Footprints

  It was crowded in the banquet hall foyer. I was among friends and family – especially my cousins who I hadn't met in almost nine years. It was a warm day and I was happy. This wedding was probably the last of my father’s generation in my grandmother's family and it was a bitter-sweet moment or moments, I must say. I looked at my little sister – Jojo. She was smiling ear to ear as she greeted our relative one by one. This was one of those moments where we just hugged and hugged and hugged our people. My brothers were speaking animatedly over something they saw and the youngest pulled my sister aside saying, "Is that Ben Achachan (transl.: elder brother in Malayalam)?" My sister's eyes widened. "Where?" she asked. "There," he gestured towards the parking lot. He didn't look so sure anymore. "Jose! That wasn't nice," Jojo said. "Was that a prank?" she dug his ribs. "Ow!" he flinched and made a face. ...

  09:25pm  I was putting away vegetables Appa had bought from the market. I looked at the clock. 9:22pm. Almost an hour after I texted him. I sighed. I didn't know what he was thinking, feeling or doing anymore. He hadn't attended any of my phone calls or responded like he usually did to any of my messages. Infact, he had said he didn’t want to talk to me; on more than one occasion. So I had decided that I would wait. Wait for him to say something; anything at all. I knew I hadn’t been fair to him the night before and I had apologized for it too; only, I tend to do that a lot. I guess he’s heard so many apologies from me that he’s finally got tired of them. My gut churned out of the blue and I had the sudden urge to check my phone. I put away the last of the vegetables into the refrigerator and I rushed to my bedroom, leaping two stairs at a time. The green LED on my phone was blinking slowly. My heart jumped and I smiled. He must have called. I unlocked my phone, drawing our...

(Statutory Warning: If this is you, enjoy the ball Cinderella!)  She was a silent one. I didn’t see her even after being a full time scholar for two weeks. Why I noticed her that day was because of the way she reacted to a senior who attempted to mock her. “You don’t understand,” a senior was talking to another senior. The day was hot and it must’ve done nothing less to people’s tempers. “Sometimes, talking about dieting and exercising and taking a break from all of this actually reduces the tension around here.” The senior had gestured to all of the room with that last word. “Why are things so difficult for you? Don’t think so much. I mean look at some people here – like Devi. She doesn’t have to bother about her figure. She just doesn’t even eat, so less weight and less tension!” the senior had smirked in her direction. Out of the corner of the room came a meek, yet adamant voice. “ Didi, (transl.: elder sister in Hindi) if you want to say something to me or about me, I th...

     Today started out with me getting screamed at by the elders of the family for trying to be a good person – atleast in my opinion. I had started out to go comb my hair on the terrace as usual. As I pushed open the grilled door to the terrace and took a step in my habitual direction, I saw the feral feline that roamed our street climb the stairs to the water tank. She wasn’t the loud type around me in the short times I have visited her with food, but now she was hissing. “Cats,” I thought out loud and then stopped abruptly. I realized she was hissing because of her little ones I saw on the previous day. Startled, it occurred to me that the little chillies were close by. I saw a dark patch scramble into the house and into Appa ’s bedroom. I threw caution into the wind, jumped inside and closed the door while explaining in perfect English to the mother Cat, “I’ll bring him (or her) back to you.” She just glared. The little carbon copy was hiding behind the only card...