I for Individuality #AtoZChallenge

source: vectorstock

"You want some help?"
"NO" I cried, a little harsher than was intended. She nodded and left me alone with my words.

The hardcover of my diary had begun to peel off from overuse. Passages edited and re-edited were strewn across the pages, sometimes with blue ink, sometimes with black. I clicked the pen against the edge of the page, deep in reverie.

H for Hurt #AtoZChallenge

source: pinterest

You know what the scariest thing about love is? The vulnerability of it. How you voluntarily expose yourself to another person, giving them all the strength to empower you, but also destroy you. It is scary to open up and give yourself away. You may choose not to, but there may come a time when opening up becomes a necessity to keep your sanity. Opening up at such a point gives you this blissful relief you didn't know you could be entitled to. Opening up makes you realize how much you needed the support that you're receiving now. Opening up makes you realize that however big a risk it might seem to lay bare before another, the result can turn out to be one of the most precious things you could possibly possess. The thing called love.

G for gymming #AtoZChallenge

source: VectorStock

For the fourth time, my dad called out for breakfast. In my dreams, I had woken up and walked about three times already. But when my eyelids were finally torn open, I felt like my legs were nailed to the bed.

F for Failure #AtoZChallenge

source: dreamstime

Their faces were pleasant and smiling. But somehow, they intimidated me. I sat restlessly rubbing my fingers against each other, waiting for them to finish reading my resume. It was my first placement interview and I was brimming with worry. Waiting patiently for them to begin, I watched as they made notes from that sheet of paper that defined me professionally.

E for Extempore #AtoZChallenge

source: yawd

I turned my back to them and hurriedly packed my bag. If I could escape their notice and just reach till the school bus, then I wouldn't have to do it. They should get someone else to do it anyway. There were so many others after all. Now, if only they weren't gon-

D for Decisions #AtoZChallenge

source: clipartkey.com

We carry it with us from the moment our brains develop to think on their own. The burden of taking decisions. As for me, I've conveniently passed on the burden to another since a little child. Of course, one wouldn't always call it a burden. But a task it was. From the flavour of my ice-cream to the channel to watch on TV, I'd always followed my elder sister's lead. It took quite some time for me to realize that I liked tea over coffee, unlike her. It took even more time for me to choose dresses of my own liking.

C for Connections #AtoZChallenge

source: jing.fm

"And then, as silence swarmed,
I listened to all else.
A whisper, I could hear..
A whisper, soft and dear..."

I was reciting my poem out loud. Their interest in it seemed very convincing, but also very unlikely. I mean, even I wouldn't respond to it that way. Not to demean myself, but I knew my place as a novice and this piece did not deserve the praise it was being given. I was at my first open mic event. A couple of friends had come with me, but we were made to sit apart. Here, we were meant to socialize. Meet new people, make connections. And so we did. I believed that this day was the beginning of something very special. I wanted it to be.