Vengeance..

The lightning streaked through the clouds like a fiery bolt and illuminated her face. Her very sight took my breath away; her skin so pale and delicate like the petals of an innocent flower that had bloomed in a storm. But she was no innocent and his arms wrapped around her beautiful body filled me with a rage so uncontrollable and destructive that I plunged the knife into his heart.

Blood gushed through the open wound and stained her pale body red. I smiled to myself knowing the pages had finally turned and now she will be forever mine.

Written as part of the Five Sentence Fiction prompt.

Word Prompt: Pages

This 100 word fiction is also written for Friday Fictioneers.

Forever and Ever...

Deepak lay asleep beside me, satiated and drunk on desire, his snores filling the otherwise quiet room while the rain softly pelted the windows. I lay wide awake, overwhelmed and lost as I stared at his handsome face while his wonderful male scent filled my senses and stirred something deep within me. I looked on as questions filled my mind like an avalanche of destruction, whilst pain and hopelessness clouded the heart for I could not love Deepak. The heartbreaks, the failed relationships, the despair and cheating had left me incapable of love, incapable of feelings.

 Yet I had married Deepak, for he had loved me all through; he had watched me cry over those dim-witted jocks I dated in high school, watched me break my heart countless times in college, watched me stumble through one failed relationship after another and yet his love had never wavered but remained strong while I searched desperately to lean on to a man I could trust and love. In the end I had made a compromise and married the man who loved me instead of the man I had hoped to love.

I tossed around restlessly in bed, my heart a whirlpool of emotions while the sheets curled round my naked body, sheathing it from the dread and cold that suddenly engulfed my senses. Deepak had known all along for he had seen the emptiness in my eyes and the hurt I saw reflected in his broke my heart; yet he hoped that someday I might learn to love him back the way he had loved me all this time. I wished it would happen, I wished it were true. I had tried so hard to love him yet all I felt was emptiness. He deserved a woman who would fill him with so much joy and love that he would forget all the pain I had put him through.

 I left for office early that morning, leaving Deepak peacefully asleep while I plunged myself into work, the enormous figures a welcome distraction from the turmoil that now filled my days. I taxed my brains over their numerous complicacies seeking to forget my troubled thoughts. I returned late at night, exhausted and worn out, my head throbbing to find a note stuck to the refrigerator.

I'll be late,don't wait up for me...

Love,

Deepak

I breathed a sigh of relief, for Deepak’s proximity muddled my senses and made rational thinking difficult. For once I won’t have to look at him and feel the guilt that suffused my senses on seeing him.  As I went round the house that night completing chores, I wondered for the hundredth time if I had made a mistake in marrying Deepak and destroyed both our lives in the process. He could have married someone who loved him back unlike me, moved on with his life. Yet the thought of him with another woman made me sad, for I was not willing to lose him. The way his eyes lighted up on seeing me, the way he made me feel so special were not things I was willing to let go. Was I being selfish?

As I was straightening the book shelf, dusting the old books that had gathered a thick layer of dust over time, a thick diary tumbled out and fell open at my feet. I could make out Deepak’s bold writing and all of a sudden I lunged at it, hoping to know the man whom I had so selfishly used to make me feel better about myself. That night my life turned upside down as I read those pages again and again, knowing that love as I knew it had changed forever.

I often wonder if she is real. The way her eyes sparkle with innocence while she shines brighter than every other girl around, the way she laughs like a carefree bird when happy and nervously chatters to herself when worried... I think I’m in love. I hope she would see me more than as a friend.

The half-wit broke her heart. I wish I could erase the pain but all I did was remain silent while she cried. It broke my heart to see her tears; it broke my heart to see her with him...

She is so beautiful she takes my breath away... Why can’t she see my love for her? I have tried to move on but in the end I keep coming back to her. I have never loved anyone the way I have loved her. I hit the half-wit today for he deserved it but in the end I felt nothing but despair...

She is moving to Delhi for her higher studies. Maybe I can finally move on...

I was up all night talking to her, listening to her tales of Delhi...

She is home. I met her today, she is as beautiful as ever and I still love her. But she seems unhappy, some failed affair with a guy who was cheating on her with her best friend. Those eyes, bright and enormous, still so innocent...

She accepted my proposal... But now all I want is to die for she does not love me. I saw it in her eyes, the emptiness, the dread. Yet it was all lost in the kiss; her lips, so soft and tender. I kissed her like my life depended on it. Someday she will love me back and until then I’ll wait. I’m here baby, always...

