Counting blessings

Fuchsia thy name

What's fuchsia you ask-

Is it the colour or the flower?

Its none; perhaps its a reminder

of those happy days

when I was just a kid

Playing around in my frilly frocks

Blue, yellow and fuchsia coloured.

Perhaps its that dream

Something I saw in my mind's eye

The one where I painted the town

Fuchsia, in merriment

And danced to the sound of

Ringing bells.

Perhaps it that was song

Playing in my head all day long

Praising the fucshia

The one in my garden

Blooming in its glory.

Or perhaps it is none of these.

Perhaps it was the spur of that moment.

Leaving me with the question-

Why Fuchsia?

(Art by my friend Kunal Sarma. Here's his Instagram username: k_omoreb_i)

A kitten’s wish

(Art by my friend Mrigakhi Bora. Original creation by artist Vimal Chandran)

Why does the human live in a box like house?

Watching the idiot box all day

Only peeping out once or twice

To adjust the antenna signal in the way.

I am a little kitten, I stay outdoors all day

I dream of yummy things

And wish to lick a fishbone clean

Found in the roadside bin.

I wonder if the big fishes of the ocean

Would ever want to fly, like I do

Then I would meet them in the sky 

And twirl gracefully in my rainbow tutu.

For now I could play with the human

Only if it would come out and

Give me some milk and candies,

Sit in the lush green grass 

And watch the clouds dancing to 

The tune of the blowing wind.

Oh what a wonderful day that would be!

Once upon a December evening

 

(Dedicated to my dear friend Dishna Phukan. Here’s the link to her website :https://www.dishnaphukan.com/ )

Bathtub plants

Flora was a crazy lady. Thats what everybody had to say about her. She was a sane, young woman until the disappearance of her husband. Ever since then, she went into a recluse in her home. Her husband, Joseph was thought to have been killed in a plane crash in Japan. But no one knows if he is dead for sure. His body was never found. 

Nobody visited Flora, nor would she open the door to anybody. I was concerned about her, she was my friend. So I used to peep in to have a look at her every now and then. On most days she looked fine to me. Humming to herself as she tended to the plants she had grown in her bathtub. Yes, there was a mini garden in her bathtub. Strange as it may seem, the plants thrived with little sunlight and fresh air from the vent above the window. 

 

One fine day as I was returning from work, I heard a loud wail from her house. I ran towards the window to look. I saw Flora slumped on the floor. She was dressed in red and wore her pearls, looking like a woman on a date. But she looked distressed as she her eyes were fixated on a spot. Thats when my gaze shifted to the bathtub. The plants weren’t alive anymore. The tub was covered with some blue green looking substance; perhaps algae. It smelled foul, I could sense it even outside the house. What exactly was she doing in the bathtub? What was she growing there? Why are the plants dead so suddenly?

 

And then I saw Flora looking at me fiercely. Kohl stained eyes that whispered sinister intentions, teeth clenched, one hand plucking the pearl beads from the necklace. It scared me. I took my bag and ran from there as fast as I could, promising never to peep into her house again.

 

The new, yet old

Perhaps 2020 was this dark side of the world and yet we hustled through; meeting the stronger side of ourselves, building up our courage and determination to survive. For we knew - the struggle to survive is not a new game. 

Sending good vibes to everyone for this maze -2021 ✨✨🧚🏼‍♀️✨✨

When Judy met Lily

 

It was a cold winter morning. The bright morning sun shimmered through the snow. It was the day when Judy the alpaca meets Lily. Judy and her partner Jake had wanted a baby ever since they got together. They would look up to the sky and watch a plane go by and wonder if it would drop a baby for them to catch. But fate had some different plan for them.

So one day while Jake set out to go the fields, Judy stayed at home. She was busy with her chores when she heard a faint meowing outside. She thought it might be a stray cat looking around for food. But the meowing continued. So she came outside expecting to find a stray cat. Instead what she saw made her heart skip a beat. It was a tiny kitten playing all by itself with a flower. Judy stood there, amused by the kitten’s play. The kitten jumped around the flower, meowing as if it were another kitten. This continued for a while, until Jake arrived home.

“Look Jake, such a tiny kitten”, exclaimed Judy.

