FranKophone

She gently removed the color off her lips. The kohl was left untouched. As she peeled her mask, she thought about her day. She was used to being ogled at.  Her oblong ear hoops did the trick., Suddenly she wondered if she was right enough.  Just then, a few pages of her work blew in the wind. She ran to collect them.  Even if no one read them, forget publishing, she would write. She knew she was born to write.  

   On the streets of the old bazaar, there sat a man  in rags. Every time I passed by , he smiled and looked away. Neither was he handsome nor was he wealthy. Still I thought about him. Why would anyone wait on streets for years together ?  I  had seen him there since I was a kid. An autumn morning , I heard he passed away. On the street. No one heard his  dying words. No one offered him gangaja l or  tulsi . He died unmourned , un-noticed. The bazaar still smelt of spices and perfume. Years later, I heard his story. From an antique woman. In his prime, the man was a successful merchant. He had a comfortable home and a lovely wife. One  morning, his wife was on her way to the temple on the hillock. A raging earthquake hit the city and razed the hillock to ground. The lovely wife was lost, never to be found. May be she had died , buried under the rubble. The merchant  never lost hope. Gradually he began to live on the street, hoping t...

Read Part 1 here He woke up with a   nightmare. She was fast asleep. He gazed at her – she had a tranquil look in sleep. He moved forward , remembered something and took her palm in his hands. Softly , so as not to awaken her, he traced   his name   on her palm with his fingers. A cherubic smile spread across her face.   That set him thinking. Why hadn’t he known it much before ?   She had to be the one. Nothing   could happen , he believed. He was already engaged. To someone else. She wasn’t the woman who could break a home. Then how on earth   are they together ?   He wondered.   He fell in love with her. Unbelievably. When ? Was it when she stood on the sands and said “ I do not believe in soul mates ”   ? Or was it when   he had spoken his mind   to her ?  Told her that she deserved better people in her life.   Or was it at that precise moment when they discovered that their mothers were best friends ever ? ...

     She  stood in front of him , without uttering a word.  He is here.  Her mind refused to register this simple fact. He cannot be here.  He was supposed to be gone . Forever. To another land. With another woman.  He preferred silence. He could not bring himself to speak. He had dumped his fiancée. Given up his mercenary dreams. He  felt it  was necessary to stay back. With her . For her. Forever.  Neither of them  said anything. They were reading each others’ minds. Trying to decipher silences.  Suddenly  the lights went out. A storm grew out of nowhere. She gave him way to come in. He  rushed in with urgency. She went to fetch a candle. He  hastily shut the windows to prevent the rains from lashing  into the house . After  she came back , he said , " Did you have your dinner yet  ? "  She replied , concealing a smile, " Now that you are here , why don’t you join me in  ?...

Did you say you love me ? I’m glad you did. But …. I always have questions. I have more questions  than love for you. Yes, I am skeptic. Of  love in general. Will you love me if I do not love you back ?  Will you wish me well if I choose to walk out your life ?  Will you love me if I  treat you badly ?  I  have more faults than anyone else you  know. What  made you  “love” me was  the  good  side of me. I  have a bad side too. You might have a glimpse of it. Would you still love me ?  I  am not  some princess or some  fairy. I  am very much ordinary. With my share of vices , faults and mistakes .  If you still  love me, let me know. I would like  to meet you.  At  a time called now.

It was not to be. But it has been . I wasn't supposed to like all this.   But I do . You weren't supposed to be that close. But you are . We were supposed to never meet. But we did.   Things were not meant to be clear. But they are .  We weren't meant to be. But we are .  Life wasn't supposed to be this generous. But it is . Love was supposed to die. But it didn't.   We meant to hate each other. But we couldn't .  Pic Courtesy : Google

Dear You, Writing to you calms me. I love you for that. I love you otherwise too. Maybe I'll never be able to tell you how much I love you. Everything is fine. Not the sort of fine when you were here but nevertheless.......fine.  As usual, Emmy's dentist  asked her to give up sugar candies. She's not going to give them up anyways. She asks for you. I guess she wants to consult you about it. My optician said that it was time I use glasses. Finally ! Remember how I used to rue the fact that I didn't have glasses. You always said it was good. To look into my eyes directly. Ah ! Those were the days.  I have not heard from you since long. Talk to me soon. Okay.... I'm inviting myself to your place. Emmy can stay with  my mom, for a change.  With love,  Me.  P.S. : I'm posting this from the same mailbox where we first met. By Jove, that street has awful traffic. People get killed. 

She woke up. He was not in bed.The sheets were crumpled though.She could hear some noise from the kitchen. As she got into her slippers, she remembered the last night.They read the book together and then laughed about it.He was all she thought of since the last three years. He was natural, very unpretentious.The gift of her life. Giving a jolt to the thoughts, he greeted her loudly,  “Good Morning Mumma !”

The first time I actually noticed you was right after the wedding. Tall, lanky and fair. I heard you were intelligent too. A dream match – I was told. But I found you…genuinely interesting.  Yes, you are the best guy I have ever seen.  Remember how lost I was in the kitchen ? I knew nothing except scrambling eggs. You were gracious enough to cook for me. Offered me a glass of milk every night I sat down to study. I guess I succumbed to your charms from then on. Everything seemed to be your smile – the curve of your lips – I wished I could throw all my books and  just trap your image in my eyes. But I couldn’t – Because you wanted me to be happy – and I was happy to study , even after I was a wife, a married girl. Being your wife made me the happiest  girl ever. I still remember the pride in your eyes when you saw me in the graduation robe. Of all the years we have spent together, this particular moment remains evergreen in my mind. Your calm demeanour getting ruff...

