O for Overthinking #AtoZChallenge

source: Dreamstime

The cursor blinked in the empty spreadsheet before me. I typed down the heading and watched it blink some more. I had a half-mind about writing it down. It seemed like a great idea thirty seconds ago. But now the dubiousness crawled in. My fingers hung on top of the keyboard, waiting for the brain to give the green signal. But the brain was busy processing the gazillion thoughts that'd poured in all of a sudden. 

N for Needful #AtoZChallenge

source: Dreamstime

It is 7 'o clock in the evening. Mom and dad are watching the day's news from the living room. I casually walk across the room to the front door, my mobile phone hidden well in my pyjamas. 

"Where are you going?" Mom starts. I shrug.

"Just for a walk in the terrace." 

Before either of them could get curious, I make for the stairs. From up there in the dark, I fish out my phone and make a call. No, not to my boyfriend. But to my best friend. The information to be conveyed was confidential and couldn't risk being shared from the bedroom. She picks up the call from the other end and I know that she's moved over to her own private location.

M for Mediocrity #AtoZChallenge

source: Dreamstime

There are two kinds of people in this world. The ones who have their lives sorted out, and the ones who have no idea what they're doing. If you're among the latter, welcome to the mediocre club. We have been rowing our way ahead with no sense of direction. We have let ourselves be guided by the flow rather than our choices. We have successfully made that majority which goes unnoticed.

You see, we have been building the podium for that minority who succeed. We're the reason they're on the top. We keep trying to climb ahead only to end up tumbling over ourselves, not realizing that we make the very mountain that the winners climb over. The joke's on us if we continue to try, because either way, we'll remain to be the muddle in the middle.

L for Left-Out #AtoZChallenge

source: Needpix

In the comfort of room number 111, I reclined in my single bed basking in the sweet solitude. What a pity for the ones who couldn't enjoy their own company! Having some me-time was always lovely. Even necessary, I'd say. While the ones from the other rooms gathered around in times of boredom, I found myself hardly ever encountering that term. Smiling to myself, I sat enjoying the private freedom within the room when the phone rang.

K for Knowledge #AtoZChallenge

source: VectorStock

Laughing hysterically at the stories tossed back and forth in the group, we sat in a circle on the master bed. Slumber parties were meant for long stories. The tidbits of gossip at work, little-known histories of our fellow mates, the likes and dislikes of the circle...so on and so forth. But of course, there comes a point where we run out of things to talk about. Here's where the games begin. And pretty often, there is this one game which is always among the first choices.

J for Judgements #AtoZChallenge

source: clipart.email

I don't know if the world has ever been shut down the way it is today. Today, when stepping outdoors is a risk no one is willing to take, when all of social media brims with quarantine tips and pieces of advice, and when the news is entirely about the new number of coronavirus cases or deaths. It feels like a long holiday but it also doesn't. We have time in plenty in our hands and yet can only conform to limited activities. We sheepishly enjoy the much-needed rest, but also feel bored. We feel guilty of our trivial thoughts during quarantine when the world is struggling to survive. For once, the same fate is faced all through the globe, where each of us can relate to the other. This period is going down in history.

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.