Secrets

A steaming cup of coffee
on a cold winter evening,
a backpack and a book,
perfect for the hills.
Sitting in that lovely corner
time seemed to fly by
and then, suddenly stood still.

I couldn't help but wonder
if this was a quest to find myself
or simply run away
from the ghosts of the past
and what they had made me.

Lost in the alleys of the past
I barely acknowledge your presence.
It began with a smile
that flowed into words,
words that transformed into conversations
Conversations that set me free.

Now we are no longer
surrounded by the same breeze
that touched us the other day.
Perhaps, by now
I am a crumpled tissue
or a faded memory
or maybe you've forgotten all about me.

But, to me,
dear stranger
you will always be
the keeper of my secrets. 

Tempest

"Don't look at me with that look" she says.

"Which look?" , he asks.

"Like your eyes are piercing mine trying to speak to my soul, asking me to feel things I don't want to feel...I don't need to feel. I've tried too long to achieve this calm, solemn place, without a whirl of emotions, without a wave of tears, without a cloud of butterflies. Don't disrupt this calm. Don't stir these tempests in me. "

He looks away, giving her what she asks for, encapsulating the tempest in his heart.

Lighthouse

Like any other day I opened the door and barged in. But today was different. Today I realized that the moment the hinge on the door turns my eyes start searching for you. Today was just another ordinary day, yet so different. Since when had you become my lighthouse?

When did you become my lighthouse?
Was it when we sat on breezy terraces on summer mornings to watch the sun usher in the day?
Was it when we lay down on dew covered lawns on cold autumn nights to gaze at the stars shooting across the arm of the Milky Way?
Or was it on the bright spring day when the wind was singing the tune of the mountains and we were standing on the porch staring into the valley?
Was it those hot summer evenings when you taught me how to ride a bike?
Or was it the foggy winter nights when we sipped hot coffee and discussed poetry and life?

I plummet from the enchanted planes of my memory to reality and finally manage to find, among familiar strangers, a place to sit. My day is ordinary again.

Words on the screen engulf me. I follow word after word, trailing someone's thoughts , like a wanderer amidst the woods. I wonder how many people have been on this road before? What baggage were they carrying? Did they see the same things I saw?

I look up to see if you are thinking of the same things as me, which you usually never are, but you know I always look anyway. Then suddenly, the empty chair reminds me that you are no longer here.

Remember when we sat on those seemingly unending stairs talking about how I was meant to be there with you? Was it then my heart and mind decided that you are my lighthouse? Or was it when you checked to see if I was crying as I read out lines from a play? Or the endless times you offered me a tissue as I silently wept at the numerous things that touched me?

But I have been thinking? Are you really my lighthouse or just a spot to my pirouette? Or maybe just a force of habit..

Murmurs and whispers surround me like the white noise of the sea. Turbulent, roaring passionate waves kiss the shore that waits to be washed away into nothingness...

Soulmates and love....

People often talked about  various parts of one's soul dispersed through space and time.How these parts of the soul will meet you in different points in time, in different forms, in different lives. I was a skeptic, or better still a non believer in soulmates , rebirth or love  ... until the day I met you. The moment I saw you my soul realised it had found the missing piece.It was a force stronger than gravity that pulled me towards you. I knew instantly. A little bit of me was in you. A little bit of you was in me. 

People always tell us how different we are, but you and me , we know we are the same. Your heart beats in mine and mine in yours. Though time and destiny have kept us apart and we are on our separate paths I carry you with me wherever I go. Time loses relevance, words lose significance every time we are together. The mere sound of your voice clears away all my doubts and fears.We may be miles apart but a little bit of you beats in me and a little bit of me beats in you.

I carry you with me wherever I go. In precious memories that made us laugh, in tiny sorrows that made us weep. In indelible scars of wounds that time has healed.You are with me in lingering fragrances , flashing pictures and distant sounds.

The moments we have spent together are our little infinities...Forever mine, forever yours , forever ours.We are tied by a silken thread from now till eternity. Now I don't fear distance , time or even death for I know that you are mine and I am yours, from now till forever....

She....

She sits amidst the shadows contemplating. Fondly remembering what was and fascinating about what could have been. As she ponders over the actions of her recent past, she is perplexed. Astonished at her own self.She can feel the self loathe slowly creep in from the dark recesses of her soul. She has tried hard not to think about it. Drowned herself in work, parties and alcohol. Now she realises , you can run away from everything but it's only a matter of time before your conscious finds you.

She looks into the mirror but sees an unfamiliar face.The woman behind the glass smirks at her. She is everything she thought she would never become. In anger and frustration she smashes the mirror. Suddenly, the scattered pieces look familiar.They bear a  resemblance to her life is now.

As she gathers the broken pieces, new wounds make their place among old scars, constant reminders of how rocky the road has been. She looks back to see how far she has come and if there is still a way to get back home. All around her there is nothing to be found but darkness, save a small flickering spec at a great distance. She picks up the pieces and treads along the road continuing her journey in the dark..........

"You taught me ,therefore I am"

Recently, while driving to work I won movie tickets on a radio show for creating a nanotale, or a six word story. The radio jockey was surprised when I dedicated my nanotale to all my teachers since it had been almost a month since 'Teachers Day'.

"You taught me , therefore I am."

Six simple words, yet they mean so much.

I am a sum total of what you taught me. I can eat, talk, walk, read, write, distinguish right from wrong because of everything that you taught me,  mom and dad.I know how to be a big sister because of you dear brothers. I know of heartaches and heartbreaks, tears and laughter,fun and sorrow because of all my friends.

I am a sum total of what you taught me. You taught me how to roll my r's and bite my v's or chew my food with my mouth closed.You taught me how a lady walks gently without dragging her feet but can run for chasing her dreams.You taught me how to dance to my hearts tune and never be afraid to face a crowd. You made school fun dear teachers.

So these are my six words of gratitude to my parents who are the air beneath my wings, my brothers who taught me how to love , fight and share, my friends who taught me how to care, my boss who takes out time everyday to teach me something new, my car that taught me that tyres can burst and engines can break and to life the best teacher.