War And Pieces

The rhythmic creak of the arm chair soothed the babies as they drifted into sleep in Neena’s arms. They were just about a month old and soon she would not be able to hold them both simultaneously. She ignored her aching arms and relished their closeness. Her mind moved back and forth in time in tandem with the rocking movements.  Was it really only a year ago that Life meted out its lessons to her?

Barely out of her teens and already married, which was what her family arranged and she had acquiesced. Soon after they celebrated their first anniversary, Neena was already pregnant. Twins, the doctor said, and Sam was overjoyed. Double the joy he said! He made sure he was with her for every check up and stood by her through her phase of morning sickness. The nine months couldn’t pass soon enough for him. Sam was due for a career course and decided to ask his Commanding Officer for a posting. Yet unexpectedly, his Unit was deployed in a conflict zone.With barely any time for farewells, the officers and men left without a backward glance. The operation turned into a prolonged one as causalities mounted. Some of the worst fears were realised and Neena was bereft. At the end of her third trimester, she remained confused and dazed not comprehending the storm that had hit her life. Her family took her home and what had was meant to be a rosy future suddenly turned dark.


Neena went through the final days of her pregnancy completely unaware of her surroundings. She cried all the time, but without understanding for whom.. was it for dear departed Sam who would never see his twins, was it for herself or for her  babies.. It was only when she held the boys in her arms for the first time that the enormity of her situation hit Neena….

She had no home. She was not financially literate. Would her graduation degree get a job of any kind? Could she bring up the boys single highhandedly? While her parents made all efforts to make her feel comfortable, how long could she depend on them? Relatives showed their true colours as being only fair weather friends and so-called friends were suddenly missing. Her in-laws were least interested in Neena’s welfare or that of the boys.

The future was bleak. The war machine had taken its toll and left her life in pieces. Her sons innocent trusting smiles served as a wake up call and inspiration. The time to grieve was over. There was no time to cry or for self pity. It was up to her to pick up the pieces and rebuild her life again. She owed it to her sons. To Herself.

BARATHON
This is my post for the BAR-A-THON by Blog-A-Rhythm and the theme for June 23th 2017 is War And Pieces. It is my among my maiden attempts at fiction. Any resemblance to any individuals living or dead is purely coincidental. 

Hope

gy holds sticks
Photo prompt for #15to50 Fiction Challenge at The Moving Quill
Hope

The city had become a grey, white concrete
glass jungle. Green was now an artificial colour in books and paints. He looked
hopefully at the assortment of seeds in the magician’s hands. Maybe he could do
the impossible. Get the seeds to germinate. Bring green back to life.



Word count: 48


Linking up with the Fiction Challenge ‘From15 to 50’



Feast

Picture Prompt Written for the #November 15to50 challenge

jaws of death
This image from Shailaja’s blog: http://shailajav.wordpress.com/

Feast




The blessed rains ended a cruel summer of
heat and hunger.

Flowers bloomed. Bees buzzed.

His starvation had ended. 
It was time to feast.
Word count: 24

Midnight Rendezvous

Daylight was fading rapidly as we reached the resort. We
waited till all the fifty participants had checked in. This would be a good
workshop as we had a full quorum. Situated on the backwaters of the dam, the resort
was built on the slope that led down to the lake water. It gleamed dully in the
moonlight that filtered down despite the thick forest. The crickets, frogs and
insects had gone beyond opening notes of their orchestra. A storm was brewing
in the distance and hopefully there would be some showers soon.

The clerk took an inordinately long time before the
allocating rooms to us. “I am sorry sir, but the resort is fully occupied now,”
he apologised.

“Do something man, we have to be here with our participants
else how can we conduct their training?” I asked. “Check again. Surely you have
a couple of rooms vacant.”

We were a four-member training team, most of us army
veterans. Roughing it out had been a way of life. We were quite ready to spend
the night on a veranda if required.

“We do have rooms at the lowest level near the water, sir,”
the clerk said hesitatingly.

“We’ll take those,” I said brooking no more questions.
“I must warn you that no one has stayed there for a long time…”
the clerk added.

“Why?” said Kedar, the baby of our team.

