Quick Tales - Journal

As I look at the boxes surrounding me I feel a tug of nostalgia. I remember all the years gone by in this beautiful house. This was the house I grew up in; the house I have lived in all my life. The house I now have to give up because I’m now someone’s wife. It feels unfair but I know it’s time to move on.

That’s when it catches my eye, the dusty shoe box under the bed that hasn’t been opened in years. I reach for it and sneeze as a billow of dust rushes up to greet me. My secret treasure chest, hidden away, forgotten since my teenage years. Inside it there are a few faded photographs of friends, now far away, and some trinkets which were exchanged with vows to never forget each other, and my old journal. I had forgotten all about it. I hadn’t written a journal in years. I know I shouldn’t waste time going through its yellowing pages but I can’t resist reading about the person I was a long time ago.

September 23rd, 1994

Today is my birthday. I turn 14 today. Ma let me wear my new watch to school. I just love it! After school I went for a movie with my friends and then we all came home for a small party. I’m so happy! I love my mom! And dad too of course :)

I smile and turn the pages, reading on.

December 10th, 1994

I don’t know what to do. This boy in my class asked me to go for a movie but I said no. I’m too scared to say yes. Maybe I will ask Sheetal to come along with someone she likes so we can go as a group. I hope that will be ok. I wonder why he was so insistent on going for a movie. It isn’t even a really good movie but he really wants to see it. Boys can be so weird …

I can’t help but laugh at my naïveté. I remember the double date that followed and how “the boy” was quite upset that things didn’t go as planned. I skip a few more pages and read on.

July 20th, 1995

I cannot cry. I want to but I feel nothing. I came back from school today and Rashmi Masi was here crying her eyes out. Mom and Dad are in the hospital. There was a car accident when they were leaving for work this morning and now Masi says they’re never coming back. How is that possible? I don’t know what is happening.

I close the journal and put it away. I know there is nothing more to read. The years that followed are still too painful for me. Living alone on a trust fund with a court appointed guardian for the last thirteen years made it all too real. I stopped writing because there was nothing to write about. I look around and start packing again.

It’s finally time to move on.

Fractured Souls

“Shut up! Just shut and listen!”

“What?”

“I said shut up!”

“Ok. Fine. Go on.”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

Silence.

“Ok. I’m sorry. But you aggravate me.”

“What did I do?!”

“I said shut up!”

“Wow! You’re really being nasty. What’s wrong with you?”

“You. You’re all wrong with me.”

“Again – what did I do?!”

“Gah! You don’t get it do you? I really wanted to be super cool today. I wanted to be charming and interesting; a brilliant conversationalist. But you decided to show up and I had to just keep quiet and stay in my shell, while you made a fool of yourself talking about how breads were cooked in India! Ugh!”

“Hey1 I’m sorry. You obviously weren’t finding much to talk about so I thought I’d be a little informative while filling up those gaps in conversation. So sue me!”

“You’re an embarrassment.”

“O yeah?”

“Ok, ok! That’s enough of you two kids quarrelling. First, it wasn’t as bad as you make it out to be. And secondly, it was a good lesson for the future. At least we now know what not to do in a social situation.”

“Yeah! Don’t let her run away with the conversation.”

“Don’t start on me again. You could have spoken up if the cat hadn’t got your tongue just ‘coz he was there! I mean, ok he’s cute. So what? He has a perfect girlfriend who he’s committed to, so get over it already.”

“Hey! I’m not besotted with him ok? Besides he’s my boss. Our boss. So shut up”

“Is that your favorite thing for the day? Shut up?”

“Just shut up!”

“Ok. It’s time for our appointment with the shrink. Who’s going to take center stage today?”

“Not me! I went last time. Maybe she should go, she can talk all about Indian cooking and dazzle Dr. Householder.”

At Dr, Householder’s office –

“So, are the medicines helping?”

“I guess.”

“Err… which one of you am I talking to today?”

“It’s me, Nutty.”

“Have you girls been taking the medicines I gave you regularly? You know multiple personality disorder is serious. You have to decide to let go of your differences and combine forces into a single personality. That’s what we’ve been working towards, right? You do understand that?”

A Life Forgotten...

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Just a few grains of sand...

This blog is my first serious attempt at dedicated fictional writing. I have tried writing a couple of short stories on my other blog which, if I may say so myself, were quite well received. That is, unless my fellow bloggers, darlings that they are, were just being too kind. All the same, the damage is done and I am now motivated to try and write some more. I do, however, think it's necessary to delineate my introspections and half sweet, half nutty life's experiences from my inspired creative outbursts :)

So here are just a few grains of literary sand that are my contribution to the coasts full of fictional reading material out there. If you want to read my earlier attempts at short stories you can find those here, here and here.

Although I will try different genres of writing, I do want to warn you most of my stories will have a distinct flavor of (what I believe is called) "creative non-fiction", i.e. most of my stories are inspired from real life incidents which I experience or hear of. And yes, you will find a lot of "chick-lit" here too.

One day, hopefully, I will also start a blog which will have my first novel! But for now, short stories it is, which by the way, may not be all that short at times either. Do not say you were not forewarned :)

Template changes etc to follow, with, of course, lots of stories too. Hopefully.

Yaaay! What fun!