Sisterhood

# Sisterhood

The fifth time over,
I'm oblivious however;
The phone alarm screams,
And she alone heeds.

A piano story

Source: joytunes

My turn was five minutes away. Clutching the sheet music in hand, I could feel my fingers trembling. Once again I tried to reassure myself. It was only an exam after all, why this tension?

What I cherish #CBF16

Dear diary,

Remember when we first met in 2010? Onam in school? The war of flowers?The white uniform smeared with petals?  The mess in the classroom followed by the principal's chiding? And our mission to clean up the mess... emptying our water bottles to the floor while scrubbing it with the day's leftover newspapers!

Ten to One - Do you know me?

I didn't want to do two tagged posts in a row at first, but this was too fun to resist. So once again here's a get to know me more post...followed from Vishal's, Leo's and Geets' posts. A total of fifty five questions in the order of ten to one. Hold your breath!

Source: FirstCovers

#Ten How's

How did you get one of your scars? 
  - I must have been five when a coconut shell somehow sprung out of the fireplace and landed on my chest. Thankfully, I don't recall the details...only that I cried and got a permanent burn mark on the skin.

A to Z of me #WritingWednesdays

So this interesting 'A to Z of me' post has been circling the blogosphere for a while. I saw it at Leo's, Sanch's, Geetika's, Anamika's and a few others. And now I'm in the list too...stating 26 random facts from A to Z about myself. Tadaa!

A- Age: Almost 18

B- Biggest fear: Rejection and Abandonment

The Second Childhood - 7 of #Seven Ages

Last scene of all, 

That ends this strange eventful history, 

Is second childishness and mere oblivion, 

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Source: myanimelist

He lifted his heavy eyelids very slowly, as though it was too stressful a task. Sunlight was flooding the room. He realized that he had fallen asleep midway through something. But what? Though his vision was blurred, it was just enough to tell him that someone was asleep on his lap. His grandson.

His quivering fingers gently stroked the young dark hair, recalling for a moment how he once had the same. The muscles on his face stressed to pull a smile, but his wrinkles seemed to get in the way. He contented himself by merely smiling from the inside.

“Daddy, you’re awake.” His daughter called out, and she was smiling. “The little guy’s grown up ain’t he?” she said, patting her son. “Mmh.” Her father managed to say, hoping she knew he was smiling. She had a tiny cup in hand, filled with some kind of tonic. He still hadn’t gotten used to his medicines, no matter how many times he’s had to have it. He let her feed him nevertheless, more so because he was helpless rather than the need to get better. What was the point anyway? His time was now close.

He did nothing, said very little, and was flopped in a chair all day. Lost in a world of his own that he himself couldn’t remember later on, his life revolved around the small moments spent with his children. Helplessness wasn’t the word he preferred, he liked to think of it instead as peacefulness.

The party was soon joined by his son as well. They laughed away like any other day, and he was content despite the pain in his chest. If not his physical body, at least his soul did heal. The drowsiness was creeping back into him, now overpowering what little energy he held.

Slowly, he crossed into oblivion. He was peaceful, and he was content. Maybe his face did not show it, but he was smiling at the time. It wasn’t the end after all, for a cycle has no beginning nor end, and such was life.

He lived in mind more than body, 

His smile was sound more than sorry. 

His final age  now at its brink, 

The world he left was his last link. 

***

                                      

This post is the last of a seven part series on the Seven Ages of Man (from Shakespeare's 'As You Like It')

Read all Seven Posts -

1. The Infant
2. The School Boy
3. The Lover
4. The Soldier
5. The Justice
6. The Pantaloon
7. The Second Childhood

Linking with Write Tribe's Festival of Words for a Seven Day Blogging Challenge.

The Pantaloon - 6 of #Seven Ages

The sixth age shifts 

Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon, 

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, 

His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide 

For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice, 

Turning again towards childish treble, pipes 

And whistles in his sound.

Source: gaia

His fingers were too accustomed to punching buttons. The slight touch and brush on the screen seemed complicated to him. He carried it around as if it were an antique piece of crystal, afraid he might damage it. He couldn’t understand why everyone took the trouble to get hold of them. The funniest thing was how they called it ‘smartphones’, for he felt if anyone were smart they wouldn't buy such touch phones in the first place.

“Trust me, dad, this one is way better! You just need to get used to it.” He was told repeatedly, and this was the only reason he still kept it. After all, how could he dispose of a gift from his own son? So he rubbed his fingers on the mobile screen everyday and discovered that it was indeed interesting. For it would surprise him with each brush of a finger...randomly calling some old friend he’d lost touch with, or displaying the live cricket scores, or sometimes even showing the weather conditions in Chicago…if only he’d been living there!

He’d sit in his rocking chair with those heavy round spectacles on. The newspaper; his oldest friend, would be by his side. It always told him of the ever-changing world, and remained unchanged itself. He hoped it would survive in this growing digitized world.

His reverie was interrupted by the slow, trudging footsteps he was so familiar to.  There was a creak as the second rocking chair in the room was occupied.

“Any new accident calls today?” asked its occupant. He shook his head, his not-so-smart phone (as he liked to call it) in hand, “No. But what’s this? I see myself. S'that the selfie camera they talking about ehh? Looky here!”

His partner craned her neck from her chair to get a better view. The screen froze with the two of their pretty, wrinkled faces.

“Ha! We took a selfie!” he exclaimed. “Let me see it.” She said, putting on her own pair of spectacles. Holding the phone gingerly, she peered at the screen only inches away from her nose and broke into a laugh too.

The two rocking chairs creaked in a homely rhythm as they tried another selfie. His life had become dull after retirement, being all about daily chores. But there was just one thing that he always loved but never confessed - her company. And this togetherness was something he cherished very much.  

In silence and companionship 

Peace he had found. 

His age was last but one 

Ahead was one more round.   

***

This post is the sixth of a seven part series on the Seven Ages of Man (from Shakespeare's 'As You Like It')

Read all Seven Posts -

1. The Infant
2. The School Boy
3. The Lover
4. The Soldier
5. The Justice
6. The Pantaloon
7. The Second Childhood

Linking with Write Tribe's Festival of Words for a Seven Day Blogging Challenge.