Tara – Part 3 (Concluding Part)
17 Mar 2011 7 Comments
in General Tags: Characters of the story - Tara, Snowy and Mira
The story below is continued from here.
That evening after coming home, Tara went out to play with the kittens. Snowy went to sleep in a different place away from the kittens. While playing with the kittens, a plan suddenly struck Tara. She wasn’t sure if it was right and whether her friend, Mira would help or not but decided to discuss it with her the next day.
Tara went to school the next day and was eagerly waiting for the recess. During the recess, she spoke to Mira about her plan who was flabbergasted to hear what Tara had to say. How would Tara do that? And what will she tell her parents? Mira was not sure if they could do this but after a few minutes, she decided to go along with Tara’s idea. After all, she was Tara’s best friend and was willing to do anything for her.
As per the plan, Mira and Tara came home after school that day. They both looked pensive and Tara’s mother was pleasantly surprised to see Mira. She was about to offer her something to eat and drink but Tara refused saying that they were in a hurry. “We are working on a project, don’t disturb us for some time; it’s important,” Tara said. Tara’s mother returned to her chores.
Tara took out her piggybank, smashed it and started counting the coins that she had been saving for months now. When Tara and Mira finished counting, they both looked at each other and smiled. Tara handed over all the money to Mira and went to another room carrying her school bag. She removed all the books from her bag and stacked them neatly in a corner. Tara took the empty bag and they both went outside the house.
Tara went to the usual place where Snowy and the kittens were sleeping. Snowy was about to get up and go to another place after she saw Tara but Tara stopped her. Tara lifted Snowy in her arms, caressed her, hugged her and kissed her as if it were the last time they were seeing each other. She then put her inside her school-bag. Snowy became slightly squirmy and attempted to come out of the bag but Tara used some force. Snowy did not resist it, after all, she trusted Tara.
Tara then picked up her kittens and slowly put them inside her bag. The kittens did not worry about what was happening because they saw their mother and Tara around them. Under their surveillance, they certainly knew that nothing could happen to them. They always behaved like lions not having to worry about anything when Snowy and Tara were around them. They quickly coiled inside the bag around Snowy and went to sleep.
Tara and Mira started walking towards the road while carefully holding the bag. When they reached the main roads, Mira stopped an auto-rickshaw and they both headed to their destination.
The entire ride was bumpy because of the potholes and Snowy and the kittens became restless inside the bag and started to whimper. Tara tried to pacify them and at times they kept quiet but then again started whimpering louder and moved violently inside the bag. Tara and Mira were also getting restless but they knew that it would just be a few more minutes. Finally, they were just a few yards away from their destination and could see Mira’s house at a distance.
As they were moving closer to Mira’s house, Tara saw some people outside Mira’s house talking to each other and it didn’t seem like they would leave anytime soon. They also saw some kids playing around and this posed a challenge to Tara. She could not leave Snowy and the kittens in Mira’s house amidst so many people as they would come to know who brought those cats and might question Mira.
Tara did not want Mira to be in trouble. Their plan was to secretly leave them at Mira’s place because Mira’s parents were also superstitious about cats and so were the other people in the neighborhood. With so many people around, Tara and Mira did not have the gumption to leave the cats there. Tara could not take them back because she feared the stray dogs. The only recourse that Tara had was to leave Snowy and the kittens in Mira’s neighborhood until Tara’s neighborhood was free of dogs or at least until the kittens grew a little older.
The auto-rickshaw was now moving closer to the house and Tara was getting tensed and confused about what to do. Mira knew what her friend was going through and suggested Tara to leave Snowy and the kittens in one of the neighbor’s house instead of her house. Mira assured Tara that she would bring them to her house the next day and they would be safe there.
On the spur of the moment, Tara asked the auto-driver to stop! Tara alighted from the auto, looked at the bag in her hands, looked at the house that was right next to where she was standing and loosened the strings of her school bag…….