I see her trying so hard to make me happy. But I’m happy darling for I’m with you. All that makes me unhappy is you assaulting yourself with guilt over me. Don’t you see? You made me happy just by promising to be with me for my entire life. I wish I could hold you and tell you that it does not matter, I’ll take what you give me for my love is enough for the both of us. My love is enough...

As I read his diary, drinking in his words like a woman dying of thirst, I broke down. And my heart that had remained dead for so long, finally beat fiercely against my chest, loud and hard, for Deepak.

In Search of Incredible..

Mr. Tempted-to-Touch

The metro is unusually crowded this evening and his inner demon salivates at the sight of so many beauties. Ah... Those curves... His hands move of their own accord to touch the enticing back of the young female bombshell standing right next to him when his phone suddenly vibrates to life and starts chanting in a sing-song female voice:

So you are tempted to touch the woman next to you and must be cursing your damned phone right this very moment. Yes she must be tantalising as hell and you might want to blame it on her clothes but let’s pause for a while and think (go ahead, try to turn me off but I’m one determined lady). The girl you were about to touch (the correct word would be molest but we will go easy on you for now) could have been your daughter (or wife/or mother) and I wonder if you would still feel the same way then. But I believe this makes no sense to you (otherwise you would have refrained from touching her in the first place) so we will stick to more logical reasoning for now (since your pea-sized brain is yet unable to decipher what this is all about). You see Mr. Tempted-to-touch-that pretty-lady-next-to-me, it is morally incorrect and disrespectful to touch a woman without their permission. Or better still.....

The man has by now turned red in the face and people are staring wide eyed at him. He hastily makes a run for the exit at the next stop.

(So ladies, wouldn't it be nice if phones could sense intentions and actually do the requisite by teaching men as to why it is necessary to respect women?)

The Tale of a Pervert

Raju has bought this new phone that comes with a lot of stunning features and the female back at the shop seemed pretty intent on selling it to him (Women... They just can’t resist my charm). He had actually tapped her lightly on the back when she wasn't aware and watched her scuttle hurriedly away from the room, her face red with embarrassment.  Of course he would get his share of entertainment today at the bazaar, watching those ripe young women scamper in a rush as he whistled at them and even felt them up if the opportunity presented. As he lay lost in thoughts in his bed, his phone sprang to life and started chanting in a sing-song female voice:

Thanks for buying this phone for you must know the amazing features it comes with, one of which is ‘School the men ’. Today in ‘School the men’ I would like you to note down certain do’s and don’ts when it comes to women. If you are one of those perverts that needs to fuel up his esteem by teasing women in parking-lots, roadsides, shopping malls (in short anywhere you go and find yourself drooling at the sight of so many women), the primary don’t on your list should be (please note it down carefully if you especially fall in this category) to not indulge in eve-teasing. You can go boost your esteem by indulging in activities that make a difference instead of extracting pleasure by teasing women on roadsides. The next don’t on your list....

Raju hurriedly dons his shirt and wonders how to stop his phone from making such a racket early in the morning. Unable to find any way out he is forced to listen cursing the saleswoman back at the store.

(Smartphones that instil values in men whether they want to listen or not? Smart way to teach those crooks back at the mall a lesson, right?)

We women face innumerable incidents each day, starting from eve-teasing on the roadsides to sexual harassment whilst travelling. A super power I wish my phone had? I wish it had the power to make the world a safer place for women. I wish it could stop this blatant injustice against women so that we could live more freely and unshackle the social bonds that steal our joy and independence.

And now, here's the big news of the season.Taiwanese tech major Asus is all set to release its Zenfone series of smart phones (the Zenfone-4, the Zenfone-5, the Zenfone-6) in India on July 9^th,2014. Equipped with features that are bound to blow your mind the Zenfones have stirred quite an interest in the Indian market. I have been going through the reviews of the phone and the Zenfone range seems both promising and distinct. I look forward to its unveiling in India.

The highly-anticipated Zenfone series (namely Zenfone 4, Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 6) is to feature screens ranging from 4 to 6 inches and is rumoured to come in a wide range of colours - black, white, red, purple, and even gold!! Well here is a phone to meet your sense of style. The Zenfone 4 features a striking 4 inch display with swappable covers in a variety of colours. It supports micro-SD upto 64 GB!! And now you can keep alive all your cherished moments and store photos, videos, apps and more! The Zenfone 5 supports a prominent IPS HD display that can even be used while wearing gloves in winter. The smartphone runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with an update to Android 4.4 Kitkat and comes in two variants of 8 GB and 16 GB, supports a neat and spacious user-interface, 5.8 megapixel camera and RAM upto 2 GB!! Zenfone 6 offers a fantastic 6-inch HD IPS display complemented by SonicMaster audio technology to deliver immersive entertainment experiences. It is equipped with a powerful 13-megapixel camera for clear, high-resolution photos.