The clerk seemed to be gauging our reactions. Seeing our
puzzled looks he explained, “Last year a couple committed suicide in one of those
rooms. Thereafter guests have complained of seeing visions at night. We have
not allotted these rooms to anyone since then.”

We laughed away his fears, “We are soldiers. There is
nothing like ghosts. Stop spreading rumours and don’t mention this to your
guests.” The matter was put to rest there.

Prem, the bell boy helped us carry our bags down to the
rooms. He seemed nervous and wanted to hurry back as he opened the rooms. Kedar would share a room with Suresh. Mohan and I would be sharing the adjacent one.

“Call 201 for help,” Prem said. “Remember 201,” he repeated
and sped away to apparent safety.

Nevertheless we looked around the building before turning
in for the night. Light from the street lamps pierced the dense swaying foliage
to choreograph a macabre shadow dance. The nearest accommodation was about 200
meters uphill. We could hear faint music and intermittent bursts of laughter. A
few stars still twinkled in the black velvet sky and the wind whistled between
the trees. The sound of water splashing onto the shore added to nature’s nocturnal
orchestra.

It had been a tiring journey and a long busy day awaited
us. I decided to retire and could hear Kedar and Suresh chatting in the other
room. Mohan was speaking to his wife on his cell phone. I bade him good night
and turned in for the day.

Something shining in my eyes woke me from a deep
dreamless slumber. I tried to switch on the bedside lamp but there was no
electricity. I saw a whitish blur in the window. It looked like a human face. My
heart started thudding; my breathing quickened and sweat broke out on the brow.
What if there was really a ghost?

My army training came to my rescue. I grabbed a torch and
rushed to the window. The ‘face’ moved away and vanished towards the veranda. I
opened the door and chased it. I could see a white figure and I followed it as
it flitted between the trees. It remained elusive till it seemed to float up
the stairs. I sprinted and finally caught something wriggling in billowing robes.

It was Kedar who had wrapped himself in a bed sheet and
was writhing in laughter grinning from ear to ear.

“I just wanted to scare you sir. You did say there is
nothing like ghosts!”

He reminded me of the clerk’s story. I reproached him for
his childish prank and for disturbing me. We both had a hearty laugh and
retreated to our respective rooms.

The night seemed darker now. The wind had died, the
shadow-dancers were still and the orchestra was silent. I returned to my bed. I
could barely see Mohan sitting on the bed. The commotion apparently had woken him
up. I tried to light a candle but flame died repeatedly as if blown by an
unseen breeze. Sleep was elusive and we chatted away in the dark reminiscing our
days in uniform. After a while, my eyelids turned heavy and I fell asleep. Precisely
when, I do not recollect.

I was awakened by the sound of pounding on our door. Fighting
the clutches of sleep I saw the next bed was empty. Mohan was not around. He
must have already left for the briefing. A quick glance showed it was already 7
o’ clock.

Cursing myself for tardiness I rushed to open the door. It
was Kedar. “Please wake up sir, you are already late. The participants have
left for the trek. Hurry up; we have to catch up with them.”

I tried to explain, “After your prank, I was awake till
5. Mohan and I had a good time reliving our old days. I guess I slept off after
that.”

He looked at me strangely. “Are you saying that you
chatted with Mohan in the night?”

“Yes, we did. Why?’

Kedar was bewildered. “Sir he left at mid night before I
woke you up. There was an emergency at home.”

I was aghast. “Is that so?”

I felt a shiver down my spine. If Mohan had left at
midnight, then, what was on that bed next to me that chatted with me in the wee
hours?

This was my entry to the 2014 Flash Fiction contest at http://www.lvwonline.org/ Needless to say it went no where with the judges but hopefully you will enjoy it, dear readers!!

Tomorrow

T33/4 was situated at the end of the lane and stood amidst an overgrown bamboo jungle, dwarfed by a huge Seemal and surrounded by bleeding hearts. The two-roomed barrack styled cottage looked romantic bathed in sunlight that streaked through the branches. Come nightfall, it was something straight out of Jurassic Park.

