The Thinking Tales - His Thoughts

He knew he was in trouble when he realized that he was actually enjoying the conversation.  He should have been bored by now. He was neither into conversations nor people. He was generally considered a misanthrope. Yet, she seemed to have broken through and made a connection. They were alike in most of their ideals but had strong differences in some. With her, he felt like he was peeling a cabbage, finding new layers, new shades of her personality every day. He just hoped that she would not turn out to be an onion in the end. He realized that most people he knew were in fact like dry coconut - a tough outer shell which is hard to crack but once open, very predictable and hollow on the inside.

He liked to keep people at an arm's distance but he was already confiding in her. He realized he needed a war strategy now. He did a quick 'what-if' analysis in his head and decided to go with the scenario that promised lesser drama. He made up a quick scathing remark that he can send her way. But then, the smile stopped him. She was looking at him with a smile in her eyes so contagious and complete that he could feel himself smiling back at her, rendering his remark useless.

He strongly believed in making things happen. He was never the one to wait around and say. life brought me here. He had always been the one who said I brought myself here. But when it came to her, he was not sure what he wanted. Maybe it was time to make an exception, he thought.  Rules are meant to be broken. Not everything needs to have a purpose or a destination. So, he decided he would just wait it out and see if his heart can weather her storm. For now, he was happy shooting down her arguments with logic.

P.S.: I had so much trouble writing this down as I realized that I do not have a good understanding on how guys think. Most of my friends suggested they might not be thinking so much at all. Maybe, that is true. Maybe not. 

The Thinking Tales - Her Thoughts

She knew she was in love when she realized that the next sentence she wanted to utter is I am in love with you, no matter what question he asked. They were having a conversation so long and complete that in the end, she was just happy and content to stay silent. Then, there was the smile that refused to go away when she looked at him. She was pretty sure that he would be secretly wondering what a weirdo she was. She was arguing her way through his irrefutable logic a while back and all she could do now was to smile and nod. Well, that is what love did to her. It tore away the walls she had built around her heart and took away every single shred of caution with which she had protected it once, leaving her raw and needy. 

She realized that she might never be able to say those words to him. She wondered if she should turn and run in the opposite direction or sit, talk and let her heart figure out alternate ways of showing it. There were agonizing moments she spent with him wondering if she should just break the news to him and see how he reacted. At least, she would have a closure that way. But then she thought about what would happen next. What if he refuses to be responsible for her heart and pushes it back to her ? Or worse, what if he stomps all over it ? How will she put the pieces back together the way it was. The truth, she realized is that she will not be able to. She will never be the same. She will become a little more cynical, learning to veil her pain in dry sarcasm and humor. The walls that broke down will reappear, only a little higher and tougher this time. 

So what should she do now ? she wondered. She did not know he was trouble when he walked in. At least when he moved closer, she should have known. But now, it was too late. She was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. She knew that there was nothing but pain waiting for her at the end. She decided she will worry about it tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.    

P.S. : I am trying to get back to writing after a while. Hopefully, I will be able to complete this series. Coming up next is 'His Thoughts'

Xerox Shop #ATOZCHALLNGE

He loved the Xerox shop. Every time, he landed at the Xerox shop to take a copy of the study notes, he went into his land of imaginations. He always had to wait in line, staring monotonously at the wall. He had gotten into the habit of letting his imagination run scot-free during the wait. He had a small book with him where he took note of the ideas that came to him during the wait. It ranged from starting a xerox shop, offering competitive prices to this one to building a global brand for micro finances. 

Years later, as he sat down in his cubicle turned into yet another corporate slave, he let his imaginations run scot-free as he stared at the code that was compiling. Buried under the code files and excel sheets, his business plan lay waiting, patiently for his patience to run out. 

Vixen #ATOZCHALLENGE

She was a vixen
One of those untamed souls
Always head held high
Shoulders squared and ready for a fight
Retorts on tip of her tongue

But to him, she was a dream
Gift-wrapped in bright colors
With glittering eyes and sharp edges
Stares that could freeze lakes
And a smile that could melt rocks

He worshiped her contours under the stars
Striving to memorize her shapes
Like the sky, she could never be fully his
Though that one night he had
Was enough for this lifetime of his

Try until you succeed #ATOZCHALLENGE

He was determined to play with his brother today. But as usual, he and his friends were ignoring him. They were not passing the ball to him. Being a two-year-old, it was bound to happen. Amma always told him stories where the hero never gave up until he succeeded. Today, he was also going to try, try and try to reach the ball and kick it. With this resolve, he ran  towards the middle of the playground hurling towards the big football. 

