Prompt – You make a wish at midnight and it comes true..
Innocent Wish
Jenny came home from school. She threw her bag on the floor, flung her shoes in the air and sat on the kitchen stool with a surly face.
Her mother asked, “What’s wrong Jenny? Why are you sulking?”
“All my friends got new gifts for Christmas, except me,” she complained. “Sonia got a new pair of rollerblades, Ron got a football, Amy got a cool pair of gloves and Tina got a new prosthetic leg.”
“But you did get a Christmas gift, remember?”
“A black cardigan from the Salvation Army does not count as a gift,” Jenny retorted. Her mother didn’t like the tone of the little girl, but she was not wrong either. She wasn’t able to gift Jenny anything new for the last couple of years.
“OK, do one thing. Tonight at midnight, make a wish and I promise it will get fulfilled,” her mother promised. She could spare some savings for a new doll.
Jenny was ecstatic and couldn’t wait for the midnight. At the stroke of midnight, she made a wish. A simple wish.
The next morning, her mother came to Jenny’s room to wake her up for school. She saw her daughter was surrounded by strange things around her. She could see Rollerblades, a football, a golden ring, a parrot and what was that! Was it an artificial leg? She gasped.
What did her daughter wish for?
Can you guess what was Little Jenny’s wish??
Note:
We have discontinued with the weekly linky party. However, we will be sharing the prompts with our stories. Feel free to write on the prompts every Thursday. You can share the links in the comment section. We promise to read it. There is no word limit anymore.
We request you to kindly share our links in your posts. <#TellTalethursday with @anshu and @priya so that others can reach us.
“Aren’t you afraid of ghosts?” Sia asked Rohan upon leaving the theatre after watching a late-night ghost movie. “The whole theatre was screaming in fear, only you were sitting unperturbed through it all.”
“There are no ghosts in the real world,” Rohan replied.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I haven’t come across one in 33 years of my life,” he replied nonchalantly, already bored with the subject. As if it wasn’t enough that he had to watch a silly movie, now he had to talk about it too.
As luck would have it, there were ghosts in his dream too. A white sunken face bobbing on a wasted body was chasing Rohan in the woods. Though he was running to the best of his ability, it wasn’t enough. The ghost was quickly moving upon him. Rohan came upon a cottage, he went inside and locked the door. The ghost knocked at the door, but he couldn’t get inside. Rohan saw a lone emaciated hand with long nails making a screeching sound on the window pane.
Rohan woke up with a start. He shook his head to ward off the unpleasant dream. Strange, he had never dreamed of ghosts before. Maybe the movie had a part to play in this.
He was thirsty, so he went to the kitchen. He filled up a glass of ice-cold water and started sipping. He heard a screeching sound outside the window and turned around. It couldn’t be true! It was the same white hand.
Note:
We have discontinued with the weekly linky party. However, we will be sharing the prompts with our stories. Feel free to write on the prompts every Thursday. You can share the links in the comment section. We promise to read it. There is no word limit anymore.
We request you to kindly share our links in your posts. <#TellTalethursday with @anshu and @priya so that others can reach us.
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The story should be up to 250 words.
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Here’s the prompt:
An uninvited guest to a party
Word count – 249 Words
A ruined evening
On entering her bedroom suite, Mrs. Wadia noticed the maid had forgotten to shut the window. Mrs. Wadia cursed unladylike and proceeded to shut it.
As soon as she emerged, the maid came running. “Madam! The cook accidentally dropped the soup tureen.”
“Oh! I will order some soup from the restaurant down the lane.” She was shaken but it would do her no good to be upset at tiny things.
The guests arrived except Mr. and Mrs. Irani. The doorbell rang and the latecomers entered.
Now, who was this girl with them? Mrs. Wadia wondered.
“Hello Delnaz, my niece missed her flight. She said she would stay at home alone but I would not hear of it. I told her we are visiting friends and she will be welcome at Delnaz’s.”
Mrs. Wadia was not amused. Little was she to know that this girl was not the only unexpected visitor of the evening. The dining table was set, not only she would now need to make an extra place for the young girl but also fetch a chair from the study. And that chair would not match the dining chairs.
The guests seated themselves around the table and appreciated the flavourful aromas that filled the room. Mrs. Wadia smiled.
