The Thirteenth Hour

Ouch, that hurts. Down to three stars already, who is the culprit behind this :(. I will give myself five stars in an effort to get the ratings back up; people if you are going to give me thumbs down atleast leave a comment.
Has Saminasha sahiba left chowk? I was counting on her to tear this apart;)

I was in a hurry yesterday so didn’t get a chance to comment on the intended perspective of the story. Let me do that first here and then I will respond to the individual comments. I apologize in advance for making your eyes strain.

This is not an autobiographical account (hope that was obvious enough) but nonetheless, the issue lies very close to my heart. That which springs from the heart consumes even the most callous. The universal theme I was trying to convey was our inherent desire to end the suffering of those whom we love, and in such cases, quite often the end justifies the means. Child/spouse abuse served as the means to convey this much broader theme that I felt most people could relate to. I know most of us (me included) have come across such a predicament in life where we have grown so blind in our love/devotion to a special person that we are willing to commit to extreme measures to bring about the demise of her/his misery. For ex, would you rather watch a loved one atrophy in their death bed in an eternal coma, hooked up with zillion tubes, or do you pull the plug because you can’t watch their anguish? (I hope none of us ever encounter this)
Secondly, I wanted this to be ambiguous enough to be left open for interpretation. Writers write…readers decipher the message based on their own understanding that is mainly influenced by their own personality. I even left the gender of narrator open to interpretation, could be a male or female. No mention of society/culture of narrator was made because such behavior is not restricted to a particular society. I know the denouement was predictable from the beginning but I wanted to conjure up enough gut-wrenching imagery (along with symbolism) that the reader would continue despite being aware of the end. The narrator’s actions are left open to scrutiny; would you consider this murder, was it morally right, what rationale do we use to judge criminal actions that are committed out of love, or can we even categorize them as being criminal?

Hello Temporal Sahib
I thought you had forgotten me; visit to off the wall for Sir Harish was an exception that I had to make. I hope my explanation above suffices for your query about child/female abuse. Although an in-depth look at this issue would be worth it.
Hello nooralain sahiba
Now you know how I feel when I usually finish reading your (also farzana sahiba’s) ilogs…speechless;). I hope you can provide some critical analysis once it has [sunk in]. Would love to hear your thoughts on how I can improve in my writing ventures. Btw, Happy Birthday in advance..May the future bring good health and happiness to you.
Hello Rozaiba
I knew you had mistaken me for a newbie;) Catfight? I know I am not capable of fights; I back out as soon as an argument starts; sometimes there is more dignity in defeat than lowering down to the level of your opponents for a `victory`.
Hello samankhan sahiba
Thank you for the kind words. If you are in a “daze,” then I know I have written something worth reading;). I hope the kiddos aren’t keeping you too busy with their school projects;)the joys of motherhood:) Take care.
Farzana Sahiba
I just thought you were being too kind (not objective enough?) in your analysis of the story; I know someone of your faculties can very well read between lines and see the flaws and faults of a piece of writing. Sorry for the earlier comment; I need to learn to be careful with words in the future;) And your interpretation is close to what I had intended.
Hello Jawahara Sahiba
Thanks for the kind words. Coming from someone like you who paints beautifully with words, it means a lot.
Dreamz
Shhhhh…its my favorite too;)
I have catching up to do, turns out there is more to Farida Khanum than just “woh ishq jo humse…” ;)

hii,,,,really well written,,,,i didnt have this idea till and went down all the way and read you comments........u have done it really well,,,,its a sad one but welll described.