The 187th death.

[Text and photos sent by Vitasta Raina]

Vitasta Raina came to Delhi as a closely-guarded secret and never existed otherwise.

She was strung together by careful word selection, tempered metering and an occasional cup of tea. She was not highly regarded and spent a few foggy weeks chasing myth monsters on the Yamuna Banks and the Old City streets. She was found dead on a pavement along with the sewer rats, and then drawn up into a map and hung on the faded cement walls of a forgotten city municipal office.

She has no regrets, no friends, no ghosts, and no tombs. Delhi swallowed her whole and distributed pieces of her in magazines no one reads and journals no one bothers to edit. Soon she will fade from Delhi’s eternal shadowy memory like a sunset.

Our Self-Written Obituaries invites people to write their obituary in 200 words. The idea is to share with the world how you will like to be remembered after you are gone. (May you live a long life, of course!) Please mail me your self-obit at mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com.

1.