At that exact moment, his brother kicked the ball in his direction. The ball took a huge curve and landed on his face. Thud! he fell to the ground, trying to grab the ball. Soon, his brother's friends surrounded him and started fussing around him. Throwing a huge tantrum and thrashing the ground, he again reached for the ball and caught it between his tiny hands. He was about to kick it when Amma picked him up. She was annoyed that he was now covered in mud from the head to toe. But he was happy that he got to hold the ball for today. Tomorrow is another day, he thought with a sigh as Amma doused him with a bucket of water.

Revenge #ATOZCHALLENGE

She sat in the corner sulking. All kinds of thoughts ran through her mind. She had wanted to pounce on him. But, she had behaved maturely and let it go. As she waited silently for him to reach his room, she imagined the look on his face when he opened his cupboard. 'Serves him right for being a tattletale', she thought, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. She could hear his footsteps now. His scream reverberated through the house, as the cold bucket of ice emptied on him from the cupboard. She took the saying 'Revenge is a dish best served cold' quite literally to the heart. Well, all is fair in love and war, especially when it's between siblings!

Kisses #ATOZCHALLENGE

She eagerly waited for days. She had wanted to go and get some herself. Yet, she resisted the temptation. She was becoming too addicted to it and had decided to stay away for a while.

But now she could not wait any longer. He had finally arrived. Excited, she ran towards the gate to welcome him. She could barely contain herself as he spoke. She was looking forward to the magical moment as she stared at him wide-eyed. Finally he stopped talking and went back to his desk. Her mobile beeped.

She ran excitedly towards his desk. The email read 'Hershey's kisses at my desk. Valid until the stocks last !'


P.S. : Today is my 100th post on the blog ! A special moment indeed :)

Demons #ATOZCHALLENGE

She always knew that she was different. She did not feel attached to ordinary things nor attracted to normal people. She was drawn to broken people. Or rather people who were fighting their demons. She felt that if she could help fix their demons, then may be there is a chance that her demons stayed away!

While people generally paid attention to the most effervescent and magnetic personality in a social circle, she would  be interested in the quiet subdued one sitting in the corner. To her, the quietest minds were the loudest and that was how she met him. The disinterested, disconcertingly silent guy at her friend's housewarming party. They had spent the first five minutes in absolute silence when their common friend had deserted them gladly leaving him with her. Then slowly, she saw his eyes light up and with a crooked smile, he asked "So tell me about your demons!"

Brevity #ATOZCHALLENGE

I have always been a fan of short fiction. I love the way the tiny tales seem to pack a punch in such short verses. As they say, Brevity is the wit of the soul. I am going to try and use that in the below verses. When I first started thinking about the topics , somehow I wanted to write about anything and everything that started with the letter 'B'. Finally, I decided I shall indeed write about all of them. So here we go. - short fictions on different things - Betrayal, Bold, Beautiful, Brave, Bird,  Binoculars, Broken, Book

#1

Betrayal of the worst kind.

He looked at his mother with accusing eyes.

The promised candy happened to be on the doctor's table. 

#2

Be bold they said. 

Be beautiful they said. 

Being both, she wondered why no one told her about the ensuing loneliness. 

#3

Brave face on, she watched

As the tattoo took the shape of a free bird

Somehow the pain in her heart seemed more tolerable now

#4

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder

To him, it was her eyes that held him captive

Even through binoculars, they seemed to look right into his soul

#5

Broken heart. Betrayed soul. 

They searched for happiness in the bookstore

Cupid smiled as they both picked the same book

Memories

She was scanning through the crowd, lost as usual when she noticed the stranger. He reminded her of him; the one that she had always wanted to forget. But try as hard as she may, the memories always came back. She had filled her empty heart with layers of memories above his. She had once called him 'her Sun' and now couldn't help wondering perhaps if that was the reason his memories seemed to flare through the layers with scorching heat.

P.S. This is in response to 'Lillie McFerrin Writes' five sentence fiction 'Scorching'. A little late I would say, but better late than never !

P.P.S. I know I have been away from blogging for a long while now. Hopefully the dry run has ended. 