Snowy and the kittens leaped from inside the bag and ran in different directions. Tara was shocked! She didn’t expect that Snowy and the kittens would run so haphazardly for rescue. Tara immediately called out their names and was confused whom to follow. They all disappeared within seconds and Tara stood there frozen!
There were tears in her eyes but she stopped them from rolling down her cheeks as Mira’s neighbors were standing at a distance. Mira also got down from the auto, paid the fare and went to Tara. She held Tara’s hand and that touch conveyed that everything will be fine. They both walked towards Mira’s house where Tara wept violently!
“How could I do this? Why didn’t I ask the auto-driver to turn around and take us back to my house when I knew I couldn’t leave my cats here? Will they adapt to the new place? Will they get food? Will they survive on their own or perish? What about Snowy? She was never used to any other place ever since she was a month and a half old. After so many months of living with me, can Snowy live in a wild territory? Would you be able to find them tomorrow?” Tara asked Mira. “I would take them back to my house. I cannot live without them and I am sure they won’t be able to live without me,” Tara told Mira.
Tara had so many questions but no answers. She wept relentlessly, hoping desperately to get them back. It was hard to console her and Mira had tears in her eyes too. She could not see her best friend crying like that. She decided to go out and look for the cats. Tara wanted to come too.
Mira and Tara went to that house again and looked around for Snowy and the kittens but did not find them. It was getting dark and Mira asked Tara to go home as Tara’s parents might be worried. Tara reluctantly went home.
When she reached home, Tara’s parents figured out that something was wrong. They also realized that they hadn’t seen Snowy and the kittens in the last few hours. They asked Tara about it and Tara finally broke down and told them what had happened. Tara’s parents were shocked to hear that Tara took such an extreme step but never discussed it with them. But they also felt sad for what Tara was going through. Though her parents never openly expressed their love for Tara’s fur family, they loved those tiny tots and missed them now! They consoled Tara for what she was going through but that was the least they could do!
Tara sobbed the whole night until she fell asleep. It was seven in the morning and Tara woke up to a new day. “Was it a bad dream?” Tara uttered. She was still half asleep when she ran outside to see if Snowy and the kittens were around. She saw her empty school bag in one corner and it hit her hard again that Snowy and the kittens are no longer with her. It was not her dream; she was the one who abandoned them in Mira’s neighborhood yesterday.
She cried again. She cried on her way to school. She cried during the recess. She cried in the class. She cried on her way back home.
That evening Tara went to Mira’s neighborhood with a grim hope of finding Snowy and the kittens. This time she did not hesitate to ask people in Mira’s neighborhood if they had seen Snowy and her kittens. To her dismay, nobody had seen them.
Tara went there every day for almost a week but she never found them…..
Tara – Part 2
16 Mar 2011 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Characters of the story - Tara and Snowy
Writer’s note (read warning): This is NOT the concluding part! If you can, please wait until tomorrow to read this along with the concluding part 
The story below is continued from here.
One night when Tara was deep asleep, she heard some strange sounds coming from outside her house. It sounded like Snowy but that was overshadowed by some other sound and within the next few minutes, she heard another slightly different sound in the backdrop. By the time Tara could come out of her sleep and understand what was happening, there was dead silence. Tara did not quite understand what had happened. It might have been a dream, she thought.
She was about to go back to sleep when she heard her parents’ voice. Tara now knew that it was not her dream and the sounds that she heard in the last few minutes were real. She got up and went to them to ask if something was wrong. Her parents were distraught but asked her to go back to sleep and assured her that everything was fine. Tara did not find their answer convincing but went back to sleep. She tossed and turned on her bed thinking about those sounds and wondering what must have happened outside.
It was seven in the morning when Tara woke up and realized fairly quickly that she did not get a full night’s sleep. She wanted to sleep more and turned to her side when she suddenly recalled last night’s incident. She immediately sprang up from her bed and rushed outside to fetch Snowy.
