I’m not afraid of him anymore. Sure, he hit me plenty earlier but I was a puny little thing then. His belt marks and cigarette burns have long faded away from my body.
My father doesn’t dare come too close now that I’m a bigger bully than him…
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
The sky was dark
and the air charged
with the electric between us.
He leaned in until
his face touched mine.
I closed my eyes waiting.
His open lips shattered
my tough facade,
reaching my molten heart.
The universe witnessed
our union as
the Sky and Earth combined
under the blessed showers.
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
That day, when I sat next to you, you fidgeted in your seat, ashamed to share your space with a girl like me. You didn’t think I noticed when you rolled your eyes, looking exasperate, at the leggy birdbrain across the class.
One look at my braces and glasses, and you trashed me…like your pencil shavings.
One of my stories is up on Drabble.com, a website specialising in stories below 100 words.
Check it out via The Lighthouse.
Click Like or Share if you like it.
You had walked in the room
for the first time
after we married
for love–
one that I had fought for
against my world.
I was shivering with anticipation
as you kissed my cheek,
and then,
without a preface,
you asked me
(on the day you wed me for ‘love’)
when my father would send the money.
When I answered,
I saw your face fall.
you hadn’t married me
for love, after all.
That day my world tumbled
Until nothing made sense anymore.
You had walked in the room
For the first time
After we married
For love–
One that I had fought for
Against my world.
I was shivering with anticipation
As you kissed my cheek,
And then,
Without a preface,
You asked me
(On the day you wed me for ‘love’)
When my father would send the money.
When I answered,
I saw your face fall.
You hadn’t married me
For love, after all.
That day my world tumbled
Until nothing made sense anymore.
He sprinkled a few drops on himself.
“Go away evil spirits. I banish thee from this body.”
Then, he drank the rest of the glass to ensure he had cleansed every tissue from within.
Then, for a good measure, he drank the rest of the Johnnie Walker straight from the bottle too.
“Drown you evil spirits. I banish you, Corona!”
Note from the author: It may seem a little insensitive to joke about a disease that has taken so many lives. But I just wish to remind all panicked people, including myself, that it is just a disease and not apocalypse…yet.
I had always been like that–
Building shrines
For dead butterflies,
And visiting
With the freshest flowers.
You had been like that too,
Loving me for little things,
Until you grew up
And I didn’t.
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
I run a rosary in my gnarled fingers at peace with my aloneness. Then I hear it–my bane, the jingle of bangles and anklets.
Vexed, I grit my teeth.
Why does she wear the abomination? Of course, I know the reason–the custom. She still has a husband.
I picture her in my mind–standing in the kitchen, face glowing after a night full of love, in a saree of red… green… yellow… It was me many years back. Now white and cream mark the end of my rainbow.
Bile rises in my throat.
She hums a song I have loved all my life–it speaks of hope and love that I once had.
I crush the rosary in a death grip.
She drops something trivial and I lose it. I shout abuses at her and curse my stars for wedding her to my son. I shout until I’m hoarse and can shout no more. I shout until she’s in tears and smiles no more.
Placated, again, I hold my rosary to look for that elusive peace. Sure there will be hell to pay later, literally. But life isn’t exactly heaven for the likes of me.
Short Stories 