Together
By Alna G
Published 28 March 2023
Two gharials drift down the Ganges, together.
Watching warily, from a distance as women come down and chatter.
And the men bathe.
And the children play.
Accumulated sweat and dirt fill up the river, travelling through the current.
Into a gharial's mouth.
Choking, swallowing, making guttural noises.
One collapses.
Sinking to the bottom of the river.
The river momentarily pauses its movements, confused, but sympathethic to the alive gharial.
Dead.
The fish nibble at it, tasting nothing but cold flesh.
Silence.
Unknowing the macabre events that occurred, the people carry on with their lives.
Pretending like they didn't murder.
Eventually, life carries on.
The river moves once more.
The fish leave.
But the gharial, it mourns.
One gharial drifts down the Ganges, alone.