A beginning

-
Who gave you the power to ruin me? She asked.
“Ah! Yes. I remember I did, years back.”
But now she wanted it all back. He sat in front of her, with all that he had. She looked at him and asked herself, “When was the last time I saw myself happy in the mirror?”
Answers came flooding her mind. The day they both sat under a tree and she wanted to hug him tight.
Days when they were together in a dingy hostel room of a friend’s friend. Naked. Opening up to each other like never before.
And the day, he told her she was the one.
They never went on dates. All they did, when together, was talk or read. No read or talk about reading.
She had announced to the world already. He was still not sure. But they were one. So what else could matter?
Trust. It was trust that mattered. And she hardly cared for it. The feeling of oneness had engulfed her. She was him. He was her.
But was it enough?
She has ignored all the signs. The letter that she saw. The look that she stared at, disbelievingly. She was not ready to accept anything but love. But he had reached his saturation point. He could no longer offer love to her.
She got up, with her shattered pieces and started walking away.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A woman’s menstrual cycle needs to be acknowledged. Period.

-
A woman’s natural cycle of menstruation, one which ensures that human species don’t go extinct, has always remained a taboo subject in our country. Recently, when Zomato, a prominent Indian company, announced its policy of providing up to 10 days of “period” leave every year to its women and transgender employees, there were many who found it unreasonable. A lot of men and women have argued that on one hand, women cry equality in the name of feminism, while on the other, they want reservations and period leaves. The inherent flaw in this argument reeks of patriarchy, which has always tried its best to dismiss women and their issues as petty, to say the least. When we say sexism exists and that we must address it at every given opportunity, we are highlighting the need for a world that’s not built to provide convenience and comfort to only men. The simple truth that periods are part of a woman’s biology and therefore, her life, should be enough to answer those who don’t understand how t...
Read more

Ma

-
Thursday, 23 June 2011 She jumped at the sound and sat straight on the bed. It was 6.15. She was already late. The water supply will stop in another 15 minutes. She rushed out of the room and started filling the buckets and the water tank. Her daughter, Aaliya, was also disturbed by the alarm. But she was used to it. She just had to ignore it for a couple of minutes and then it would go off automatically. She never, even once, got up to think about her mother who had slept at 1.30 last night and still woke up just in time for their daily water requirements. Aaliya took it for granted that her mother will get up on time each day and do all that she has to, to ensure that the house runs smoothly. But what if one day, just like her Dad or herself, Ma also wants to sleep for some extra hours because she was tired? What will happen to the water requirements? And the breakfast, lunch, the clothes that have to be washed daily, the dusting, and those numerous daily chores? ...
Read more

Courage

-
To say Yes, it requires courage. But he didn’t lack courage at all. He had always been brave and strong. And a coward and weak. He stood for all that was right. And wrong. But this wasn’t about right or wrong. It was about doing what he ought to do. What he must do. And he did. He left her. The stars were fading away and the lights were out. They sat on the beach, with nothing between them. No words, no thoughts, no memories, no intimacy. Far away, somebody died. I think it was me.
Read more