It was past ten and the night was punctuated by the frequent roar of laughter from the Ramsies’ in T33/3. She had excused herself early wanting to tie up loose ends. As usual there was no electricity and Pramila pushed aside the old Feminas and newspapers lying on an old crate that served as a table and lit a candle. She had been working all day and was exhausted. This was the last night she thought with a smile, tomorrow she would finally move into her their ‘permanent’ accommodation. It was the thought of this move that kept her company in their lonely ‘temporary’ home while her husband was away on official business. She removed curtains from the window, dumped their clothes into a suitcase and sat on it hoping her would her weight would bring the edges together. Their belongings and she were ready to move.

The bonfire next door choreographed eerie orange and black figures on her windows Pramila heard some scrabbling and panicked. Where was the torch? She blindly groped in her handbag and her fingers closed around the steel cylinder. In her hurry to switch it on it fell to the ground, and she was on her knees groping to find it. She gingerly moved her hands around the rough cemented floor fearing touching the giant cockroaches that always ran around the moment there was no light. Aaah, there it was… The yellow beam pierced every dark corner as she looked for… she knew not what… Was that an old floor stain or did it wriggle? She had left open a window at the back for some air so could that be a snake? Though the memory was two weeks old, Pramila could still feel the smooth cold skin against her feet as the Machoa gom had slid past her to escape its hiding place behind the bucket in the bathroom. The torchlight outlined a huge rat as it headed for the false ceiling. Relieved, she decided she had done enough for the day.

The transition to this remote location had been difficult. Being a city girl, she couldn’t accept living in this shack that served as their temporary home. ‘Cottage’ meant glorifying this bamboo thatched structure standing amidst grass that grew at least an inch a day. Hence her daily cribs and their daily arguments. He tried to reason with her, “All personnel live here at some point and it is only temporary.” Yet Pramila continued her rantings. Her husband left for his present assignment after one such major fight.

But things seemed to be looking up now. The job at the school was an unexpected opening and they were allotted their brick and mortar home out of turn. Teaching chemistry to 14-year olds was a far cry from her research assistantship at the Institute in Pune but she was willing to compromise. God did listen and she promised herself to turn over a new leaf. Pramila couldn’t wait for him to come home.

She gulped her Calmpose and got into bed. Much as she didn’t want to, she had got into a habit of popping a sedative when alone. A blissful dreamless state kept unwarranted cribs and worries at bay. The night covered her in a thick blanket and the fauna sang for her. The crickets’ set up a crescendo and each movement ended in a refrain by hundreds of frogs. Lizards clicked and chuckled as they raced each other across the walls and she was thankful to the darkness as their sight filled her with revulsion. Tens of mosquitoes buzzed tirelessly around her some making bold dives towards her.

She did not, could not shake away her attackers. Sleep’s velvety claws engulfed her and took control of her mind. Pramila’s limbs seemed to become heavier and heavier as she happily floated between T33/4 and a dark warm world. The candle flame flickered brighter as it ate up the last of wax and the newspapers and magazines below it. She vaguely heard the Ramsies driving off with their guests. A faint pervading acrid smell seemed to be increasing. Her brain flashed cautionary signals but she was in a world apart. Her eyelids and limbs would not respond to urgent commands they received. It was her last night in this dump. Tomorrow, tomorrow she would sleep in proper home…

As the Ramsies drove back, they saw flames leaping out of the cottage at the end of the lane.

Rat Race…

The alarm tinkled but he shut the mobile up. He had an hour before his day began. He would steal five minutes from that. He had made so many compromises so far, how did an extra 5 minutes of sleep matter?

This was the only period in Vijay’s control. The moment he got out off bed some unseen force took charge of his life. He had his big car now yet he longed for the train journey to work. He would have to wait for another year or his next job for a driver.

His boss was a tyrant. Targets, deadlines, office jealousies… Unpretentious Ravi always seemed to please the boss. And Anita took full advantage of her sex to avoid any additional tasks. The earlier boss had moved up acting the Pied Piper for his old team! Vijay had again lost out to Hussein in that race.

Vicky their son, had to be dropped to school everyday on his way out. Asking his wife Sonya to do so meant inviting another round of arguments. Cosmo women fought tooth and nail to share every duty. Vijay wondered if village women were half as vocal or their voice ever heard.

Sonya’s job paid for the EMI on this swanky flat. His pay packet took care of the car, plasma TV and European holiday installments. His fat salary shriveled to peanuts even before it reached the bank.

