Red Vine

Death is a loss so irreversible, especially of a sibling, that it leaves behind a perpetual gloom, a ridiculous fear of being left alone. The fear alone having the power to make you do something horrific. Red Vine follows the life of thirteen-year-old Kafal who devastated by the death of his older brother, and his own inability to express his feelings, befriends a tree. What initially seemed as an outlet for his frustrations soon turns into something vast and impossible to control. Kafal doesn’t remember sleeping well since his family moved into their new home after his brother’s death. Its the dreams that play out when he shuts his eyes, dreams planted by the tree, making him privy to some uncomfortable truths about his family. This wasn’t another wishing tree, but one that influenced Kafal’s thoughts, changing its pattern, a natural malevolence colouring it. Kafal wants to believe that his aunt’s death was an accident. But he is not sure anymore. And then who could he turn to? Not his controlling, compulsive mama, nor his casually aloof papa, and certainly not his little sister Kali, whose preoccupation with decapitated dolls only made him nervous, as much as her sleepwalking bouts.