At the Crossing

She was at the crossing when all that she was carrying just burst out of her grip and spilled on the road. Groceries, medicines, personal items they just jumped out of her bags and after rolling away from her lay still on the road as if a great drama had unfolded and they were all exhausted after playing their demanding roles.

He did not see her at first and cursed loudly as he almost ran her over. His screeching brakes made her jump like a cat and she was half crouching half perched ready to take flight.

Her eyes, he could not stop looking into them. They kept drawing him like two large pools and strangely he just felt like letting go and getting drowned.

A rude honk brought his thoughts back to the road and he realized he was blocking traffic on her behalf and he was suddenly impatient himself.

He had an important meeting to attend, a deal that would boost his business and bring him a lot of money and here he was wasting his time gazing into some clumsy girl’s  overturned groceries.

She had managed to stuff most of her things not bothering what went into which bag and was crossing the road.

They went their separate ways, without a thought onto their day.

He would normally take the other route back home since this passed through lot of domestic traffic but today he decided to come back this way.

He squashed the voice that kept taunting him that he was probably hoping another chance encounter with the girl he had seen in the morning. he was doing nothing of the sort he was not the type to chase frivolous dreams.

Yet he kept returning that way, as the days grew into months he thought that he would forget the trivial incident but the memory of her eyes just kept getting stronger and more vivid. He would often pause and get lost in the memory of that day.

Then one day he was returning like any other day and he saw her from the corner of his eye, at the same crossing. She was waiting for the lights to turn red. He stopped in spite of his clear signal, rolled down his glass.

Just about then he noticed the child holding her hand, a little girl who had her golden locks. The light turned red and he had to let them pass. He hoped the light would stay red for a bit longer but that was not to be.

She crossed the street and turned around the bend, laughing to something the little girl said. This time the soft laughter lingered in the air and followed him home.

But the word “Mommy” kept ringing too and no matter how much he tried to shake it off it followed the mellow laughter like a toy that was given to a child to play and then snatched away.

 

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/awkward/”>Awkward</a&gt;

Divine Gift

I was only a girl with a million dreams
Making it big, earning loads of money
Marrying a really nice guy and seeing the world
You were a part of the plan
But one that kept getting pushed
Because I had so much to do
Before I was ready to meet you
But time started slipping away
And I had to see you soon
For I knew not when it would be too late
The day you were conceived
Was probably like any other
But the day you arrived, was definitely
One that changed everything for ever
You bestowed upon me motherhood
A role exasperating yet divine
I would cry for all that I had lost
And rejoice for all that I gained
As you grow I face new challenges
And learn new lessons
One day I will tell you how proud
You have made me
Till then let me yell at you

 

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/bestow/”>Bestow</a&gt;

Wavering Compass

The directions are clear

I want to steer myself that way

Make a career, get a life

And all the goodies along the way

The plans I have chalked out

Never work out the way I want

The diversions and distractions

Are often unsought

They shape me though into

Making choices, bringing out

In me the strengths I am unaware of

The compass of life is always

Wavering towards the unknown

Making it sometimes rough

And sometimes pleasantly fun

“https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/compass/”>Compass</a&gt;

 

Booties

She counted the rows and made the turn
And then she patted her stomach affectionately
As if to soothe the baby within, hush it lovingly
She put aside her knitting and slowly got up
Time to feed the cat and exercise the swollen feet

He wanted to be home soon, to be with her
She tired very easily and maybe he could help her
The third trimester almost over, she was anxious
And he never went far for work, in case he had to rush
It would soon be time, for the baby’s arrival and their
Anxiety mixed with excitement would soon culminate

It was as if it could see outside and envisage the love
It was about to receive to the simple couple
They would be caregivers (as they said)
And provide him with love, or so it hoped
Then it saw the knit on the table and sighed
A sigh of contentment and smiled in the womb

 

 

 

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/knit/”>Knit</a&gt;

 

 

The Hand-pan Group

Everyday the posts were filled with complaints

Of music being played far outside the compound

“It’s disturbing”, “We cannot study, or sleep”

“The decibel is too high”, “What are they celebrating today?”

