Tuesday 14 April 2015

A Pari

"Pari, shall we go to beach today”, asked my mama with a faint smile.

I was excited because I was seeing my mother smile after a long time. Since my dad disappeared, she has been in tears only.

“Mamma, I want to see papa”, I used to cry day and night. Every evening, I used to stand in front of our door awaiting his arrival. But, he never came.

“Did papa leave us because of Mili aunty?” I asked one day because my friend Tina had overheard her parent’s conversation and shared with me. Papa is a photographer and he had shown Mili aunty’s photographs to me. I have always liked her. She looks like movie star although she is only an aspiring model.

That night my mama didn’t eat or sleep. She cried until she fainted. I cried too; because I didn’t know what else to do. I hoped that my mother would wake up soon and give me food. But, she laid there. When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital. I was terrified and found mama sitting beside me. I felt better.

Since that incident, mama had stopped crying. Strangely, she stopped sending me to school too. I missed my school and Tina.

So, when mama asked if we can go to beach, I was excited.

We took an auto to the beach and walked along the sad. Mama let me make sand castles. I had just learnt the spelling of mama and papa’s name. I wrote them on sand. But, the waves took them with it.

“Come Pari, let’s go to the waves and ask it to return those names”, said mama cheerfully. I was excited to step into the sea. I was not scared at all because mama was holding my hands.

She took me into the sea; farther and farther. I started feeling nauseous and clutched to my mama’s hands tighter. I started crying and begged mama to go back to the shore. But, she held me in her arms and continued to walk. I tried to look at her face; it was strangely serene. Water started getting into my ears, nose and mouth. I kept my eyes shut and clutched at my mama’s neck.

Slowly, it became difficult to breathe. Mama could not hold me anymore and I was floating in middle of sea. I was crying. But, those tears went unnoticed. I wished papa came and rescued us. I wished that it was a dream. I wanted to meet Tina and tell her that she is my best friend. I wanted to see my papa and ask why he didn’t come to see me for so many days. I wanted to grow up and become a model so that papa would shoot my photos. I wanted to breathe, but it stopped.

25 comments:

  1. Nice poignant little story there.

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    1. Thanks a lot...
      Very glad that you liked it :)

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  2. touching but depressing story...the writing is good

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  3. That's depressing..!
    You should continue writing this story further.. there's something unsaid, untold..

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    1. The story is meant to be incomplete.. Because a child is killed even before she sees what life is...
      Thanks Geetika :)

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  4. Very sad. Very touching. The mother has no right to take away the life of her daughter.

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    1. Or to take her own life for that matter!
      Thanks SG :)

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  5. The feelings of a little girl has been brought out well, in this story. When you mentioned beach, I was sort of able to guess what was coming. You can also try to give a totally unexpected ending, to surprise readers.

    Destination Infinity

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    1. Ah! Thats a nice idea... Difficult though :)

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  6. That was a really nice, sad story. I could hear the waves and the little girl crying :)

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  7. Oh the feels. Very poignant.

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  8. A sad story indeed, but I think you have more to say. I will look forward to that!

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  9. Ok. First of all this post has elements that make it stand out. The subtle flow, the simple yet hard hitting lines, these provide an all new dimension to this poignant tale.

    "She cried until she fainted. I cried too; because I didn’t know what else to do."

    "I had just learnt the spelling of mama and papa’s name. I wrote them on sand. But, the waves took them with it."

    Awesome awesome lines that express a lot in only a few words.

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    1. Thanks a lot Amrit... I am so happy that you noted the nuances... Means a lot!

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