The maid brought the soup tureen and as she began to serve, a fat gecko fell in it. The guests started laughing. Mrs. Wadia on the other hand gasped, she was mortified with shame and rage. And then she fainted.
Copy and paste your Story URL to the inLinkz list.
The story should be up to 250 words.
Add this line < #TellTaleThursday with Anshu & Priya > at the end of the post.
Read, comment and share – spread the love.
This is the picture prompt for today!!
Image Credit: Pixabay
Word count – 250 Words
Santa Exists
Ryan reached the school gate just as the kids came out. He saw little Ria come out with her friend, Sasha. Sasha’s mother scooped up Sasha and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. Ria watched the little scene unfold. Something familiarly sad tugged at Ryan’s heart. Ria was missing her mother more as she was growing up.
When Ria reached Ryan, he picked her up just like Sasha’s mother did and ruffled her mop of curly hair.
So what plans for the Christmas holidays, princess?
I have to write a long letter to Santa.
OK! And what do you have in mind?
It’s a secret, daddy. I can’t tell you.
As soon as they reached home, Ryan got busy. He had a few work calls to attend, while Ria sat down at the kitchen table to write a letter to Santa.
In the evening, she went to post the letter with her mammy.
Do you believe in Santa, darling? Mammy asked.
Of course and you will too when he grants me my wish.
On Christmas, Ria woke up earlier than usual. She went down to see if Santa had given her what she had asked.
She went to the kitchen hearing the clanking of pots and pans. Mammy would be making her pancakes. But it was not mammy.
“Mummy!! Santa has heard me!” Ria squealed in delight and hugged the woman.
Ryan signalled the new nanny. He didn’t want to break Ria’s heart. At least, not on Christmas.
Today I have a guest post from a very good friend, Shalini Baisiwala of Shalzmojo! Over to her now!!
Hello everyone! I am so happy to be hosted on Anshu’s blog today. She has chosen a woman centric topic for me to write about and I hope I will do justice to it. So without much ado, let me lead you to five books that I think every woman should definitely read.
I feel women are quite the marginalised gender; it’s been easier to suppress their voice and choices over the centuries. Be it any country, historical period, society, family, culture, religion – Women have had to fight it out everywhere to be heard and taken seriously.
I have always been the spunky kid who would pick up the cudgels on anyone and not take things lying down. I would hear my mother telling me that girls don’t behave so aggressively or loudly or…….
I found solace in my female heroines early on in life and to date a book based on a woman’s life story fascinates me more than any other.
Little women by Louisa M Alcott
This is probably the first classic I ever read and I was fascinated by it. Set in England, a household of 4 daughters where the father is away at the civil war and the mother manages everything by her. Margaret is the eldest who is a romantic and is the most beautiful of the four. She is looking forward to being married, having her own house and children in the near future. Jo is the aspiring author and a tomboy at heart with no patience for the feminine graces. Beth is a shy, sweet girl who loves music. Amy is the youngest and a bit spoilt with illusions of grandeur for her future. Each sister has a well-developed voice and character which comes out clearly in the book. They are poor and spend all their time doing household chores, and trying to supplement the family income as best they can. All the women in this book possess strength of character and don’t shy away from expressing their desires. I loved this book for the clarity in portraying women in this light.
40 Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak has spun a tale of love and longing in this well written book which enchanted me from the first sentence. A parallel narrative runs in the book which switches from present day to events happening in the past as written in a book being read by the protagonist. Our heroine is a book editor who is reading a book written on the Sufi poet Shams and his relationship with Rumi. In the book, Shams gives out the 40 rules of love, each a gem in its own. While reading the book, the protagonist goes through her own life and begins to unravel it to re-build it. Only this time she has her happiness in the forefront over everyone else. The book takes us on a twin journey which allows us to have a second look at our lives too. I found this book to be very powerful from a woman’s perspective and that’s why it finds itself here on this list! You can read my review of it here
Eat,pray, love by Elizabeth Gilbert
This book was a tough read for me at first, and I abandoned it for a while. When I next began to read it, I was going through a relationship crisis in my life. I guess that’s why I fell in love with it as I could so relate with what Liz was going through. She finds herself at a junction in her life where even though her career is going great and she has a perfect relationship, she keeps feeling something is missing. Ultimately, her relationship falls apart and she takes a sabbatical from work to travel to search out what’s missing in her life. She begins her journey in Italy and through food, discovers contentment and happiness for a while. Next she heads to India to live in an ashram to find inner peace. Finally, she goes to Bali where she meets a holy man who enlists her help in translating his medicinal texts. Here love finds her but it’s not a perfect relationship and she begins to run away from it. All through the three journeys, she finds a piece of herself and begins to heal. I loved the journey of self as described in this book and found it to be very relatable. Woman tend to put too much of themselves into everything they do, leading to a burn out. This book echoes the message of self-love which is so essential for every human being, not just women.