“Why is there so much noise?”, They ranted on and on

The revelers carried on unaffected, far from the ranting crowd

There were some who could just not bear music, any kind of it

And there were some who downloaded an app

To check the decibel level at their floor

The war on music and silence went on everyday

Then one day a soothing sound slowly entered the realm

A group of hand-pan musicians, played on

Unaware of the hostility of the society

But soon like following the Pied Piper the residents poured

Into the lawn and stood, mesmerized by the notes

And all the resistance gave way to joy

Smiling faces took pictures and videos and posted on the group

Music to one is noise to another, why could we never accept this

And let each one enjoy the music of their choice and just let it be

 

 

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/percussive/”>Percussive</a&gt;

High and Mighty

The homecoming was exciting as I got to live in the part of the city that I had always coveted. Having lived in different cities for a decade I had found people so vastly different in their behaviors and beliefs. And I admit sheepishly I had become a bit judgmental myself.

I always cherished the memories of the city where I lived for the longest period of my life and considered my home. I had memories from the time I lived here. I remembered the people being kind and considerate, more tolerant than people in any other city.

People in my city were simple and suave at the same time. Honest but super smart, trustworthy and hardworking.

So imagine my surprise when I discovered that all that I had seen and upheld was merely reminiscent of people who existed then in that time and space.

To say things had changed was an understatement.

I shifted into a high tower, hoping to weave new fabric of friendships and togetherness.

Slowly I learnt (and in a very unpleasant manner), people were more disconnected, more distanced by huge corridors and unseen glass doors, divided by elevators and floor rises, judged by being an owner of an apartment or just a tenant passing by (these were looked down upon and their say was not important in forming any rules).

As the Whatsapp messages became more and more derogatory and all people could do was off load their grievances, more to say their own inadequacies and frustrations of being behind self-created glass doors I realized the high and mighty were really low on self-esteem and lacking in basic human courtesy.

People who would not even glance at you in the elevator would side up on the Whatsapp group conversations. Most of them would even generally go by the drift of the masses and like me there were other minorities who decided to become silent spectators for the fear of being trolled and  lynched online for have our own opinions and not going by what the prestigious elite were saying.

As for tolerance, well this quality was soon diminishing in the people staying in high rises (maybe staying among the clouds was clouding their minds).

People were becoming intolerant to sounds coming from everywhere around, be it the call for prayers or the celebratory music on various festivals.

There was widely circulated self praising posts of how their twitter message got the cops to shut the music down.

It is becoming so sad and desperate that people want the winds to stop whistling.

Next they will be complaining of the sun shining in their eyes.

How I pity these poor living machines because the music has definitely left their souls.

I hope when it is time for me to relocate soon I will descend a little towards those living people who dance in the streets in the rain and forget to see you after their fires have been personally doused by you.

To those wanting to live a notch higher, my advise is don’t lose yourself in the clouds because it is to earth we must return one day.

behaving as though one is more important than others.

condescending, patronizing, disdainful, supercilious, superior, snobbish, snobby, haughty, arrogant, proud, conceited, above oneself, egotistic, egotistical, imperious, overweening, overbearing

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/mighty/”>Mighty</a&gt;

The Incident

I am getting late ma, it’s my friend’s birthday

If I do not go, he will take someone else

To distribute the toffees

Probably the last words the mother heard

As she got him ready for school

Walk fast Daddy, we shall be late

No I will go to the toilet in school

As soon as I reach

Probably said the innocent little boy

Even a minutes delay was not acceptable

It was his friend’s birthday

He had to be there, to wish and partake

In simple joys of childhood

Little did he know, his joy was short-lived

And he would come to such a violent end

The parents now bereft with inconsolable grief

Could never have known that fate

Would deal them such a cruel blow

They need not your sympathy

They need justice

And an assurance that no child

Will ever suffer at the hands of any perpetrator

In places deemed safe, school or home

By persons known or unknown

 

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/sympathy/”>Sympathy</a&gt;

For the Parents of Pradyuman, we cannot even fathom your grief, may no parent have to ever go through this

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ryan-international-school-gurgaon-murder-pradyuman-thakur/1/1045666.html

 

The door across the hallway

She poked her head while I was still unpacking my boxes. I had not just moved into an apartment I had moved to a new phase of my life.

