Let Nature Flow on its Own

Once upon a time, when the myths were believed to be true and the people felt peaceful in helping others, there lived David. He was a good man. Married to Virginia and a father of Joshua and John, he was employed in the factory near the town of Peltin. He was a very hardworking man, but the only problem with him was his desire to finish everything before hand and overwork himself for achieving the targets. This habit was good for his business because he never missed any deadline. But as far as his family was concerned, they despised this habit of David.

When Joshua, his elder son, was 2 years old, David spent enough time with his son to make him speak. But by the time John was born, David had become old. Also, his workload had increased and thus, he could not spend enough time with his younger kid. Unlike Joshua, John did not start speaking at the age of two and this made David panic. For him, John not speaking at that age was equivalent to missing a deadline and he could not stand the thought of it. In a fit of desperation and rage, he decided to resign from work and spend more time with his son and make him speak. He also took the doctor’s consultation but the only thing the doctor pointed out was that it was all about time; it was not necessary that all the children started speaking at the same time.

Unconvinced by what the people around him said, he decided to take the matter into his own hands and started teaching his son to speak. It was not long when little John could not take it any long and all he did the entire day was cry and become unmanageable. Virginia tried to console the child, but David would tell her that it is normal. A few days later, John started to cry at the sight of food, he started crying seeing his father around and that is when Virginia realized that something was not right. She spoke to the family doctor and narrated the whole story.  The doctor arranged to meet the parents and counsel them. She spoke to David and tried to make him understand that just like nature has a specific season for everything and a right timing, humans, too, should not interfere with the normal course of life. Sometimes in our life, we want things to happen right at that moment; it is hard to wait for the fruits of the actions. But that is not for us to decide. Just like nature, some things should be left to flow on their own.

David, influenced by what the doctor had to say, realized his mistake and pledged to not burden his little one with desires of his own. 

Can I or can I not write fables?

Kavya was a good girl. Her mother was also a sweet woman, who adored and admired her daughter very much. But it was Kavya’s father, who did not appreciate his daughter’s efforts in anything. Be it studies or social activities, her father always taunted her and expected a lot more from her. Her mother had taught her to always do the right thing and that was the reason why Kavya was so helpful and trustworthy. She never lied. And this made her more determined towards her actions.

One day, when Kavya was riding her bicycle to the school, she collided with a small boy who looked famished. Her immediate instinct forced her to get down from her cycle and help the boy get up. She tried to ask him whether or not he had got hurt. Not getting any reply, she put her hand in her left pocket, took out 15 rupees that her mother had given her for food, and handed the money to the boy. “Go have some food,” she said. The boy hesitated at first, but the hunger forced him to take the money.

Kavya was happy; she had helped someone that day. She could not wait to tell this to her mother. But the scene was different at home. When her father heard about the incident, he was enraged and left Kavya alone in the room. “How could you waste money on unknown people?” he shouted, “To whom were you showing off? You won’t get an award for being this nice”. All Kavya could do, was cry her eyes out.

Next day, while returning from school, Kavya tripped from her bicycle and fell on the ground. To her dismay, the chain of the bicycle had come out. However much efforts she put, she could not put it back. It was getting dark and Kavya was afraid. There was no one to call for help as there were no shops or houses nearby. When Kavya had lost all hopes and was crying, a boy came to help her. He was the same boy whom Kavya had helped the other day. Kavya’s happiness was visible on her face. She reached home safely and narrated the incident to her mother and father. This time her father did not scold her. Instead, he patted her back and hugged her.

Moral: Do the right thing even when no one is looking.

Unalloyed allegiance

Inside the hazy room, she sat staring at the mantelpiece clock . She wrote- “ Son, I am spanning through the last days of my life . This ailment is taking me in . I want to see you before I die . Please come .                    

   - Your Mother ”

There at the Army camp , her son’s eyes were filled with drops of grief, the letter in his hand . He immediately applied for a leave . All there, were supposing that a war could be proclaimed owing to the enemy activities at the border .