In her usual way, Tara called out Snowy’s name but there was no response. Tara called out her name again but Snowy did not come. Tara was looking pensive now and began to frantically search for Snowy and the kittens. She turned around to see one of the kittens playing behind the bush. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief. But as soon as she went up to the kitten, Tara saw Snowy laying on the ground a few steps from there. There were blood marks on her, the sight of which horrified Tara and she shouted in tears….. ‘Snowy’.
Snowy slowly turned her head towards Tara and meowed so low that even Tara could not hear it. Just minutes ago, Tara was almost frozen when she saw Snowy on the ground. Within a fraction of seconds, so many unpleasant thoughts flashed in her mind. But as soon as she saw Snowy moving, Tara ran towards her and relaxed a bit but it quickly dawned upon her that the other two kittens were missing! What happened to them? Where are they? Did the dogs take them away?
Tara caressed Snowy, told her that she would be back in a few minutes and immediately got up to look for the kittens. As soon as Tara turned around, she saw them at a distance, playing with each other oblivious to the agony that their mother Snowy and Tara were going through. Tara immediately attended to Snowy and cleaned her bloody fur and examined her body to see if there were any serious injuries. Fortunately, there was none except for a small cut on her front paw that left Snowy temporarily limp.
“The kittens don’t understand the pain that Snowy is going through but I know it,” Tara uttered to herself. Tara knew that the kittens were still too young to understand all this and she thoughtfully looked at them while they basked and played in the sunshine. That evening, Tara asked her parents if she could get Snowy and her kittens inside the house at night so that they were safe but her parents refused it. They told her that by bringing them inside, she would only stop them from becoming self-reliant and strong. “Animals know how to defend themselves!” Tara’s dad told her. “Moreover, the neighbors have already complained to us about your cats on several occasions. We somehow calmed them down and you want them to bring in? They will make it a very big issue! You know that cats are a taboo here!” Tara just couldn’t understand how her dad could be so apathetic and found it useless to argue with him.
Snowy’s injury made it difficult for her to hunt for food and so Tara began her old ploy of hiding food and getting it to her adopted fur family. All these months, Tara always thought that her parents did not know anything about this. Children often think that they can keep some secrets from parents but they don’t realize that their parents actually let them keep some secrets.
Tara did not realize that her mom had been buying some extra milk from the day Snowy got injured. Being a mother, she knew the pain that Snowy was going through. Tara’s mom wanted to help in some way but that was the least she could do. Ironically, Tara always thought that her mother never cared for Snowy and the kittens.
Tara never realized that just like she was worried about Snowy and her kittens, her parents were worried about Tara and her adopted family. She also never realized that her parents were once kids and they have gone through childhood and other phases of life much before Tara had gone through and will go through in the coming years.
Tara continued to be a care-giver to Snowy and her family. But that night’s incident and the sight of the dead kitten a few days ago continued to haunt Tara. She started spending more time with Snowy and helped her in getting back to normal as quickly as possible. At the same time, she was thinking of a plan………..
To be Contd…
Tara
15 Mar 2011 6 Comments
in General Tags: Characters of the story - Tara and Snowy
Tara was only fourteen but a mother of three. She was neither their biological mother nor their step-mother. She was their makeshift mother if one can say so. She would take care of them when their biological mother would go out but she was much more than a nanny.
She doted on them just like any mother dotes on her kids. She would let them play in the garden but would also keep an eye on them to keep them from dangers. Though their biological mother never explicitly asked Tara to take responsibility of them, they had a tacit understanding between each other. Every time the mother would go out, she would go to Tara, touch her and look at her for few seconds and then leave.
Tara would immediately understand that it was time for her role-playing. She would play with them, take responsibility for cleaning their poop, caress them and put them to sleep and above all, protect them from enemies in the absence of their mom. Tara simply loved her cat and her three kittens which lived outside Tara’s house.
Tara’s parents were superstitious about cats and so were the neighbors. Tara’s parents never wanted Tara to have that cat who came to their house almost a year and half ago. She was so tiny and young at that time that Tara immediately fell in love with her. That was the first time she had experienced motherhood. She named her cute little cat Snowy. Tara wanted to have Snowy and promised her parents that she would never get her inside the house.