After college I had lived in various hostels while trying to find work and making just about enough to cover my rent travel and commuting expenses. As I completed my higher studies along the way I also got into better paying jobs and thought I finally need to get out on my own.

“Where are you from? Are you going to live here alone? Are your parents letting you do this, are they not worried you are going to be alone in this big bad city? Do you want some food, you are obviously not eating enough to cover those bones.” Her barrage of questions hit me like an avalanche. So much for getting out of the hostel and from under the nose of an ultra strict matron.

At first I tried to ignore her but she was so persistent. I felt watched all the time. When I stepped out to work she would greet me, when I came back (no matter at what hour) she would peep and say good night or grunt or comment, depending at the hour of my return.

The door across the hallway was always a bit ajar. It was as if she had been appointed as my guardian.

I slammed my door shut at times when I was too irritated by her constant presence and the next morning I would get a bigger smile and a louder good morning. Nothing seemed to deter her.

When I broke up with my then boyfriend she almost hugged me. I shrugged it off and stayed cooped up inside for a couple of weekends, ignoring the constant doorbell and knocking.

And then one day I saw the doctor leave her apartment chiding her on his way out.

She sat on her favorite chair draped in a shawl, looked a bit withered.

I weighed the consequences of going in and against  my better judgement got pulled into her world. As soon as she saw me hesitating outside her door, she called out, “Come in, come come my child”. She tried to get up but fell back in her chair.

It alarmed me a bit I always thought she had endless supply of energy in spite of her being in her seventies.

“Sorry I am a bit tired today, my youth is slipping away”, she winked.

I sat on the couch next to her and slowly we started talking.

It was well after midnight when I realized that we had emptied a pot of tea, some hurriedly put together healthy meal (it was a great break from my frozen ones)

I would then check on her regularly, morning and night. She had lost her only son who served in the army while he was still unmarried. Lost her husband to heavy drinking and depression post her son’s death. But she trudged on in the battle called life.

Stayed young in heart and mind even whilst the hair turned grey then silver.

The home she lived in had belonged to her father and she was the only living child, she had lost her brother at a very young age too and her sister who had married and moved overseas had passed away some years back, childless and alone.

She had so many tragedies but when she spoke of them her voice never wavered, it was matter of fact as if these realities of life were so easy to accept.

She showed me pics of her parents, sibling, friends, husband and son.

Told me stories of her enchanted childhood, fairy-tale marriage and her son’s awesome achievements. She inquired enough about my own family, my life and my recent break-up.

Slowly as I got to know her I started appreciating her genuine concern, unrelenting care and nothing asked in return for compassion.

I learned from her true strength and grit.

And then one day the door from the hallway was closed. I had a spare key.

When I opened it she seemed to be dozing in her favorite chair with her shawl draped around her. On moving closer I realized she was at peace forever.

I should be happy she would no longer meddle in my life,why were then tears clouding my vision.

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/meddle/”>Meddle</a&gt;

via Daily Prompt: Meddle

Total Recall

When it came to it I knew

We were not going anywhere

The space had grown in light years

And things were not even remotely the same

I knew not when it crept in, this huge critter

Of emotional garbage between us

We had both stepped back hoping

It will dissolve.

The sum of total pain and happiness

Stacked on the scales

Weighed zilch, zero and nothing at all

Tired now we were packing our

Left over emotions in zip locks

His hand brushed mine and a

Sliver of a shiver ran through me

It brought back memories of

What had fossilized by now

The melting of snow was quick

And the torrent of love came gushing

All that we once shared flourished

And it was a total of all the love minus

Emptiness

 

 

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/total/”>Total</a&gt;

via Daily Prompt: Total