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Cheryl Strayed wrote this book to chronicle the miseries she encountered in her life, one after the other and how she undertook a 2600 miles Pacific Crest trail to unearth her demons. 26 year old Cheryl’s life was on the rocks as she was using heroin to keep sane, sleeping around with too many men even as it endangered her marriage. Her mother’s recent death to cancer made matters worse for her. In an attempt to unscrew her screwed up life, she decided to undertake this gruelling trek. Without any physical preparation , she launches herself into a world of pain. This book is a true blue account of her struggles on this trek and how she limps through all of it to complete it. In between she faces her demons and finds the way forward through all her pain and grief.
Oh how I loved this one. The honesty with which the author has portrayed every mistake of hers and owned them is what impressed me most about it. On top of that the trek was challenging not just physically but mentally too. I know I can never do something like it. This is one book which tops it for me out of all the five mentioned here.
Erotic stories for Punjabi widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
This is a tale of 23 year old Nikki, who is born to Indian parents in London. They immigrated to England and set up a family here in hopes of bettering their living standards. Minti is her older sister who is yearning to get married and has decided to try out the arranged marriage route. Nikki is a rebel, yearning for independence in her lifestyle and thought process. Though she drops out of law school and works at a bar to support herself, she realises she needs to do better in life. So she applies for a position at the local Gurudwara to teach creative writing classes for women. Problem arises when she realises her students are white robed, white haired elderly widowed matrons who can’t read or write anything other than Punjabi. Things become interesting when the women begin to craft out sexual stories which on the surface are fictional but underneath speaks of their hearts desires. How the women look at sex and their bodies comes out via their fantasies and leads us into an unspoken world.
I just loved this book for the brave way it let us look at the world of elderly widows. They are generally ignored by the society and left much to their devices. No one cares to know about what they want or could possible want. Through much humour and warmth, this world has been brought out in an extremely poignant way. Don’t miss out reading this book.
5 books every woman must read
So there you have it – my top 5 reads for a woman! I wish you would share what you felt about them. Do tell me your favourite books too.
About Shalzmojo
An interior designer by profession, writing is a passion which coupled with travel love blossomed into this blog where I love to just “do my thing”! Be it recipes, food events, travel jaunts, fiction dreaming or even meditative musings; all of it’s taken up quite passionately on my blog. I am a serious wine guzzler and love to chase butterflies in my free time.
This post is part of the December bloghop #mymojo with Shalzmojo
A man in pinstripe and trench coat carrying a sleek laptop bag asked a passer-by, “What is this gathering for?”
“Two little girls were raped in the Park and their throats slit. We are showing our solidarity for this heinous act. Join us!”
Thousands gathered at the Lake to light candles. Golden candles bobbing on gentle lake waters against the indigo of the sky was a sight to behold.
“Hey, care for candies?”
A little girl in pink turned and nodded. Leaving her mother’s side, she went behind the tree. An expensively cuffed wrist immediately grabbed her by the throat.
She had been driving for five hours straight, without a single break. But she was tired now. Maybe she should call it a night and look for a hotel. After half an hour, she came across a big lighted sign which read
Hotel Night Magic
Open 24 hours
After a few turns, she came to a square in a small town. She saw the hotel. The lights were on. She breathed a sigh of relief. As she was about to enter the glass door of the hotel, someone grabbed her hand. Lily jumped with fright. It was an old beggar.
“Don’t go inside. It’s a crazy place.”
Lily took a close look at the shabbily dressed woman. She was reeking of cheap alcohol.