Only after a lot of pleading, did Tara’s parents agree for it but they strictly restricted Snowy from entering the house. For the first few months, Tara hid some food and milk from her parents and gave it to Snowy who ate it as stealthily as it was brought. Tara and Snowy were partners in crime. However, as Snowy was growing up, she learned to hunt for her own food. This made things easier for the two.
On the days when Tara knew Snowy was unsuccessful in her hunt, she would give her share of milk to Snowy. Tara and Snowy were the best of friends and Snowy knew that Tara was making sacrifices to keep that friendship blossoming. Though Snowy and Tara did not share the same language, they always expressed their love to each other through their eyes and soft touch.
Almost a month and a half ago, Snowy gave birth to her first born who are triplets. In a way, Tara was experiencing motherhood again. In fact, she was more like a grandmother doting on her grand children and always biased towards them even when she knew that they were troubling Snowy.
Tara knew that Snowy was enjoying her motherhood but she also saw her getting tired due to the additional responsibilities like taking care of her children and feeding them. In unspoken words, Tara conveyed Snowy to go and rest somewhere away from the kids and that she would take care of them while she is gone. Snowy would be gone for two to three hours every evening after Tara came back from school.
Tara would work on her homework while the kittens would play in the garden. She would sit on the stairs outside and keep an eye on them. Every time they would go out of her sight, she would call out their names in a peculiar tone and they would come back quickly and play in her vicinity. They also liked playing with Tara and so they would sit over her books in an attempt to attract her attention and not let her study. Tara would simply slide them down but they would come back again. Sometimes Tara would let them win and start playing with them. Other times, she would stare at them and shoo them away. Tara would however spend at least some part of her time with them. She adored those tiny tots and all their mischievous acts!
One day when Tara was on her way back home from school, she saw half carcass of a kitten lying on the roadside. Tara was terrified and ran home in tears to see if it was one of her kittens. As soon as she reached home, she saw Snowy playing with her three kids. Tara sighed and ran towards them and hugged each one of them. She thanked God but also felt sorry for the dead kitten she saw on her way.
Tara was now worried about her kittens. She knew that Snowy was strong and fast enough to protect herself from the enemies but what about the kittens? They were very young and Snowy cannot protect all of them even if she tried too. The enemy was much stronger and if there were three or more dogs approaching them, it will be highly impossible for Snowy to defend them. Tara cannot be there for them all the time and she feared that the stray dogs near her locality would attack Snowy and the kittens.
After a few days, Tara forgot about the whole thing and did not heed to her concern until one night when………….
To be Contd…..
The Last Hour
14 Mar 2011 1 Comment
in General Tags: Characters of the story - Maria and Jenny
Maria found her imagination running amok and was frustrated that it was not shaping up the way she wanted it to. “Maybe I should just continue and things will fall in place,” she thought.
Jenny was driving on a busy highway and was stuck in the traffic for a while now. She looked around in irritation. There was a young lady in the car to her right. She was not able to see the lady’s face clearly as she was turning back and talking to her two kids who probably were nagging her for food or games or perhaps to go to restroom.
These pesky kids! I wonder why they always get nature’s call when stuck in traffic or when the restroom is miles away! Jenny thought. The last restroom was just behind but I am sure they did not tell their mom about it then.
Jenny was still staring at those kids with a domineering look when the mom turned around. Jenny immediately shifted her gaze from the kids and smiled at the mom. The mom did not reciprocate and Jenny was a little embarrassed.
While Jenny was drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, she turned her gaze onto the rear-view mirror to look at the vehicles behind her. She felt like she belonged to an army of soldiers slowly moving ahead to attack the army. “Had I been a soldier during the times when animals were used for fighting, I would have probably chosen to ride on a camel rather than a horse or an elephant. That’s because I have never been on a camel ride and I think it would be exciting to sit on its hump.” Jenny uttered. She laughed about it and immediately dismissed her thought.
She knew that she need not belong to the old era to ride a camel. She could go on a camel ride anytime she wanted to. She just needs to plan it out.