Two days later they all were packing up their things . His leave had been sanctioned . Others were preparing to leave for the war . He looked up at them trying to decide whose fate was worse . His mother was keeping her eyes open just to get a last glimpse of him . He thought of that woman who had nurtured him throughout his life , protected him within the boundaries of her  own restrictions , punished him whenever he went astray , gave him comfort and company and shelter and joy . She was his courage and his strength . In her old age he had tried to be the same for her . He left the merry camp and reached the station . But , now , all he could do for her was to go to her , helpless , and see her dying . The arrival of the train was announced . Why couldn’t he protect her or do anything for her . Thinking of it , a second thought came to him . Hadn’t his country been a second mother to him . Hadn’t it done the same for him . Hadn’t it nurtured , protected , punished and comforted him . The train arrived at the station and people started getting in . Maybe , it was time he could really do something for his mother  than to allow her to slip past him while he stood and saw . The train gave the whistle for departure . He would fight for his mother . He would do his duty as a responsible son . He turned back and walked towards the camp.

They all had the same fate .

The terrifying ordeal

She had just got up from the dinner table when a sudden gust of wind blew off the lamp. The battery of the radio also went dead simultaneously and a hush descended over the cozy environment of her small cottage. A sudden chill ran through her. She hastily went near the dressing table and opened the first drawer. It was filled with paper cuttings, allpins, gum, punching machine, etc. One of the allpins pierced the tip of her index finger and she pulled back her hand quickly. She could sense a drop of blood appearing on the hurt surface. Still she just wiped it off and continued searching for the candle and the matchbox. Finally she found it and breathed a sigh of relief. She lit all the five candles and made the room all calm and comfortable once again. The ambience was so soft that she could hear the candles speak amongst themselves. After washing the plates and setting everything in place, she went into her bedroom and started searching for the book she had planned to read. Hush. All the candles were blown off. This time she was really scared, for never before had she experienced such a thing. She reached for the kitchen and took hold over a small knife and paced towards the main door to check what was going on.

The door was locked. From inside or outside- she did not know. Perhaps there was no time to think upon that. She ran towards the window in the kitchen. To her horror, the window had blood stains. Somehow, she managed to overlook them and tried to open it, but failed. She again lit another candle, but it was blown off too. All her efforts for rescue were going in vain. But she did not lose hope. The weather was getting worse as well. Thunder storms and torrential rain added on to the gloomy atmosphere.

It was getting cold. She grabbed her shawl and pulled a chair near the window. The chain of thoughts was running fiercely through her mind when the sound of an opening cabinet, stole all her attention. She was terrified. Who could be there? Was someone playing a prank on her? What if there was a thief or a murderer or.... Ghost? All these questions made her feel weaker. Gathering all her left strength, she moved towards the sound source. Lighting a candle she saw tiny carpet beetles coming out from the half open drawer of the cabinet. These creatures were marching in a line as if preparing for a great battle. She stomped and killed most of them. But more and more started coming out. The wax of the candle had started falling on her cold soft skin. But she could bear that. What was unbearable was the sight of these ugly creatures. She kept the candle on the shelf and ran to get a broom. Not long before she had gone, when the sound suddenly stopped. Again there was complete silence. But her conscious was not ready to accept this. She felt uneasy and frightened. There was more to come. She stood still at one place and constantly stared at the cabinet. Nothing moved and there was no sound. The only sound that was audible, was that of her heart throbbing at a fastest pace.

Her chair was placed a few centimeters away from the cabinet that had an attached mirror. The light from the street enabled her to see a vision of herself in the mirror. She grabbed a bottle and drank water. She looked up again to in the mirror and the sight made her blood run cold. It was not herself that she saw on the other side. But it was someone else. She rubbed her eyes to ensure what she saw was right, but all in vain. The person or creature or whatever it was, on the other side of the mirror, started making obnoxious sounds. It felt as if something bad was about to happen. 

For some time there was stillness. She, somehow, managed to ask,  " Who are you?"

