A widow & A widower

Hers...

After a long time she was sitting with her in-laws. Everyone was watching a comedy movie and laughing. A funny scene came and she also started laughing. The room went quiet. She realized that all eyes were on her. She felt guilty. She quietly got up and went to her room. She was a widow.  

His...

He was getting dressed. It was his wedding. He checked himself out in the mirror. He looked dapper. He put on his turban and smiled... a little sadly. He sighed and went out. There was celebration all around...firecrackers shooting in the sky. No one could tell it was his second marriage. He was a widower.

I know this scenario is changing rapidly... But there is still a long way to go.

Height Of Loneliness

She dialled his number for the tenth consecutive time. Still, her call was on waiting. She clutched the receiver to her ear and kept listening as the automated voice repeated the same message in various languages, 'the user is busy on another call...' she smiled bitterly, thinking, 'Someone has the time to speak with me.'

Image courtesy - 123rf.com

P.S. Can anyone tell me a good site to download free pictures? Yes, I have been living under a rock! :P

Women

 

She turned around and slapped him... hard on the face. “you should be ashamed of yourself!” she yelled at him. Mira, one of the other passengers on the crowded bus, wondered, ‘if only i had that much courage.’ She kept staring out, stone-faced, as she endured the middle-aged man leaning in on her... yet again.

Through this post i have tried to portray two faces of women - the active one and the passive one. The one who is not afraid to stand up for herself and Mira who has become numb. I wrote this post after reading about two events -

• SlutWalk - I don't know how many of you know about it but it's a protest (by women) that was started in Toronto against the remarks made by a policeman that women should stop dressing like 'sluts' to in order to stop being victimized. in other words, if a woman is wearing a skirt she is asking the opposite sex to come and molest her! outrageous, isn't it?! all the India women would give proof to the fact that it doesn't matter if you are wearing a skirt or a sari, you would be leered at, jeered at, made lewd comments at, touched, felt, whistled at, taunted... the same way. 
• Today on the news i saw this piece about 9 female fetuses found in a drain in some district of Maharashtra. the more shocking information was that some locals had seen pigs and dogs eating them! 

This is the sad state of women... First, they are not allowed to be born and if they do, they are molested. Sometimes, i wonder which is better - not being born or being born but treated as a piece of meat.

And you know what is the saddest part? it is the fact that it is the women that are doing this to other women. it's a mother who doesn't stand up for her unborn daughter. it is a woman who would make the one who is trying to raise her voice to shut up and let it pass.

I wish, hope and pray that soon, the active women take precedence over the passive one. I wish that women, all over, learn to say NO... to killing their daughters, to being eve-teased, to give dowry, to being molested!

A short love story!

This is indeed a short love story, literally and metaphorically. Read on -

Rain. She is running. He stares.

Two strangers. One umbrella. Love blossoms.
 
Life is love. love is life.
 
One year. Love disappears. Fights start.
 
"It's not working out." He leaves.
 
"I do love you." she mutters.
 
She keeps trying. He moves on.
 
He found someone new. She cries.
 
... And it ended. Just like that.
 
Goodbye.

This is an attempt at a six word story. As the name suggests it means narrating a story in exact six words. So all these 9 lines are a story in themselves. And they are subtle stories... nothing is in-your-face here so you need to get those grey cells working!

Now, my twist on this style is that while each individual six word short story is complete in itself, when read together all these 55 words are a story as well... I hope you get it... if you don't drop in a line and let me know that i need to work harder! i won't mind, i promise! ;)

The Sun, The walk and The Lech!

She was walking on the beach looking at the setting sun…That’s when she noticed him staring at her with a lecherous smile. She started playing with her mangalsutra that had previously hidden inside her kurti. He looked away and started undressing someone else with his eyes. She smiled to herself and continued with her stroll.

His & Hers... 55 fiction style!

I have actually got addicted to writing 55 fiction... And i love writing His and Hers series! So, i decided to mix the two and write His and Hers series in 55 fiction format... here are couple of attempts -

His 'Wedding'...

He never thought that this day would finally come. The day when she will be only his. She was sitting next to him in all bridal finery, looking into the sacred fire. He lifted the mangalsutra and put it around her neck. Everyone cheered and he smiled proudly. Finally his dream had come true.

... Her 'Compromise'

She sat there unmoving, all decked up. She stared into the fire, unblinking. She felt helpless and weak but she knew she couldn’t do anything. It was too late now. As he put the mangalsutra around her neck, she felt as if the noose had finally tightened. Everyone cheered as she shed silent tears. 

* * * * * * * * *

Surprise!

Today was her birthday. He was out of town for a conference and would be back only next week. She waited for his call at midnight that never came. She cried herself to sleep. When she woke up, there was a jewellery case by her side. She smiled as he brought her breakfast in bed.

He excused himself and rushed to the airport. His flight was at 11:45pm. As he sat in the aircraft, he looked at the jewellery case in his hand. He would have to take another flight, day after tomorrow, to come back and attend the last session of the conference. Her smile was worth it all.

55 Fiction!

Some of my attempts at writing 55 fiction... what do you think? Nice? not nice? Should I continue with it or stop torturing you people! ;)

ABUSE!
She looked at herself in the mirror. Her battered and bruised reflection stared back at her, unsmiling. He had hit her… again. He had apologized… again. She had forgiven him… yet again. She applied make up to hide the discoloration and smiled tightly as her eyes welled up and a tear fell down… yet again.

* * * * *

SHE SAT ALONE!
She was sitting alone in her dark room. She was hungry and scared. Outside her parents were fighting again. She heard the distinct sound of a slap followed by the sobs of her mother. Her stomach grumbled again. She drank a glass of water and put on her headphones to drown out the screams.

* * * * *


INFIDELITY! 
She picked up the frame which had a picture of them taken on their honeymoon. A tear fell on the happy smiling couple. She put the frame back on the table along with her mangalsutra, picked up her suitcase and left without looking back…leaving behind a note. ‘I told you I would never tolerate cheating.’

* * * * *

I would also like to know what would you have done if you were in these women's shoes...

If you had been slapped by your 'better half'? What would you have done? Suffered silently or slapped him right back?

What if you were fighting with your husband / wife, and you saw your little girl watching you with tear-filled eyes? Would you stop for her sake?


What if you found out your husband cheated on you? Would you forgive him? give him another chance? Or would you, like this woman, have the courage to leave him?