With both of them working, Vijay’s elderly parents looked after Vicky. Sonya argued they too would benefit from Vijay’s success. Any way it was better than living alone in the village and looking after the fields.

Weekdays zoomed past, each day undistinguishable from the other. Weekends meant putting in that extra bit at work, the new boss expected it. Sonya would never understand. Lazy Sunday mornings were his only luxury before getting down to more work.

Behind closed eyes, strains of a Kishore Kumar melody stirred his mind. He rarely played the harmonium these days. Where was it anyway? Sonya must have junked it somewhere. Vijay had been an avid mountaineer in college often leading expeditions. Now he had difficulty in figuring out the easiest route around vehicles on the road. Amma faithfully dusted his books and read out stories to his son. Vijay remembered playing carom and cards with Dad but he had forgotten when he last played cricket with Vicky. Did his parents deserve to care for a child at sixty plus?

Suddenly he was gripped with the futility of it all. Where was he running? What for? Vijay was pushing forty and Vicky’s childhood would not last forever. He had to be a part of it. His parents needed to retire.

Through swirls of mist he saw yet another EMI for Sonya’s diamond necklace and a corner office beckoning him. Vijay felt himself being sucked into a vortex of his creation. The snoozing alarm tinkled again urging him on in the rat race. He shrugged away his blues and dragged himself out of bed remembering Robert Frost’s lines “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep”.


“Miles to go before I sleep…”

The alarm tinkled but he shut the mobile up. He had an hour before his day began. He would steal five minutes from that. He had made so many compromises so far, how did an extra 5 minutes of sleep matter?

This was the only period in Vijay’s control. The moment he got out off bed some unseen force took charge of his life. He had his big car now yet he longed for the train journey to work. He would have to wait for another year or his next job for a driver.

His boss was a tyrant. Targets, deadlines, office jealousies… Unpretentious Ravi always seemed to please the boss. And Anita took full advantage of her sex to avoid any additional tasks. The earlier boss had moved up acting the Pied Piper for his old team! Vijay had again lost out to Hussein in that race.

Vicky their son, had to be dropped to school everyday on his way out. Asking his wife Sonya to do so meant inviting another round of arguments. Cosmo women fought tooth and nail to share every duty. Vijay wondered if village women were half as vocal or their voice ever heard.

Sonya’s job paid for the EMI on this swanky flat. His pay packet took care of the car, plasma TV and European holiday installments. His fat salary shriveled to peanuts even before it reached the bank.

With both of them working, Vijay’s elderly parents looked after Vicky. Sonya argued they too would benefit from Vijay’s success. Any way it was better than living alone in the village and looking after the fields.

Weekdays zoomed past, each day undistinguishable from the other. Weekends meant putting in that extra bit at work, the new boss expected it. Sonya would never understand. Lazy Sunday mornings were his only luxury before getting down to more work.

Behind closed eyes, strains of a Kishore Kumar melody stirred his mind. He rarely played the harmonium these days. Where was it anyway? Sonya must have junked it somewhere. Vijay had been an avid mountaineer in college often leading expeditions. Now he had difficulty in figuring out the easiest route around vehicles on the road. Amma faithfully dusted his books and read out stories to his son. Vijay remembered playing carom and cards with Dad but he had forgotten when he last played cricket with Vicky. Did his parents deserve to care for a child at sixty plus?

Suddenly he was gripped with the futility of it all. Where was he running? What for? Vijay was pushing forty and Vicky’s childhood would not last forever. He had to be a part of it. His parents needed to retire.

Through swirls of mist he saw yet another EMI for Sonya’s diamond necklace and a corner office beckoning him. Vijay felt himself being sucked into a vortex of his creation. The snoozing alarm tinkled again urging him on in the rat race. He shrugged away his blues and dragged himself out of bed remembering Robert Frost’s lines “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep”.

This was my very first attempt at fiction but is obviously heavily inspired by urban life in India today. I was confident enough to submit it in a contest, the entry went nowhere but I now have taken heart to try my hand at fiction!

As we get ready to welcome another year, let us assess where we stand, what are our goals and how far are we from achieving them. Let quality of life not be the first victim in this race.

Seasons Greetings and Best wishes for 2008!

Archana