The car to her right moved a little ahead and another car with an old couple inside it took its place. Jenny’s car did not move an inch as the vehicles in front of her did not move. She looked at the old couple and felt bad that they were stuck in the traffic. I wish I could fly high in the sky like a superman and carry this old couple and drop them at their destination. They must be really tired by now, she thought. Jenny could make it out that they were equally irritated with the pileup.
While Maria was still sitting there thinking about traffic jams and staring at her screen, she realized that these traffic jams have become a common place. It was just two days ago when she was stuck in one. Why do people have to drive so much? What has happened to public transportation? Why don’t people use it more often? Maria thought. She then felt guilty of not using public transportation herself and resolved to at least consider it in the future as she was not yet ready to forego the comfort of driving her own car.
Maria coasted further into her thoughts and thought about the incident that happened three days ago when she was stuck in the traffic jam. As the traffic was easing that day, she saw two cars in front of her driving in a strange pattern. It didn’t take her too long to figure out that the two cars were racing with each other. Out of her curiosity to know who would win, she began following them. Of course, she knew that she wouldn’t go out of her way to follow them. She would follow them as long as they were going the same route that she was headed to.
Maria was however disappointed to see that a traffic cop pulled over one of the cars. Maria immediately slowed down her car because she soon realized that she was violating safety laws. She turned around to see who the driver in that car was was and was stunned to see a beautiful young lady. She felt sorry for her but that was the least she could do. Maria was also hoping that the other car that was racing with this lady would stop by the curbside a little further. But it didn’t! She wondered why but didn’t mull over it.
She was however curious to know who was in the other car. It didn’t take her long to catch up with the car and she was surprised to see a handsome young guy driving the car. Were they flirting on the road? Maria thought. She also thought that the man driving the car was very handsome. She wished she had a boyfriend like him and that thought gave her goosebumps.
Thinking about that incident and the man now after two days again gave Maria goosebumps.
Maria smiled, shook herself out of the reverie and focused on her assignment. Maria had to write an essay that was titled:
Jenny’s experience of a traffic jam in a foreign country.
Maria’s professor had asked her to choose any country as long as it was not the one they were living in. She re-read the first few paragraphs that she had written about Jenny’s experience and realized that she hadn’t done justice to the assignment. Maria thought that she probably focused on Jenny’s thought process rather than the traffic jam! She did not write anything about traffic jam let alone a traffic jam in a foreign country. Maria was really worried now as she had procrastinated until the last hour. Maria found it very difficult to write about Jenny’s experience because she had never been outside her country and wondered how a traffic jam in a foreign country looked like.
In her frustration, Maria browsed the Internet about traffic patterns in other countries and also browsed for videos on YouTube. She was so stressed out that she couldn’t even think of any keywords to type. She resolved like she always did in the past that she would never procrastinate in the future!
Meanwhile, she wished desperately for an opportunity to travel to another country for at least one day! It would be exciting and at the same time would help her with the assignment, she thought!
Love is Blind
11 Mar 2011 7 Comments
in General Tags: Characters of the story - Sophia
It was more than ten minutes since Sophia was stuck in the traffic.
She was on a busy highway and the cars in front of her looked like an army of ants, except that the cars were of different colors and moved slower than the ants.
Traffic jams can indeed irritate a person. People would not mind wasting hours sitting in front of the TV but standing in the traffic even for a minute can get on their nerves. Sophia was getting frustrated too.
Sophia looked into the rear-view mirror and saw an old couple sitting in the car behind her. “How sweet, they remind me of my grandparents,” she uttered. The man was happily sleeping or at least seemed to while the woman who was behind the steering wheel looked tired.
Sophia now turned her gaze towards the car in front of her. They might be new lovers, she thought. They looked so happy despite the traffic jam and it seemed as if they were enjoying each other’s company. Both the young and the old couple now reminded Sophia of her single status. It suddenly dawned upon her that she was still single and was getting old!
