Maze (Priya)

 Lucy came home with bags full of stuff. There were two big bundles of newspaper waiting for her. All the curtains were drawn and there was an eerie glow in the house.

Lucy tried to manoeuvre through all the stuff scattered through the living room. Why it should be called a living room? Situation in all rooms was the same. They were filled with assorted things. All things were scattered on the floor. There were newspapers , disposable cutlery , clothes ,broken furniture, electric appliances, blankets. 

Going from one room to another was a tricky business. Lucy created a maze to get through. You have a problem. There is something wrong with you. You need to throw away this garbage. Her daughter would shout at her. Her daughter could not understand the need to keep all these things. What if we need something. What if we run out of things. 

Lucy tried to warm some water for herself. The kitchen was in horrible state.  Cups, cans, plates were filling the whole kitchen. There was no empty space remaining on the kitchen counter. There were stains on everything and mould was forming on the walls. Pungent smell was overpowering the atmosphere.

Things were not that bad when her husband was alive. He always made sure she was in check for her hoarding. He made sure for basic hygiene in the house. But things deteriorated after her husband passed away . There was a sudden void to be filled in her life. She could not let go any of her possessions.

Her friends and daughter tried to convince her to tidy up. Throw away this junk is all she could hear. After some time people stopped visiting her. She was deep in thought when she heard a loud thump. She tried to come out of the living room but suddenly her maze started to give in and started to close in on her.

All those things she collected were now killing her under their weight . And there was no one to hear her cries