“No ! Not in my terrace ! “ “ Yes Memsaahib . She’s there – three , too small , dark . “ “ Can you take them away ? “ “ The mother won’t allow anyone to come  near them . Besides I’m getting late. “ Audacity at her very best. “ Then  do something to prevent them from moving . I don’t want them in my house. “ Of all people on earth , why me ? Yeah ! Go ahead , try me. I  am terribly scared of cats . Phobia . And this  foolish mother cat had to start her crazy family on my terrace. On the top of it , Jatin was having fun at my expense. “ Are you sure you’re okay with my Delhi trip ? “ , he smirked. He would be away – I  have to handle the stray  cats alone. Bending over my dahlias , I replied “ Are you going to cancel the trip if I ask you to ? No !  you won’t . But you want to earn some brownie points. I can see through your plans Mr. Husband. “ “ In that case , no use trying, eh ? “ and he laughed like a zombie. After driving Jatin to the...

“Madam, Mr. Salil Verma died last night.” “Any major complications regarding any issue ?” “No Madam. Will you be there at the funeral ?” “No.” ******** “Mamma, Jeet is a nice guy.” “You need a lot of time to decide that. Not now.” “Mamma…..” “No more discussion. You are getting late. You are supposed to assist me in the multiple fibrosis case.” “Mamma…you know what ? You are making a mistake. I can take my decisions now. Just because you weren’t happy with your marriage……… “ “ You can slap me but cannot change my mind. Dr. Rekha Mistry – mark my words.” ******** “Rekha, I think we don’t need this.” “ Salil, are you out of your mind ?” “Rekha, it’s a girl.” “You did an amniocenetesis ? Do you realize what have you done ? ” “C’mon Rekha, its ours. I wanted to know. My parents wanted to know. And I don’t think they will be happy with a ……” ********************* “Baba, how is my child ?” “She survived. My girl is a fighter.” “Don’t cry Rekha. She is ...

We met, didn’t we ? So what if it was after ages. You looked almost like a thorough gentleman. That was least expected. Anyways, glad to see that you’ve changed for the good. Glasses look good on you..wait, you look good in glasses. As for me, you know…. I’m the same clumsy little girl…now no more little. Haha. Yeah. I still laugh in between conversations. And I still struggle while beating eggs. But do you realize the time that has flown by ? I freelance these days . Yes, as you often said “the free bird.” Home is pretty okay, same furniture, same furnishing, same books….Our mango tree died. Last winter. I cried a lot. Now I don’t miss it a lot. Got used to. Same way as I …….. Anyways, I can always write reams about my hardships and suffering. They should not make sense to you now. Do they ? I don’t know….. Meanwhile, let me tell you… Emmy is sweet. She resembles her. I wish she were here. With you. She was fun to be with. For the short time she met me, I thought you wer...

I do not remember exactly when I thought I fell for you. Maybe a few summers ago. All in a flash of a second. You seemed so fresh and alluring. I was foolishly young – nubile. Liable to be trapped. And we met for a brief  while. I thought you are the answer to my prayers. My longings were for you. You chose to entice me – I never minded it. It gave me a tingling sensation, a hope that we were meant to be one. Silken dreams. Our encounters teased me. I wanted more of you. You managed to floor me sans any weapon. Gradually I realized I was not alone. Several others vied you, tried to woo you. I burnt with jealousy. You seemed to love everyone alike. You knew no one too closely. But you ignored none. Two summers passed. My tryst with you continued. Everyone around us thought we were together. Only we knew we weren’t. I decided to spend another summer with you. This was unexpected. Most of your admirers had left. They were tired. A new set of people came. The stage was...

Remember our first date ? I walked to you in that lilac dress – with apprehension. You later told me that you fell for me then. I had noticed your jaw almost dropping  but never mentioned it to you. In one of our later dates, I caught you staring at that anorexic female with garish make-up. I was a fool then (Yes, I am a lot wiser now ). I tried to lose weight, use make-up. All proved futile. The next time we met you almost laughed at the sight of me. Visibly thinner, under inches of God-knows-what powdered on cheeks. Creepily lined eyes. After a few seconds, I realized you were laughing at me. I tried going away, crying. You stopped me. By that time, my eyes were streaming with tears. You looked straight into them and said “You do not need a mask . You’re beautiful.” I stopped crying. You hugged me. There were times you needed me. For telling how badly your Dad thinks of you. How you miss your Mom. I just listened. And yet you told me it comforted you. To be with me. And then on...

Its not always that I feel like writing my experiences on paper.Unless there is a headache of sorts. These days I feel so very lonely,unable to confide my secrets with anyone-I seriously need a break. Here goes the bell. I knew I wouldn’t be at peace ever. An invitation. A wedding invitation. My friend’s wedding. I guess this was the break I needed. A not-so–happening job profile, fear of being axed out anytime and the worst part- ever increasing EMIs. I wish I hadn’t come out of home-into a strange city-perhaps I was blinded by its glamour. But what has been done can’t be undone. I’m at home. Its Divya’s wedding today. She’s my next door neighbour and a friend. A sweet simple girl, with whom you could chatter playfully for a while. Not like those opportunistic morons in the city. She has just finished her masters. Her fiancee is a medico. I’m sure she’ll have a great life ahead-she has typical small towny, girly, domestic dreams. She looks marvelous today. Her family is in a fr...