“Leave me alone.” Lily tried to free her hand of the beggar’s clutch.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” The next moment she disappeared in the darkness of the nearby alley.
Shaking her head, Lily stepped inside into the brightly lit reception area of the hotel. There was no one at the front desk. She pressed the bell. After what seemed like an eternity, a man in his early fifties appeared.
“Hello Mam. I am Ranjan. How can I help you?”
“I want a room for one night.”
“Sure mam.” Lily paid in cash.
“Is your luggage in the car mam.”
“No. It was a day trip that got extended.” She lied.
“This is your room key, mam. 333, third floor, third room on the right. We don’t have an elevator. The staircase is to your left.”
The bed was comfortable but sleep still eluded her. She couldn’t get the image of her drunk husband running after her with the copper statue ready to hit her out of her mind. Luckily, she escaped. Slowly the exhaustion took over and Lily drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
A couple of hours later, Lily woke up to very loud music. It was as if huge drums were beating mercilessly.
What is this madness in the middle of the night! She got up to dial the reception but saw there was no intercom. Putting on the clothes, she went down. But, the concierge wasn’t there. She went to his quarter and knocked at the door. But, no one answered. She opened the door. The room was empty.
She went to the first floor and banged on the bedroom doors. She went to the second floor and knocked on the doors. She got no reply. She opened the rooms one by one. Each one of them was unlived in.
She was the only person in this hotel.
The realisation dawned on her. She was scared. She ran down the stairs and out of the hotel. She knocked on the houses beside the square. There was no one.
Hysterical she sat in her car and started driving. She turned right, but a few minutes later, she realised she had come upon the same square before the hotel. She must have taken the wrong turn. This time she took a left. But again she came to the hotel.
What was happening? Was there a way out of this damn place?
Someone knocked at the window. She woke up with a startled cry. The beggar from the previous night was peering through the window.
This woman will be the cause of my death. She thought.
The bright morning sun blinded her. The square was bustling with activity. Magpies were chirping. Children were going to school. People were headed towards work.
Getting out of the car, she asked the woman, “What did you tell me last night?”
The woman looked confused. “Me? I have never met you before. Are you drunk?”
Fat calling me drunk. Lily cursed silently.
She looked at the hotel. She had to find out. The concierge was standing at the front desk.
“Hello Mam. I am Ranjan. How can I help you?” He didn’t recognize her.
“I am a guest here. My room is 333.”
“That’s impossible, mam. We have only two floors. There is no room 333.” The concierge smiled.
“Are you pulling my leg? Yesterday night I slept in that room. I can show you.”
They went up the stairs and came to the third floor. But he was right, there was no third floor. Only a big terrace. Lily was speechless.
Was she hallucinating? Did she dream it all?
Lily raced down the stairs as fast as her legs could take her. Starting her car, she zoomed off the cursed square. Within minutes she reached the national highway. She vowed to never drive in the night again.
Rhea took Pixie for a gallop in the woods. Far away from her house by the lake and her parents who fought all the time, when there was a reason and when there wasn’t. She had had enough of their bickering. Very soon she would go to a boarding school.
Rhea realised that she had reached a part of the woods that she had never been before. There was a clearing in the middle of the forest with a big patch of thick green grass. Getting off Pixie, she tied her saddle to the nail on a tree. The grass and the warm sunshine beckoned Rhea to lie down and very soon she went off to sleep. When she woke up Pixie was nowhere to be found.
Where had Pixie gone? An agitated Rhea pulled at the nail on the tree. Suddenly there was a loud noise and the tree started splitting from the middle. Rhea immediately stepped back. There appeared a large blue door in the middle of the tree. Excitedly Rhea pushed the door and stepped on the other side.
There was a stream of fresh water gurgling over the stones. Cattle were grazing on the mountain slope. At a distance, she could see kids playing. She walked towards them. It was a huge square with park at one corner. Kids were playing in the park while adults were having their lunch in the sunshine.
Rhea’s tummy gave an angry growl. She realised she had left her lunch untouched on the table as her parents had started arguing.
An old lady with a crown of grey hair and a face full of wrinkles looked at Rhea and offered her a sandwich.
Rhea shook her head. She had been told not to take food from strangers.