"Grrr.... Grrrr.... I am Dybbuk. " 

Before she could speak anything else, the spirit broke the mirror and started coming out from the other side. With a loud thud he jumped towards her. Meanwhile the candle blew off and there was complete darkness. She shouted for help but it felt as if her cottage was filled with vacuum. With a blurred vision, she saw long, pointed fingernails moving towards her neck. She moved back but got obstructed by the window pane. Dybbuk moved more hastily towards her and grabbed her neck. It tore apart the skin on her right hand and she yelled with pain and terror. She still retaliated and struck the spirit with the small knife.  But all efforts were futile. Dybbuk was thrice as powerful as her. It lifted her over its shoulders and tossed her over on the floor. By this time she had almost given up the hope. A bone or two was broken and she was not even able to get up or run. The spirit was blinded by the darkness for some time and in the meantime she crawled and hid inside the almirah. The loud howling sound of the spirit made her shiver. All she could do was pray for her life. She tried to remain calm and avoid making any noise. She remembered what she had read about Dybbuk, being a spirit of a dead person who tries to take possession of a new body. She remembered how she was warned a thousand times, before moving into this cottage. She remembered how she had had a pitiful life and that she thought may be she would find peace here. She had been having ill premonitions lately but had not paid attention to them. Finally the dreadful end was there infront of her. 

There was complete silence. She thought that may be luck had favoured her and the spirit had gone. She tried to peep through the small keyhole and saw nothing but complete darkness. She moved closer to the keyhole to take a look again. Nothing. A sigh of relief for her. Just then she heard a heavy breathing sound. She tried to take small breaths so that the sound diminishes. But the sound became more lucid and enhanced. She started sweating. Suddenly she felt a presence in the almirah itself. She turned and was appalled. Dybbuk stood right behind her. It stretched out its hands and she fled in full speed. This time she could not find a better place to hide. There was no time left. She stood behind the kitchen door.

She was gasping for breath and unfortunately, in the total stillness,  Dyubbuk heard her presence. It moved towards her and lowered itself towards her face. She tried to hit dyubbuk but her hands went right past the body. It was a spirit indeed. A snide laugh escaped the face of the spirit and it was ready to take possession of her body. Just then, she opened her eyes and realized that the entire terrifying ordeal had been a dream.

May The Odds Never Be In Your Favour!

Amidst the fallen petals and faded leaves, Ella Everdeen stood beside the bench, thinking deeply. The soft light of the setting sun fell on her face and made it glow. She was untouched by the cool breeze, that blew a strand of hair across her face. She was too old now to remember all of it so clearly, yet she could picture the pain she felt and it was visible on her face.

Her father had a transfer and so her family was moving from Long beach to Rochester. The plan was to spend some time with Aunt Lucy, while her father would join his work and make arrangements in Rochester for schooling as well as a house in a good locality. Aunt Lucy stayed alone in Cortland. She was a very nice lady with a pure heart and the eagerness to help others. Her husband had died at a very young age and from then she had been managing her life by working as a Head of Department in a College.

Ella could never endure staying away from her parents and her one and only sister, even if it was for a few hours, however, after many efforts her mom had convinced her to bid goodbye to her father. It was early in the morning, around 4:00 AM, that her father had decided to leave for Rochester. With watery eyes, Ella came near her dad and asked him to bend a little so that she could whisper something in his ear. Mr. Everdeen stooped down and asked his little angel why was she crying. With choked voice, Ella asked her that dad how many days would he stay away from her. Mr. Everdeen hugged her tightly and remained silent. Ella understood that it was not a matter of few hours but days or may be months. She planted a soft kiss on his cheek, looked into his eyes and said,"Bye Dad". Mr. Everdeen again tried to hug her but she resisted saying," Wait daddy, this one was for today, I'll kiss you for all the days, you won't be seeing me". And she kissed her dad innocently. Mr. Everdeen was speechless. He knew the longer he stayed, the harder it would become to control Ella. He said to Ella's mother to take care of children and herself and that he would be back soon. And finally, Mr. Everdeen left.

Later in the morning around 7:00 AM, Ella's mother was startled with the ring of the telephone. It was an unusual ring. She had a feeling that something bad was about to happen. With a shivering hand she picked up the receiver.

" Is this Mrs. Everdeen?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"Hello mam, I am calling from Syracuse. Your husband has met with an accident. There is a minor injury and we have admitted him in the local hospital."

