An Anonymous’ Suicide

The sun was ready to retire for a long slumber as though after a tedious day’s labour. A man with a ragged attire was seen scanning the depth of the cliff from the hillock. Without any further thought he jumped down from the cliff, hitting his fragile head against a hard rock; it was a suicide. Many, who came down to see off the sun witness this horrendous act. Some dejected souls sighed in relief, “there he goes to the world of peace, no more pains to hinder his joy.” But many onlookers were dumbstruck by the unsolicited scene. The search for his body continued, while the steep rocks and misty cliff made it difficult for the police to trace out the body.      

I had been noticing him around for two or three days, but who knew he was looking for an opportune time to end his life. Anxious crowd gathered at the brim of the cliff to have a look at the body if retrieved soon, busied themselves in cross talks. I could see the scruffy bag of that unfortunate soul hanging at the tip of a tree’s bough near the cliff. The shabby bag reminded me of his possible dirty past. People were right, he was a regular visitor at the hill top, many claimed to have seen him loitering around aimlessly.

The evening was rather misty, for me even those who stood close by wore stranger’s look. I saw that man aimlessly roaming around the hilltop, he seemed agitated and restless. After a while I found him sitting under a tree and singing aloud. There were not many people around to listen to him singing, except me a loner like him. Most of the people thronging around the hillock were lovers, not so interested in watching the sunset though. The mist facilitated the lovers to be close to each other and plan out for their future. The man’s song made some people giggle but few were upset with it. But I found some novel feelings erupting out of his strange song. I wished I could grab his cold hands and congratulate him. I used to make it to the hilltop every dusk like a migratory bird looking for better place to unwind the troubles of the day. But I felt I am here today precisely to meet this strange man singing under the tree.

The sun almost hid behind the veil of horizon simultaneously sending forth the darkness to wreathe the world. People on the hillock had already began departing to their respective homes, and when the attention of the people had diverted, the man under the tree leapt for his freedom forever. The search for his corpse had been called off, the officer who led the search found it as futile for the visibility was poor.  

“Stupid man, didn’t he find any other place to end his life”, the fire persons grumbled in anger.

In the meantime, the cloth bag hanging at the tip of the branch was tossed away by the wind and it accompanied its master to the cliff.

 “Oh! That too gone leaving behind no more traces to identify the body”. The police man sounded helpless.

“Sir, it is here, the body is stuck in the branch”, there heard a scream from below, probably from a local man who came in to help out the police personals to find the body.

Hearing the noise from below, the police who had already withdrawn from the cliff failing to recover the body hurried back in hope.

“Sir he is alive”

“Does anyone have water in you hand”, the officer enquired.

I stretched out the bottle towards the officer. The blood was oozing out of his forehead and nose, his lips whispered for water. The water droplets sank into his mouth, with a deep groan, with his trembling hands folded while staring at me he breathed his last.

The sun had already set, and the people gathered to see the corpse departed pitying the dead.

“Who was he?”

The question swelled up the atmosphere with doubts and speculations, while many concluded him to be a possible ‘bastard’, unwanted soul.

But I gave him a dignified name, ‘an anonymous’.

And it was an anonymous’ suicide.