I am sure God will listen to my prayers and one day, I will meet the man of my dreams! Sophia thought. “Hear my prayers, O Lord!”……… “Before I get old,” she quickly added to clarify.
The traffic jam seemed to be clearing at a faster pace now. She was able to drive at least a couple of inches now as opposed to being at a standstill a few minutes ago. While she was tapping her fingers on the steering wheel producing a rhythm, she turned to look at the car to her left.
She was pleasantly surprised to see a handsome guy in the car next to her. While she was still staring at him, the guy turned to her. Sophia couldn’t help but smile at him. He reciprocated with a bigger smile! Sophia almost blushed and quickly turned and looked ahead to cover her blushing face.
Did God finally answer my prayers? Maybe he was listening to me a few seconds ago and decided to grant me my wish? How could he sometimes be so kind? Sophia thought.
She also recalled the lines from the book she had been reading the last few days. It said somewhere in ‘The Alchemist’ that when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. Maybe I am stuck in this traffic because God wanted me to meet this handsome guy.
Sophia’s heart started pounding in her chest and her mind drifted away from the traffic jam. She had this sweet feeling that was different.
The Love Guru I met last week also told me that I would meet the love of my life this week. Could this guy be the one? But isn’t it lust and not love at first sight? How can it be love at first sight? It’s definitely lust! Hey, but I also read once that lust can lead to love. The Love Guru also told me to be open and bold. Maybe this is the time to take things in my stride. How will I get to know if it’s lust or love unless I test it. I better do something!
Sophia slowly turned to the guy and lo and behold, he smiled again!
The traffic jam seemed to ease further and the cars were now slowly moving without having to halt. Oh no! Why are the cars moving now? Sophia thought. She immediately drove ahead to be exactly beside the guy’s car. All the vehicles were rushing to their destinations but Sophia and the guy were driving next to each other.
What started as a smile soon became a flirtatious race on the road. They were racing with one another, sometimes driving at a very high speed and sometimes driving very slowly. When Sophia went slowly, the guy went slowly too and then when Sophia raced her car, the guy raced it too. Sophia knew that the guy was doing this on purpose and was hinting at something – maybe our blossoming love, she thought and smiled. It gave her goosebumps.
In their flirtatious drive, they did not realize that they were driving carelessly. They forgot that at any minute such careless driving could turn dangerous not only for them but for others too. But who was there to tell them? They were both lost in their blind love!
Every time they crossed each other’s car, they would catch a glimpse of each other and smile. They were certainly flirting with one another. At one point, the guy’s car went much ahead of Sophia’s car. Sophia began to race her car and was slowly approaching the guy’s car when she suddenly saw his brake lights flaring three times. What does that mean? He did it three times! The brake lights lit three times. Is he trying to convey something? Three times….does that mean I LOVE YOU! Three words and hence three times! Has he proposed me? Did he just say that? Oh my God! I can’t believe it! He said that!
The Love Guru was right when he told me I would find my love this week. I should not let this opportunity pass. Sophia saw that his car was now moving at a slow speed. Maybe he was waiting for me to respond, she thought. It is my turn to drive fast and go in front of him and give the same signal. Yes! I love him. I will push my brake lights three times and tell him that I love him!
Sophia quickly increased her speed but it was too late now! She lost her new-found love.
The traffic cop who was hiding behind the bush drove behind Sophia’s car with his flashing lights on and Sophia had to pull over her car to the side.
Twenty minutes later, she smiled at the cop, took the speeding ticket from him and drove slowly until she reached home. She wondered if she would ever meet that guy again.
The Diamond Ring
10 Mar 2011 9 Comments
in General Tags: Characters of the story - Preeti, Mark and Monica
They were quietly having their dinner. They both had a hectic workday and were tired. The kids were already asleep.
“I want a diamond ring,” she said, without looking at her husband.
“Buy it,” he said, gulping down the last morsel of food.
She looked at him with joy and immediately dropped her spoon and hugged him.
“Oh Preeti, I could choke, let me first swallow my food,” he said while still not understanding what was happening. “You never ask me when you buy your jewelry, so why are you asking me now?”