“We are nice people. We are not mean to our kids.” The old lady said. Rhea felt like trusting her and took the sandwich.
“Come sit. You seem to have come over from the human world.” The lady commented.
“Human world? Why what is this place? Where I am?”
“This is the other world. There are nails on trees strategically placed in different parts of the world. The nail acts as a lever that opens up the door to this world. Only people with pure heart who are miserable in the human world can find this nail.”
No wonder that nail looked suspiciously odd on a tree in a forest. Rhea thought.
“What is this other world?” Rhea couldn’t contain her curiosity.
“It’s a happy place. Here, we do not fight. There is no greed. We grow our own food and share the surplus with our neighbours. There is no poor, there is no rich. Every one is equal. And also, there is no money.”
Rhea had never experienced poverty herself but she knew it was not a nice thing. Also, by now, she knew that having lots of money didn’t necessarily make a person happy. Her parents were good examples of that theory.
“We do not have TV, computers and phones. Here, people hold real conversations and parents spend time with their children, take them on picnics, go for treks and camping.”
“Wow!” This seemed like a very nice place. Why couldn’t they have something similar in the human world? She wondered.
“Young girl, I think you should leave now. The sun is about to set. Once it does, you will never be able to leave this place.”
Rhea stood up and planted a soft kiss on the elderly lady’s cheeks which felt like crepe paper but smelled of love, purity and wisdom.
She then turned towards the way she had come. On the way, she saw a lone horse grazing at the grass. That was her Pixie. Taking hold of her reins, she started walking towards the blue door. The door opened.
As Rhea was about to step over, she hesitated. And the next moment the door closed with a finality. The sun had set. And for once, Rhea was happy. But where was she?
She started packing her clothes. She was generally a neat person, but today she was throwing clothes haphazardly in her trunk. Leaving her red bridal saree behind, she picked up the trunk in one hand and left the room.
He came out of his trance when he realised he was all alone in the bedroom. He ran after her and caught up with her as she was climbing down the giant staircase.
“Hear me out, Damayanti.” He told her politely.
If he had shouted, she would have not paid heed. But his soft voice broken with despair made her stop.
She put the trunk down and sat on the step. He too sat beside her.
“Haven’t you said enough? Now, you hear me out.” Damayanti croaked. Damayanti’s cheeks were wet with tears. As soon as she wiped them, fresh hot ones came gushing out of her eyes.
“Do you realise what you have done? Just because you were not strong enough to stand up to your father, you have spoilt my life. I could have married Kedar, the love of my life. But, your father came to my home seeking my hand in marriage. He offered a sum that my poor baba couldn’t refuse. He even promised baba that he would give back my father’s land without charging interest. Baba didn’t think twice before saying yes. No one asked me what I wanted? And now this?”
“Why did you marry me?” She shouted at him.
“Shshsh….! Speak softly, Damayanti. People will wake up.”
“As if I care. Let them all know the truth. Let them know that the favourite son of the house is not interested in women, but men.” She said again in a loud pitch.
“Damayanti, I beg of you. Please talk softly. What do you think will happen if you leave me? Have you thought it through? My father will send his goons to your house – no one in your family will see tomorrow’s sunrise. That’s what you want? As for me, he will get me married again to another girl whose poor father will agree to marry his daughter against money and land.” Roshan laid out the terms matter-of-factly.
Fresh bout of tears flowed down Damayanti’s cheeks. Her mehendi hadn’t even faded while her marriage had already ended. She realised what Roshan was saying was true. She couldn’t do this to her poor parents and her siblings. Her life was done for.
“All you have to do is bear me a couple of sons. I know it won’t be easy but you will have a comfortable life here, I promise you.”
She nodded.
“Do you think it’s easy for me? Like you, I love someone too. But if they come to know that I love a man, both he and I will be hanged on the banyan tree at the village square, do you understand?”
For the first time, Damayanti felt the anguish in his voice. Like her, he was suffering too. She had always thought that it was a sin to be born poor. But now she realised it was a sin to be born different too.
“Maybe in the next birth we can both be free of our sins.”
“Maybe we won’t have to wait until then for the winds to change.” There was hope in his voice.
Damayanti put her head on Roshan’s shoulder. Sitting on the staircase, they both dreamed of a different world.
