Ah, the Indian mango season!

Once again it’s that time of the year when one can see carts and loads of mangoes everywhere- different varieties of them from all over the country. Just yesterday my mom-in-law, hubby, son and I drove to the ever so famous Natural ice cream shop because we knew some “mango specials” would have arrived. And to our (and our taste bud’s!) pleasure we found that we weren’t wrong. As we were waiting in the car, my hubby got us mango fudge. First a layer of mango ice cream, and then freshly cut mango pieces topped with a huge scoop of mango ice cream again. The sweet taste of mangoes is something every Indian craves for. And I’m no different! I had my first bite of the fruit and my mouth savored the juicy and delicious taste that satisfies me each and every time I have it. Within no time, we had emptied our bowl and needless to say it was an ultimate contentment attained. But the good news is that this is just the beginning and there are lots more variety of mangoes to come during this season. And I eagerly await the same.

Welcome, O king of fruits!

Reverie

Gia ran towards the door but couldn't help getting drenched all over. It was pouring, literally, and Gia was wondering when she had last seen the rains so bad. She waved at John who had so kindly offered to drop her home, at this late hour. John waved back from inside the car and drove away. Gia turned towards her door and after fumbling for a few seconds, found the keys to her home. Home. Yes, this was her home. She lived alone, all by herself, but she was never lonely. She liked being alone. Friends would drop in occasionally but she loved to have her home all to herself. It was her cocoon and she felt the same warmth as she feels everyday when she opens the door as she did today. It was dark, very dark inside. Gia switched on the lights. She threw her bag on the table and slumped down on the couch. She was tired. She closed her eyes and instantly was summarizing the day’s events……getting late to the office thanks to the traffic, problems with team members, Jenny, her sister, upset for not having called for more than a week……. It was when this train of thoughts ran through her mind that she first felt it. She felt someone…someone in her room. Gia opened her eyes but saw no one. She listened, but didn’t hear anything. Maybe it was her imagination. She sighed and closed her eyes again. “I am tired!” she told herself. “Am going to hit the bed earlier than usual tonight…” And there it was again! The same feeling! Gia sat up. She looked around, but all she could see was the big window of the room which opened to the lawn. The curtains were flying from the storm outside. It looked eerie but Gia assured herself that there was nothing wrong. With the little courage that she had she got up and was just about to move when she felt the presence so close that she turned. And then it hit her. She felt a mass of emotions overpowering her. Gia closed her eyes. She saw flashes. A happy life, filled with laughter and joy, and then the excitement and pleasure of falling in love, the dreams of a beautiful life together, the ugly face of deception, tears, frustration, anger , and then…….betrayal! Gia opened her eyes. She was gasping and had tears in her eyes. She realized that someone was trying to tell her something. Unwillingly, she closed her eyes again. As if someone was influencing her. She could see clearly now. The evil face of a man, who had his hands around a woman’s neck, strangling her! The woman was holding onto him when she pulled out the golden chain that was dangling from his neck. It had a beautiful pendant with an “R” embossed in it and painted with a light shade of pink. Gia could feel the agony of the woman, not the fear of death but the pain of being betrayed by someone she trusted the world with. Tears ran down her face. She didn’t want to control them…she let them flow…and then… everything went blank.

When Gia opened her eyes, she found herself lying on the couch with a splitting headache. It was 7 in the morning and she slowly sat up and thought about last night. She raked her brains enough to make sense out of it and finally labeled it as a dream. A dream that seemed so real that she had almost believed it!

The next 2 months were regular and nothing out of the ordinary happened. Then one day she received a parcel form her Aunt Ann. There was a small box and a letter. Gia sat down to read the letter first. Aunt Ann always wrote lengthy letters. She had moved into her new home and found the neighborhood quite satisfactory. Also, Uncle Henry had been making new friends to bore them with his old war time stories! And then the letter ran with the little events taking place in their new home. While concluding, Aunt Ann wrote that when she was moving her things from her old place, she had found her mother’s souvenir and that she thought Gia might be interested to keep it. It was all that was left of her mother’s remembrance. Gia put down the letter and took the box in her hand. She had always been fond of her mother and anything belonging to her would definitely be dear to her. She couldn’t wait to see what was inside and opened the small maroon box. And as she opened it, her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. She couldn’t believe her eyes! There, in the tiny box, lay a golden chain and a pendant with an “R” embossed in it and painted in a pink shade.

