. His riches, his success, his passion for perfection, it felt like a burden. A burden he would happily dispose of, only if he could. He was a slave to his expectations. Jessica had been a liberator for him. Around her, he no longer felt the need to be perfect. It was just her aura. But then there had been that incident. She had made out with his best friend while in a relationship with him. That day, he had lost the only two important and close people in his life. He had unknowingly pledged to a life of solitude. And he had kept his oath. Jessica had tried contacting him for years and had tried to fix countless rendezvous with him. He never ran out of excuses. And it had been that way since. He was so affected by the injustice done to him that he never ever felt like meeting her. Forgiveness was not an option.
                                                                                                                 But today, he felt some strong emotions. He wanted to meet her, clasp her to his bosom after such a long period and tell her everything was forgotten and forgiven. After all, it had been 20 years since then. For a moment he was going to ask his secretary to fix a meeting with her. But his natural disgust towards the fact that she cheated on him returned. He felt like Reason had found her way back to her throne. His straightened his coat.

“Yes, Miss Emma, tell her I am busy.”

Moments after he said that, he felt a strong urge to tell Emma to cancel all his meetings for the day and lead him to Jessica that instant. He craved for the smell of lilies that always lingered around her. He wanted to feel the warmth of her smile spread across his face. He wanted to taste her cherry red lips at their ripest.

“Sir the complete shipment of rubber wheels for Telsa Motors is defected! It is supposed to reach Canada in the next 4 days!”

The panting manager was yelling at the top of his voice. It was enough to divert Jay’s attention. He immediately started off for his office, determined to skillfully resolve the crisis, like he always did.

                                                                                                The news of Jessica’s tragic death was printed in bold on the front page of the newspaper. The headline read “Woman shot by city youth on a killing spree”.

                                                            The suicide of the legendary businessman Jay woods was a shock and surprise. His entire fortune was donated to his charity of the name Jessica Charity House. The only possession he took with him to his grave was the verse tattooed on his right arm just an hour before he left the world.

A thousand suns bring me light,
A thousand rivers quench my thirst,
A thousand clouds for my flight,
A thousand times I feel cursed.