The Old Self. Blog Marathon #12

The wind was blowing hot, though the sky had turned a threatening gray nimbus. The train was moving fast against the wind, and as I was seated in the window seat, which I usually prefer, I was both enjoying and despising the climate.

But no amount of rain or wind was going to spoil my mood for that day.
It was a very special day for me.
It had been an year since I have entered this land. An year! How fast the time flies away!

I never expected it to be that long.
But finally, I was there.
And I was going to see her.
The train was nearing my station and I squirmed in my seat in happiness mixed with anxiety. Every passing minute felt like an year. The train slowly screeched to a halt and I was the first to get down.

The clouds had turned an even more menacing gray, and I wanted to reach home before the perennial showers start.
But I had no such luck, and even before I had booked an auto, the heavens blessed us with rain.

It started as a drizzle and soon it started raining cats and dogs. I tried moving away from the window and hoped with all might that the sheets covering the windows will stay at their place.

Fortunately, before soaking myself I got under the shelter of my apartment complex. Not wanting to wait for the elevator, I raced up the steps to the second floor, where my humble abode stood.

My finger slowly pressed the calling bell and I could hear the familiar tune being played. Immediately the door opened and there, standing there with her face full of happiness, was my wife. I gave my bag to her and entered.

My eyes were searching for her.
There she was. My sweet little daughter. My life had been a little hellish without her. And now finally i could be with her. With her little feet moving forward, she slowly came near me. I scooped her out from the floor and planted a large kiss on her left cheek.

She rubbed the spot with her fist and looked at me. I was standing there with a huge smile plastered over my face and she was there looking solemnly at me. Her huge eyes showed no hint of the affection she had previously. She was blinking at me.

My 5 year old daughter was not able to recognize me. Boy, was I disappointed!

I went to my room. Removing my watch and placing it on the dressing table, I looked at myself in the mirror. Age had not still set in. I could still see the youth lurking there.

But i was not looking the same.
I slowly rubbed my fingers over the beard I had grown over the past few weeks.
It looked like a thick bush and my wife had told me as plainly as she could, that she wanted it removed, as soon as I entered.

I looked at our family photo that was hanging there on the wall nearby. I had been one handsome hunk then. Not long ago, actually.

Suddenly a thought occurred to me. My darling wife was calling me for lunch. Though her cooking is not chef class, I will gladly have her food than the restaurant foods I have been having for the past year. I told her I will be back in a few minutes and went to the bathroom.

Though not for my wife, i will do it for my daughter. I decided to shave and make myself presentable. I placed a dollop of Gillette shaving gel on the shaving brush and applied the gel over. Then I picked up my Gillette razor and slowly started the shaving process.

Soon, I was pristine clean and I bathed and got into fresh clothes.I went into the dining room and there the delicious aroma of Biriyani was inviting me.

My daughter was sitting there with a plate in front of her. She was doodling on the plate which had small portions of food for her.

As I sat opposite to her, she looked up from her plate. She stared at me again. But this time, it broke into a smile slowly which eventually widened.
She raced towards me and hugged my legs with her short arms. I took her in my arms and smiled at her.
'Papa! Papa!'

I patted her head and we both sat down to our meal, before my wife could come and blow our heads off for not eating the food.
P.S That aromatic Biriyani tasted like tamarind rice and don't say this to my wife.

#peppylookmatters

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The Peppy proposal - Blog Marathon #8

Her hair looked sheen and gorgeous. It was lustrous black held up in a lovely ponytail and it reached her slim hips. Her hair was a natural straight and she must have taken pains to maintain such a heavenly gift.

He was admiring her hair and her hair was the only thing he could see for the next one hour, because he was in the last row and his lovable crush was a few rows before.

She tucked her hair behind her ears with one hand, while her other hair was busy taking notes. He hadn't listened to one word that came out of the professor's mouth. His eyes saw only her and his ears turned deaf to all the other sounds.
He had become like that after seeing her. It was love at first sight for him. Time slowed when he saw her. He lost his sleep and as an unrecoverable insomniac, he became anorexic and was suffering from love disease.

She was a beautiful goddess. She wore crisp, brightly coloured tops mostly over blue jeans matched with equally bright and attractive shoes.

He was not bad looking either. But he never wore nothing other than plain looking shirts paired with black or beige trousers. He was not that much into fashion nor did he intend to in the future.
He had tried several times to gain her attention. But, each and every time failed and it had been 6 months since he started to have an one sided crush on her.
Each professor dragged on with their lecture that day. But, he felt the time to be passing very quickly and when the class ended, she would fly away and he had to wait for another two days before he could see her.

But all good things had to end too and the final bell rang like a cold knife piercing through his heart.

Before he could get out of the classroom, she had disappeared.

His disappointment was etched clearly on his face and his friend tried consoling him. He was advised to tell her her feelings.

He decided to do so.

That weekend he spent his time on plans about how to come out of his ordeal.
It was such a pain to bear all the feelings without any reciprocation. He dealt with all the negative emotions that emerged along with his ideas.

He finally decided to change himself a bit.
Instead of the usual formal attire, he deviated a little bit.

On that day, his boring wardrobe looked appallingly at him, and that was better than the look he got from his mother, when he got out with a red shirt and blue jeans paired with a red shoe and coolers.
His friend gave him a huge hug and voiced 'Way to go dude!'

He had a letter in his hand, in which he had poured out all his feelings.
But he couldn't find the courage to approach her in front of all their classmates and when lunch break happened, he was sweating and his tongue was thirsty like a dry parched land.

He went to the college Canteen and got himself a lime soda. He took his drink with him and sat on one of the cement benches.

He took a sip from the glass and his throat seemed to be wanting more. He heaved out a huge sigh and leaned back on the pillar, when he heard someone utter his name.

It was her.

'What happened to him? Why should he change himself on the exact day when I had planned to tell him about my feelings? Is he in love with someone else and had done all the stupid transformation to please the other girl? What will I do?'

He kept the glass on the bench and got up slowly and walked near to her table.
His eyes made contact with hers.
There were tears ready to come flooding down threatening to ruin even the smudfe free kajal, which had beautifully brightened her eyes.

'Yes. I love a girl and it is you'

A single drop of tear came falling down and her mouth had the widest smile it could possibly have!

And his peppy proposal had been a success!

#peppy

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.