Farewell...

When I bid farewell, I didn’t know what I was going to miss. I didn’t know that I was making a terrible mistake. A mistake that I would regret for the rest of my life. I just had to get him out of my mind, my heart, my life…that was all I could think of. I was putting an end to a beautiful phase of my life. And I did just that…brutally.

One of my friends calls me “stone-hearted”. He says I don’t and cannot have any feelings for anybody. Yeah, he’s right. After all I did do something that was unforgivable, unforgettable.

No, I am not going to give reasons as to why I didn’t accept love. It was something that I had chosen for myself. The only thing, perhaps. I had it all…abundant love that was enough for a lifetime. I can’t say I declined it. But what I did was chuck it in a box, lock it up, and ditched the key in some corner of my heart, marking it in bold as “PAST”.

I ensured myself that I did the right thing and that since it was the past it would never return and shouldn’t bother me. But somewhere in that box I had also locked up a part of myself, my true self. And it was only after a while that I realized that I belonged to my past. That no matter how much I try to shun it all away; it will always come back to me and remain a part of me.

I had broken someone’s heart, a crime that is worse than murder perhaps. Of course, I suffered too, but that doesn’t count. It doesn’t matter. Anymore.

Now that I repent and remorse, nothing’s going to change. But the next time I take leave of my friends, I’ll be careful not to make the same mistake. Not to say “farewell”, not to say...”The end” to a relationship.

Love is the best thing that can happen to you, but only if you let it.

The magic of Christmas.

I have always had a fascination for Christmas. The huge fir tree overloaded with snow, bells, star lights and other accessories. I can keep staring at it in awe…Oh what a sight! When we were younger, my sister and I used to actually hang stockings on Christmas Eve hoping to find something in it the next day!! I remember wanting to join my friends who would leave for the midnight mass late at night… I remember watching movies, and listening to the melodious carols...my favorite one being “Silent night”. Visiting friends (only to have a look at their Christmas trees!) and wishing if I could have one at home too…

The celebrations are everywhere…wherever you go, you know its Christmas…The decorations outside, the lighting on houses, wreaths on the doors……you just know the whole world is celebrating Christmas….and the best part is that it doesn’t matter what religion you belong to, you just join in the celebrations ,go on with the flow and blend into it. That’s the magic of Christmas…..the aura it creates....every one simply belongs at Christmas.

Memories...

As I was getting ready to go to bed tonight, I looked at the moon. It shone there brightly as it would everyday, but today I just stood there staring at it. It looked so lovely, so peaceful. It instantly calmed me down. A couple of stars twinkled around it beautifying it even more. Somehow it made me think of the past occurrences in life. My old teachers, my old friends and new, moments of triumph, moments of joy, moments of farewells, moments of pain………

But all the sorrow and distress seemed to be vanishing away. I suddenly realized that it is these moments that has filled my life with so many sweet and not so sweet memories which I definitely would want to take with me wherever I go. Without them, I am empty. And so, before I drifted off to sleep, I silently thanked all those who made a difference to my life and made me what I am today.

It's school time!

After 2 years of continuous demanding, bugging and attention seeking, my little one had to finally step outside the comfort of his home and face the world. Yes, he was now ready to join play school.

More than worrying about how he would cope up with his new friends and teachers I was worried about how I would handle his absence from home. But for starters, he was to attend school for an hour with me accompanying him.

Well, the day had come and after a busy morning we were ready to go. I took a few photographs of him in his uniform (oh, how cute he looked!!) We reached school and I was amazed how he interacted with the other kids and began playing with the toys he was given. We were then taken to his classroom and there was a little project waiting for him already! He was given a sketch of a dog and was asked to stick a few black paper dots inside it. Of course, the teachers assisted him, but he did pretty well too! We were told to take the project home and file it. An hour was too short for him, but we had to go back home. That was how his first day went and he enjoyed it tremendously.

He has been going to school for a week now. For me it is all a mixed feeling. Some excitement, some tears of joy, some nervousness….I realized suddenly that day that my baby is a big boy now. And at the end of the day, he makes me a proud mom.

I'm back!

Hi everyone! Been a long time, I know. I was very busy with so many things, had no time to blog. Missed blogging a lot though. Anyways, I'm back now and will continue to write now. I have a new post for you too, take a look!

God Bless.