Dear Death

Trigger Warning- Discussion of sexual assault, rape and suicide

Written by Sakhi Maheshwari

Edited by Jairaj Vij

Illustrated by Spoorti Gowda

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Four walls, a ceiling and a floor, 

No way out, 

Locked,

Invaded,

Alone.

The walls echoing,

“Let me out!”

“Stop!”

“NO!”

“no.”

Yet not a sound was heard,

rather not a sound was chosen to be heard. 

And in her mind she thought,

Dear death,

If I could, I would.

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“That’s not the truth!”

“She’s lying.”

The flicker of red and blue lights,

The lies of the so called ‘victim’,

The society tattling tales with no evidence,

The remorse in the eyes of his own blood,

The hopelessness in that boy’s eyes.

And in his letter he wrote,

Dear Death,

I couldn’t, so I did.

__________________________________________________________________________________

“Listen”

“Help!”

“LISTEN!”

The hope in her heart,

Venturing out and about for justice,

Only to be shunned by society and the bringers of justice,

Her voice, completely snatched,

Her thoughts, permanently fractured. 

Her heart, empty with numbness and void.

In her prayer, she asked,

Dear Death,

If you could, would you?

__________________________________________________________________________________

Forced,

Terror,

Panic,

Pain,

Blood.

“Let me GO!”

“Please stop”

The scene unfolds itself in the eyes of the public,

But society has not a word to say, 

Society has not a hand to lift and lend.

She screams in helplessness, 

Screams from fear,

Screams for help,

As the predator, 

In open light and open winds,

Tears apart her mind, body and soul,

And the rest stand and watch. 

Watch as if the showcase is the tea time snack,

As if the scene is their favorite pastime recreation.

And in her mind, 

She vows,

Dear Death,

If I can, I will. 

__________________________________________________________________________________

And yet, 

Society still with the audacity to utter,

When victims start listening,

To the voice of ‘Dear Death’.

At the end of each day, 

86 recorded people,

have a letter in mind, body or paper

Addressing ‘Dear Death’.

__________________________________________________________________________________

On May 4, 2020, Manav Singh committed suicide after being falsely accused of sexual harassment. 

On May 4, 2023, two Women were paraded naked, dragged, groped and gang raped by a mob in the North-Eastern state of Manipur. 

On January 3, 2024, Ballia police arrested two persons for a charge of kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old. 

On September 14, 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped in Hathras district by four upper caste men.  

This is not just one, but a part of many more, 

Many recorded in the hope of justice,

Many unrecorded due to fear.  

#sexualassault #justice #victims #suicide #rapecases