Preeti immediately stepped back and retorted, “I am talking about a real diamond ring and not an imitation!”
“You must be kidding me,” Mark immediately replied. “Don’t you know it’s beyond our limits to think of buying one? We are saving for our kids’ future. The monthly expenses ………
Before Mark could finish his sentence, Preeti interrupted him.
“I don’t want to listen to the same old story day after day. I just want a diamond ring and you will have to buy me one,” Preeti said and stormed out of the dining area.
Preeti did not need Mark’s consent to buy things. But she knew that a diamond ring is a big expense. It was not like the other small things that she bought now and then. There was another reason that she wanted to have a diamond ring. She heard from another colleague of hers that their boss, Monica, who is a doctor, got a diamond ring from her husband as a gift for her birthday. Though Preeti was not envious about it, she could not control her desires. She wanted a diamond ring from Mark!
The next morning, while they were having breakfast, Mark decided to strike a conversation with Preeti. She was still furious that Mark wasn’t willing to buy a diamond ring.
“Darling, do you think a short vacation will make you happy?”
“NO!” Preeti said.
There was a long pause. Mark was still thinking of ideas to lure Preeti into something else. He was also glad that Preeti refused to go on a vacation because he knew that he was so busy with his work that had Preeti said yes, he would have been in trouble!
Mark came up with other ideas but Preeti kept refusing.
While he was still thinking of other ideas, Preeti burst out. “You never buy me anything. Things were so different when we were newly married. You would always spend time with me and get cute little presents but now you don’t do that! Did you know Monica’s husband gave her a diamond ring on her birthday? She is so …
“Hold on!” Mark interrupted her.
“So, this is where it is all coming from. You want a diamond ring not because you want one but because Monica got one? And God only knows who that Monica is!”
“She is my boss……has been my boss for the last five years! Preeti said disgustingly. “You never take interest in my affairs. You don’t even remember that she is my boss and we met her at a recent get-together.”
Mark was embarrassed. He knew that he has been neglecting a lot of things.
“But darling, she is your boss. They can afford it, we can’t.”
“Ok, I agree that she is my boss but what about Anita?” Preeti asked.
Mark started to think at a lightning’s speed……He did not know who Anita was and was scared to admit it. Is Anita her childhood friend…..no maybe college mate…..or is she our neighbor…..Oh Lord! Who is Anita!
He gave up and asked Preeti……Anita…….I don’t think I know her! Who is she?
“I don’t know who she is,” Preeti said. “But I saw her picture on Facebook. I don’t know how I ended up visiting her page but I saw her flaunting her lovely diamond ring. I later found out that she is my friend’s friend’s friend’s friend. And I also found out that it was her husband who gifted that lovely diamond ring to her. Do you see how much her husband loves her?”
Mark was flabbergasted to hear what Preeti was saying.
“Preeti, this is what happens when you compare yourself with others. We were good until yesterday and now you are upset about such silly things. You know how much I love you! We don’t need such tangible things to express our love. And that might just be a fake diamond ring,” Mark said cheekily.
Preeti’s eyes were filled with tears now but she was trying to hold them for the fear that it might spoil her makeup. She was already late for work and did not want to repeat her beauty regime. She quickly wiped her eyes.
“If not with tangible gifts, how else have you expressed your love in the last few years?” Preeti asked and headed to work leaving Mark alone.
That question felt like a sharp sting. Mark immediately realized that in the last few years his work kept him so busy that he hardly expressed his love to Preeti. He never had enough time for Preeti and the kids. The real issue was not the diamond ring, but something else. It was love!
Mark realized that he will have to change a few things. But he also knew that he had to do something immediately.
It was close to three hours now and he was still sitting there, staring at the blank screen. If there was one key that was used the most in the last three hours, it was the ‘DELETE’ key. Mark was actually attempting poetry. He was typing a few words and then deleting them. He wanted to express his love through words but he knew he was not good at it.
It’s feelings that matter, not the words; he thought and finally finished his poem.