Well what more could you ask for? So get ready for the launch of this amazing series in India!! 

Zenfones- Big features, bold style...

http://www.asus.com/campaign/zenfone/IN/

(This post is written as part of the In Search of Incredible contest on Indiblogger, in association with ASUS. )

Shackled..

Is freedom so hard to find

From bonds, yet harder to flee

Like chains that cut into my hands

I struggle, as you laugh with glee

I struggle still as you laugh

While blood seeps from tethered wrists

Yet rays of hope still burn bright

As tears gush down my cheeks.

The dark cloaks me in its cold

And I dream of shackles freed

You rage as wrath fills your soul

While with freedom I quietly tread

The dawn brings with it another day

Chained to bonds, yet harder to flee

Still I struggle with all my might

 And hope as you laugh with glee

This too shall pass..

Was it never meant to be

Was it never meant to last

As memories swirl into a big black hole

And forage into the past

Like sand slipping through fingers

And water filling voids forlorn

Drowning in lanes that break the heart

Cast away to shores unknown

Yet they churn and torture the mind

Until novelties are all it seeks

To drench in pleasures hitherto forgotten

And cleanse yet memories bleak

But bygones cannot always be bygones

And the present holy bliss

Yet one day this too shall pass

Buried beyond some forgotten abyss

Book Review: Never Say Never by Anjali Kirpalani

I’m definitely not a huge fan of chick-lit but Anjali Kirpalani’s debut novel Never Say Never is both refreshing and funny, a breath of fresh air that is young at heart and sweeps you away. The genre is predominantly targeted at young adults and unfailingly keeps you entertained till the end.

Never Say Never is the story of 25 year old Nikita (an impulsive and confused female protagonist sure to bring a smile on your face) who is unemployed and desperately in love with her best friend's fiancé Raghav, a radio jockey on popular radio station Spruce FM. To top it all, Nikita is in a relationship with Deepak, a man she finds absolutely intolerable. Living off her best friend Aziza (who is gorgeous to boot) in a tiny apartment in Mumbai, Nikita makes six vows on her cousin Natasha’s wedding night which include to never marry for money, never doubt her abilities, never have feelings for an unavailable man, never stay in a relationship with someone she doesn't love, never get completely drunk in public and never wear velvet! Caught between love and loyalty, Nikita’s life is turned upside down when a series of unexpected events hurl Nikita and Raghav together. As if this isn't enough, Nikita’s current beau Deepak (who actually turns out to be the owner and heir to some multimillion company) proposes marriage to her. Can Nikita yet stick to her vows? Will Nikita get a job and eventually marry for money?

Narrated mostly by Nikita, the story also brings to light the lives of Aziza, Sid and Raghav (narrated in their own voices). Aziza, who is all set to marry Raghav, finds herself increasingly drawn to her ex-boyfriend Mohsin while Sid (tall, dark and handsome; in short a woman’s ultimate fantasy) struggles with his feelings for Nikita.  Raghav on the other hand feels trapped in his relationship with Aziza and finds himself unable to resist Nikita’s charm.

Yes, all this may definitely sound very confusing but the story surprisingly isn’t so. The narration is witty, simple and hilarious and the characters, struggling with their own emotions, are well expressed. Most importantly, read this book if you wish to be entertained on a lazy summer afternoon. It is sure to bring a smile to your face and keep you hooked (with its unpredictability...umm, okay gets a bit predictable in the end) and the pages turning.

Verdict: High On Entertainment!! Read it if you have nothing better to do. ;)

Rating: 3.1/5

Mistress Of The Night..

She lies cocooned in my embrace, her body aglow and flushed after our lovemaking, her hair a wonderful tangle of messy curls caressing her cheek. Her face dazzles with happiness and my heart is filled with love, overwhelming and overpowering in its intensity. The world and its problems seem a distant memory while I gaze for countless moments at her beautiful face, so peaceful in sleep and then get up to leave.

 As I drive through the silent night back to my wife, I pat the divorce papers that sit heavy in my pocket knowing in my heart that today I must end this farce for both our sakes. But as Sudha opens the door my courage fails me while my heart quietly whispers, ‘Tomorrow, I shall tell her tomorrow...’

Written as part of the Five Sentence Fiction prompt.

Word Prompt: Dazzles