Footprints

 I see your thank you message at 7:21pm, and my mind goes back to the minute we decided to take such a day for ourselves in the first place - and how both of us just knew that we wanted to be by ourselves. We just knew that we could be in our own little world for the hours we choose to spend together. I have zero expectations when I get up in the mornings for days like this, but somehow that sudden hug in the confines of your room made me feel otherwise. It actually felt like I was going to enjoy the day to it's fullest; just because I was with you. So in our cab when you said that you're fine because you're with me, I just couldn't help but smile and sit an inch taller.   My 'clinginess' was an issue with some of my friends in the past and I didn't want to repeat the same thing with you; but then we walked - hand in hand mostly and I realized how much I missed that touch, how much I missed being myself around someone who feels the exact same way. And then...

O liver   “Attention; Air India Flight 479 to London will begin boarding shortly. Passengers are advised to have your boarding pass and identification ready. The inconvenience is deeply regretted.”  Oliver gritted his teeth. That was the fourth time the exact same announcement was being made at the F2 boarding gate within the last hour. His patience was wearing thin. He’d never been late for a flight before, but this morning was different – he’d been feeling weird. His alarm didn’t go off, his coffee pot broke, his watch stopped working and his 4K Nike running shoes split from its quarter to the vamp! He wasn’t one of those who believed in the signs, but it was certainly too much of a coincidence – and he knew better than to ignore it.  His phone rang and he picked up immediately, “Ma?”  “ Beta ?” his mother’s voice was calming. “ Kahan pohunche ?” (transl.: “Son, where have you reached” in Hindi)  “Reached the airport over an hour ago Ma,” he said,...

  She looked at the clock on her studio wall. 09:55pm, it showed.  ‘You still have time!’ the Heart said.  ‘To do what?’ the Head was still wide awake after a tiring day of online submissions, lengthy webinars and writing reports.  Logging onto the Facebook App, her eyebrows snapped together when the newsfeed showed her that it was the birthday of one of her favourite actors.  ‘You should’ve noticed it today morning – the entertainment column was displaying his movies to be played on TV all day!’ the Head shrugged.  ‘Yeah, well she was focused on work,’ the Heart justified her – not that there was anything to justify about. She was definitely not one of those people who celebrated the birthday of celebrities – well not all; maybe some!  ‘Thank you Heart,’ she said and smiled. She knew exactly what to do for the two-and-a-half hours till bedtime.   X-x-X  “There you are,” she said out loud. Ten minutes had gone by as ...

  T erms and Conditions Apply   The phone was ringing.  The shrill sound echoed throughout the ground floor. It had an eerie ring to it. Mostly because the flooring was entirely made of white marble tiles but also because, we weren’t expecting calls anymore. We heard Appa pickup. I nudged my brother and he nodded reassuringly. He was never the first-one-to-freak-out types anyway. “No Ma’am, none of us have left the house,” Appa could be heard . “We thought it was better to stay inside rather than go outside and get infected or infect others,” Appa sounded calm. Then, some moments of silence, followed by, “Oh, yes please I’d like to have a copy, just in case.” The suspense was killing me; I put down my phone on the kitchen counter and walked, more like  nearly skipped to Appa ’s room. Amma and Abu followed suit. When I entered his room, Appa seemed relieved. I raised my eyebrows at him. “What?” Appa asked. “And?” prodded Abu. “Results will be mailed.” ...

   Incubation  I had put it there.  Appa ’s frown between his eyes disappeared. “So?” I blinked twice. “So? That Aunty was the one who gave me that envelope. She’s the one who tested positive right?” Appa shook his head. “No, no. She’s not the Panchayat member I was talking about.” “What?” My voice was unbelievably calm. “Yeah. This one is someone else.” Appa said dismissively. “But she must’ve given it to this lady and she’d given it to me na !” I wondered out loud. “The local health official had called me yesterday and had described everything,” he said affirmatively. “The one who tests positive is the primary case. Everyone who comes into direct contact – as in within less than 6 feet distance or remained in close proximity for more than 10minutes to her becomes secondary.” He pointed a pen at me. “So YOU become tertiary, while I am mostly a secondary case.” Oh. I didn’t know how to respond to the lengthy truth Appa had just told me. “Do yo...

  The Envelope    “Hey Dad,” I barged into my father’s office room, all excited about the big sale that was happening on Amazon. “Have you seen these bass buds? They look so…” my voice trailed off. Appa , leaning on his reclining chair, looked up at my face when I entered his quiet work-from-home corner. There’s something in his eyes that is amiss , I thought as I stopped mid-sentence and stared at my parent. “Objection Your Honor, there is something wrong with the defendant.” I said. “What makes you say that?” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Well, for one, you’re not irritated by me barging in on you while you’re working,” I smiled, “and that doesn’t happen too often, you know.” “Objection over-ruled,” he smirked. I narrowed my eyes. He straightened himself and I braced myself. ‘Oh, I have a bad feeling about this,’ my heart said. ‘Shut it!’ my head hissed. “It turns out,” he began, “that one of our church members who was present at a meeting last week has tes...

  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...