Mrs. Everdeen was in state of complete shock. The worst of her nightmares had come true and she did not have enough strength to fight that situation. Somehow she completed the conversation on telephone, noted down the address of the hospital and finally broke down. By that time aunt Lucy was also awake. She came to know about Mr. Everdeen and was also in tears.

The next moment Mrs. Everdeen was ready to leave for Syracuse. She woke up Ella and told her that daddy had met with a minor accident and that she was going to bring him back home. She had decided to leave Ella and her sister with one of Aunt Lucy's friend. Ella was speechless on hearing all that. All her emotions had suddenly left her alone. She told her mother to go and get her daddy back home safe as soon as she can.

It was later in the evening that Ella got a call from her aunt. She told Ella to come home with her sister. Ella tried to ask if her daddy was alright, but her aunt did not answer any of her questions. Ella had mixed feelings, her head told her that something bad had happened, but her heart was not ready to accept that fact.

Ella and her little sister reached home and found their house filled with people. All faces were known. For once Ella thought that may be that was a gathering called by her aunt because her father was safe. But the very next moment, when Ella entered the dining room, all her hopes were shattered, as she saw her mother crying over the death of Mr. Everdeen. It was end of the world for Ella. She ran and hugged her mother tightly. She cried. She fainted.

Girl With A Black Scarf

Ella worked in a jewellery shop. Like any other girl, she dreamt of having plenty of money one day, to buy all the beautiful necklaces and rings. But the odds were never in her favour. Her path to her goal was filled with obstacles.

Every now and then she had to face a stressful plight and this had eventually made her oblivious.

She had never, even in her wildest imagination, thought that such an encounter would change her views on life. Life, for her, was a burden. She never enjoyed any moment of happiness because she feared that it would be accompanied by sadness. But amidst all these feelings she failed to realize that for every minute she was sad, she lost sixty seconds of happiness. She needed an eye opener, a guide, a ray of hope.

That day she had to go to work a little late. It was noon by then. She woke up an hour later than usual and got ready for work. She wore a bright orange dress, arranged her wavy flicks and braided her hair neatly. Getting late for work, was not her cup of tea. But that day she was late. She hurried and walked across the street swiftly. Not more than 100 steps had she taken, when she realized that someone was walking beside her. She did not notice the person but could see a long black scarf. She stopped, turned and saw. A  beautiful woman was standing beside her. She had a picture perfect smile on her face.

She wore a black dress with a black scarf. Her long black her complimented her pretty face.

Ella could not take her eyes off her. All she could think was that how could anyone be so relaxed and looked so lively, why couldn't she be lively and as fresh as a flower. She was forced to ask the girl in black the reason for her beauty.

"I am what I think I am. Beauty is just another word. It is our perception that defines our personality. Life is not a bed of roses and even if it were, it would have been monotonous. I enjoy each and every moment I get to spend and that gives me a hope for a better tomorrow."

Ella had heard such words before. She asked her if she had any problems in life, to which the girl replied," Yes dear, ofcourse I have problems. Everybody has problems. But to make them major or minor, is in our hands. I always look for solutions, rather than mourning over what has happened."

 The girl seemed so confident and magnificent. It looked as if she had stopped aging. On the other hand, was Ella. All soaked up in the pressures of life, helpless and hopeless.

By the time Ella reached the jewellery shop, it was lunch time. All through the way she had been pondering upon what the girl with a black scarf had said. She was so engrossed that she didn't even realize when the two of them parted. When she reached her desk, she kept her bag on the desk. It was quite warm inside. Ella removed the long scarf and hung if on the chair. During the later half of the day, when the manager asked her the reason for being late, she just smiled and left. Something had changed in her.

Ella was lively. She was happy. It was during her solitary time, that she realized that the girl with a black scarf was Ella herself. It was her shadow, who had taught her a lesson for life. She realized that happiness is when what you think, what you do and what you say, are in harmony. Life is not solid- it is fluid and so it changes.

Not all problems will last for a lifetime. You just have to look within and ask yourself for a solution. And it works magically.