A Rainy Day

As she sat near her window looking at the rain, her thoughts went back to the time when she was with him. Those were the most beautiful days of her life. She had the most amazing time with him. Though they existed as two different entities, she somehow felt that their souls connected at the most basic level. It is very difficult to find a person who can complete the sentence for you, but it is more difficult to find a person who can understand what is running through your mind even when you don't say a word. She had found one. She remembered how they used to be crazy about rain and will go on long drives whenever it rained. She remembered the long conversations they had, sitting inside the car, stranded and waiting for the rain to let up.

It has been years since they last spoke. He had met someone who was the one for him. He had been absolutely crazy about that girl. As it always happens, the girl could not bear the sight of her and had told her that she will not commit to him unless they separate. She had seen him go downhill with rejection and depression. Unable to bear the pain he went through, she decided it was time she left his life. She had moved on to another city and pushed him out of her life.

After years of staying away, she was back in the city, at her home, sitting by the window and reminiscing about the old days. She had met people in the years that went by but never found the connection again. The city and the rain made yearn for it now. On a whim, she dialed his number. She was not even sure if he had the same number. After two rings, he picked up and said 'Hello'. She had a smile playing on her lips as she said 'Care to drop by ? Its raining'. And so it began again with a lifetime of stories to share.

P.S.: This post is a part of The Write Tribe - Ultimate Blog Challenge - July 2014. 

The Broken Glass House

He had done everything he could to stop. Stop loving her so much. Stop from hurting her time and again. He had once even tried to push her out of his life. It ended in vain. She was still there in his life, all flesh and blood. No matter how much he tried to stay detached, she almost always managed to elicit a reaction from him. He knew he was wrong for her. He was a misanthrope, a misogynist who could not complete a sentence without sarcasm. Normal people stayed away from him. But then,  that was normal people. She was an idealistic girl who believed in the goodness of people. She believed in being nice and karma doing rounds. He knew he was bad for her. Things were not what it seemed to be. He sometimes felt she lived in a glass house and hence was afraid to throw stones at others. He did not want to be the one to break the glass. Yet, he had. As he saw her sitting by the balcony drunk and high, he knew he had been the one to shatter it and suck her into his darkness. He had been curious and wanted to know the truth. Now, all he could do was wait and watch her until she went to sleep.

P.S.: This post is a part of  The Write Tribe - Ultimate Blog Challenge - July 2014 

Boxes

People have a fetish for boxes. Everyone try to wrap their thoughts, actions and relationships in a box and label them. Unlabeled boxes are frowned upon by this society. It always tries to cram these boxes into different labels and when they do not fit in, they are looked down with contempt. Perhaps, it is the fear of unknown that causes such reactions.

She had been careful that such boxes did not exist in her life. Then, she met him. There were no sparks or lightning. Slowly, their acquaintance grew. And before she realized, it had morphed into one such unlabeled boxes. She could not name it. She never thought she will be able to fit their relationship in a box and struggled with it. But when time came, he proved it was not the same for him. While she struggled with unanswered questions, he was away packing his boxes. He had neatly wrapped their relationship in a box and put it to sleep while she still wondered why she had even considered things resolved. He will always remain a big question mark to her for life.

P.S.: I have taken up The Write Tribe - Ultimate Blog Challenge - July 2014 and this post is a part of the same.

My Only Muse...

Every time I talk to you, there is one more conversation to remember. One more memory to be cherished. One more thought to ponder upon. One more word added to the list which will trigger a flashback when I hear it again. One more inch I fall deeper for you. I begin my day daily swearing to myself that I will avoid you today. I will not smile at you today. I will keep my thoughts to myself today. But I end up talking, arguing, smiling and sharing my thoughts with you. I know I am fighting a battle with lost cause here.

I have never felt this way before. Not with such intensity. But then I know you are forbidden. Perhaps, it is the fact that you are forbidden that makes me yearn for more. But somewhere deep inside I know, I will never take this to the next level. I will never give you the complete power to own me or break my heart or yours in the process. We are safer the way we are.

Yet, you will always be my muse. My Only Muse.


P.S.: I read this post "The Ultimate Connect" which struck a chord and touched a nerve somewhere deep inside and I just couldn't resist writing. Thanks for inspiring me to write after a really long time!

P.P.S.: For the first time, I have tried writing something romantic and fictional. So excuse the randomness!