When Preeti returned home that evening, Mark took her hand in his hands and put a sparkling diamond ring in her finger. He also recited his poem, while putting the ring…..
A ring is a ring, nothing more than a ring.
Be it diamond, gold or silver, a ring is a ring.
What’s in a ring?
I love you, you love me, let us together sing.
But because you wanted a ring, here is a fake diamond ring!
They both laughed and hugged each other. Preeti had been thinking about it the whole day at work and realized that she was being silly. She knew that Mark loved her from the bottom of his heart and she certainly didn’t need a diamond ring to be convinced.
That incident however changed Mark. He began reciting his ‘freshly brewed’ poems to Preeti every day and was getting better by the day!
Midnight Terror – Part 3 (Concluding part)
09 Mar 2011 2 Comments
in General Tags: Characters of the story - Monica
The story below is continued from here
She had a sound sleep. No sound, no winds! Everything was perfectly fine. That entire week, Monica did not have any emergency cases to attend and was back home no later than seven in the evening.
On Thursday of that week, she went to her friend’s place to pick up her daughter and they both went to their favorite restaurant to have dinner. Her daughter almost immediately slept after reaching home but Monica had some chores to finish.
Monica hadn’t spoken to her husband the whole day as he was busy in his meetings and had earlier told her that he would call her as soon as he gets out of the last meeting. But it was already ten in the night and he hadn’t called. She dialed her husband’s number but it was switched off. She wondered why but did not mull over it for long.
Monica loved reading before going to bed. She was reading ‘The Alchemist’, a book that her friend had been suggesting for a long time now. Monica was tired and dozed off on the bed while reading the book. It was 11:50 in the night when Monica woke up to a strange sound. “What’s that?” Monica uttered. She heard it again in a few seconds. Monica immediately went downstairs and realized that the sound came from the front door. “Is it the doorbell?” she said in a startling tone. “At this hour?”
She looked through the peephole and saw her husband outside. She quickly opened the door and was pleasantly surprised to see him holding two large bouquets of her favorite roses. Before, she could understand what was happening, her daughter walked downstairs. The doorbell woke her up from her sleep. She quickly went to her and picked her up in her arms and then turned to her husband still having that quizzical look in her eyes.
It was International Women’s day and there were still a few minutes left for the day! Her husband gave her one bouquet, hugged both her and their daughter. And while they were still hugging each other, the clock struck twelve!
Monica’s husband began singing…. “Happy B’day to you, Happy B’day to you, Happy B’day dear Monica, Happy B’day to you!! Their daughter chimed in too. It was Monica’s B’day today and time for midnight celebrations! He handed the second bouquet of roses to her. Monica’s daughter quickly went to her desk and brought a cute little greeting card that she had made for her darling mom and had earlier planned to give it to her in the morning! Monica had certainly forgotten her B’day.
Monica’s husband had also bought a cake and a diamond ring for Monica. Monica cut the cake while the two were still singing the birthday song for her. Monica’s daughter was feeling sleepy and was dozing off in her dad’s arms. He took her to the bedroom and put her to sleep.
Monica’s husband looked around the house and was impressed to see that she had done a pretty good job with the décor despite her busy schedule. He kissed Monica for being a wonderful woman that she is, lifted her up in his arms and headed upstairs.
The family lived happily ever after in their new abode! Monica however decided that she would change the doorbell because she thought the sound was too creepy. She ensured to lock the patio door every night, especially on windy nights to prevent it from swinging and making weird noises. She also called up her construction manager and asked him to fix the rattling windows!
Oh yes, what about the sound in the midnight that left Monica terrified for a day? Well, it did not take her long to find out where it came from! As we saw in our story, Monica was punctual about every chore. It so happened that she would turn on the dishwasher precisely at 10:30pm, and the dishwasher took one and a half hour to complete its cycle at the end of which the buzzer rang. Monica turned off the buzzer when she discovered it the next night and never heard that cacophonous sound again!
Only time would tell if there is something else that is yet to be discovered in their new home…..
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