So they both stood there watching the kitten as it played. Their hearts filled with joy and laughter. After a while the kitten got tired and started looking for its mother. But no mommy cat was to be seen around. That’s when it struck Judy that the kitten must have been lost.

They brought it home and fed some milk. After a good meal, the kitten rolled up near Judy and fell asleep. Judy was touched by the gesture.

Watching that Jake suggested, “Let the kitty stay with us until it finds its mother.”

Judy beamed with delight. And that’s how the little kitten, Lily, became the light of the lives of Judy and Jake.

The last night with my family

 

Its been 20 years since the accident- the one that ceased the existence of the townspeople. But I needed to find my family. I drove into the abandoned town. I parked my car near the woods and walked around. Dry leaves crackling under my feet as I walked along the empty road. I stopped in front of a broken down warehouse. Broken car parts, rusting old drums and more dried leaves lay all around. I vaguely remember what had happened here.

20 years ago, one night I anxiously lay in my room as I heard the first little cries of my baby brother being born in the next room. I was elated. I ran in and slowly opened the door. The nurse was cradling the baby in her arms. I wanted to hold the baby but I was asked to stay in my room as they tended to my mother and my father was not yet there. I came back to my room and plopped down on my bed. I was  looking out of the window when I felt a sudden shake. The Buddha statue on my table started moved violently. Before I could comprehend what was happening, the roof came crumbling down. I called out to my mother but all I could hear was a lot of loud screams. I saw a glint of light from my window and I rushed towards it. There was a tiny gap. I jumped out and stood on the street. There was chaos all around. I looked back at our house. The roof on my mother’s room was on the ground. I did not see anyone there.

That was the last time when I saw my family.

 

The abandoned warehouse

 

I was yet to recover from the trauma of the death of my best friend. Everywhere I go I can see him. So much so that the other day I froze at the spot when I saw the silhouette of a man walking on a zebra crossing . It was around midnight, everything was dark but the height and the walking style of the figure resembled that of my friend. I wanted to take a look at the face. So I followed the figure. At the corner of the street he took a right turn and walked ahead. I kept a good distance and walked behind him.

He reached an empty street, across it was an old, abandoned warehouse. The gate seemed to be padlocked. Suddenly he climbed up the wall, stepped on the branch of the tree near it and jumped into the property. It seemed like he frequented the place. I did not want to trespass but the entire scenario intrigued me. So I tried to snoop in like he did. I stepped on the branch when out of nowhere a bee looking insect flitted past my ear. As I took a closer look, I was amazed. The bee was unlike the ones I have seen- it looked robotic. I was staring at it when it stung me. I dropped down and fainted instantly.

After an hour or so, my eyes opened. I could feel my legs and hands were tied. Just then somebody threw water at my face. My vision cleared, I looked up to see who was there.

“Hello John. Guess you are happy to see me alive!”, said my friend.

A strange journey

 

Somewhere between the earth and the sky lay the land of Nowhere and I have to find it. I have spent a decade making this plan. That’s where I will find the answers to my questions. And so I set out skydiving through the air to my destination.

Just then the sky turned pink and blue, thunder striking through the clouds. I lost my consciousness, falling through the air. I opened my eyes after what seemed like an eternity. I wasn’t falling anymore but I could feel wind through my hair. I glanced sideways; there was a mist all around. And then I looked up and saw what was carrying me through the air. It was a massive balloon. The likes of what I have seen only in sci-fi movies. I sat behind the machine that powered the balloon. The steam and the constant ticking noise of the engine were the only sound around me. What was going on? Where I was?

Suddenly as the mist surrounding me cleared away I could see numerous tall towers and some mushroom shaped buildings. My transport was heading towards one such strange building. I jumped off from the balloon and stood on the landing platform. There was nobody to be seen. Just then a door opened and out came a strange looking human shaped creature. A three headed blue faced creature, wearing a weird blue costume with frills. I could say it looked like the joker.

I asked, “Where am I?”

The creature looked at me from top to toe and said, “Come inside Peter;  we have been waiting for your arrival. Its time to introduce you to the land of Nowhere.”

New section announcement

 Hi friends,

I am starting a new segment in my blog called "Creative writing". The idea of this segment is that I will generate a collage of four random pictures and try to create a story by linking all these pictures. I will try to keep it interesting. Posted the first one today called "A strange journey". Lets get on this new adventure of tale telling.

Cheers,
Annie