Garden of Paradise

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I walk barefoot through the garden

The morning dew tickling my naked toes

Blooming flowers all around me 

Orchids, Roses and Forget-me-nots

Pinks, reds, yellows, like a scattered rainbow

I don't stop, I keep walking 

Till I reach the end of the stream 

The water trickling melodiously 

Music to my ears 

The air is heavily scented 

The fragrance of wild honeysuckle 

Makes me miss a certain time from my past

But I don't dwell, I drink in the beauty around 

It is here I shall wait for you, my dearest 

It is here that our love shall finally bloom

In here lies paradise, just for the both of us

Here I shall wait till the end of eternity

 Only for you...

Destination Unknown

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City lights twinkling in the background

Rain pours down all around me 

I walk barefoot through these streets

The honking of vehicles seems like blasphemy

My ears seem to have shut out the mad world's din

I allow the raindrops to pour down on my face

Mixing with the teardrops clinging on my eyelashes 

My wet clothes sticking onto me like a second skin

My feet have started bleeding 

Have I stepped on a shard of broken glass?

Why then is it that I can't feel the pain 

The pain that I so desperately crave?

My heart beats like a caged bird in my rib case 

A dull ache spreading all over my body 

From my fingertips right down to my toes

It feels impossible to move forward, yet I must

I keep walking into the darkness of the night

Not knowing the destination 

One foot after the other, step by step

That's all that I can muster for now

I Write To...

I write to remember 

I write to forget 

I write because I know no other way

To find myself 

I write to catch my dreams 

Ones that flutter on the dangerous 

I write to face the demons that haunt me 

I write because I have no other choice 

My words are sometimes stained 

With blood and tears

The blotted words spreading on paper 

Each one speaking out a thousand stories 

I write to heal, to nurse those age old wounds

I write to seek closure from the callings of my past

I write to dwell into the wonders of my future 

I write to live, to feel whole once again 

I write to venture out into the unknown 

I write to seek shelter in the dark 

I write to feel the raindrops kissing my face

And to feel the wind run wildly through my hair

I write to catch hold of a love that deludes me 

And the love that consumes me, body and soul

I write because I have no other way

To discover who I am... 

Scarlet Red

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Her hand hovers uncertainly over the scarlet red lipstick on her dressing table, one that had been seldom used and had remained untouched except for a couple of occasions in the past. 

The red on your lips makes you look like a slut. Even today, thinking of the hurtful things he used to tell her makes her flinch, like the invisible knife he had twisted into her heart, with each word it would dig in deeper. 

She shakes off the memory and picks up the tube of her favorite color, applying it evenly over her luscious lips; it would look beautiful with the short black lace dress that she had picked for the evening. 

Strapping on the black high heeled sandals, she smiles at herself in the mirror before heading out, if he saw her today, he would hardly recognize the woman she had turned into, but she felt a calmness come over her when she realized that she no longer cared. 

This post is written for Five sentence fiction for Lipstick at Lillie McFerrin Writes.

Blinded by Love

Image Source: Magpie Tales

You were not the first to climb in bed with me

But I want you to be the last 

The men who came before you 

All they wanted was my body

None wanted my darkness apart from you

Smoke and mirrors all around us 

I can't see, I can only feel 

Yes, what I feel for you is true 

Is this what love feels like?

A mirage that I have only seen from afar

Yet you are as real as can be 

As real as the scars on my body 

As the smoke drifts away

I half expect you to disappear

But you are always here, my Love

Your fingertips ablaze on my skin

Now that I know what love finally feels like

I can open my eyes and take in its beauty

Without fear or contempt 

Without fear of being judged

Your eyes may not see me

They call you blind

But your heart sees right into my soul

And for me, that's all that matters

Linking this post to Magpie Tales - Mag 282. 

Book Review - Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

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From the book cover: Cornelia Brown works as a waitress in Cafe Dora, but the silver screen and its romantic dreams are her real inspiration...

Clare, on the other hand, is just eleven and she already knows the difference between real life and stories: every day is a struggle with a manic-depressive mother. 

When Clare's estranged father walks into Cafe Dora one day - sweeping a certain waitress off her feet- it's a while before Cornelia comes down to earth... only to find a motherless eleven-year-old girl in need of love and affection. For life has a way of upsetting our preconceptions, and Clare and Cornelia are about to learn what can happen when love- real Love- walks in. 

My thoughts: I know it's been a while since I did a proper book review here. I must confess that I was reluctant in picking up this book because I was expecting a cliched love story from the title. My only regret now is that I should have read it sooner. Yes, I loved it. 

The characters of Cornelia and Clare are so well etched out, it's hard to believe that this is the debut work of the author. I was hooked from the first line. One of the reasons why I loved it so much was because I could empathize with both the main characters. At certain parts I could relate so much to Clare that it was almost creepy. 

Another reason was the literary references throughout the book. I love it when an author talks about other books inside the story. There are not just literary references, but references to movies as well. Cornelia is an interesting character and I loved how the author has narrated her story in the first person. It helps me get into the character's shoes most of the time. The chapters alternate between Clare and Cornelia throughout the book. 

There are only a handful of characters in the novel and the author has brought in beautiful shades of grey through each one of them. I loved the characters of Viviana -Clare's mother, Teo - Cornelia's brother in law who happens to be a ray of silver lining in the second half of the story as well as Martin - Clare's father. 

Being a poet, the author has used some beautiful sentences and crafted the entire story so well. Yes, it has love. Plenty of it, in fact. But the bond and mutual love shared between Clare and Cornelia is what I loved the most. A thirty one year old waitress who finds herself in the most unlikeliest of situations and the mature and confused Clare who has been forced to grow up way too early and face the harshness of reality that life has to offer. Clare is a voracious reader and writes down her thoughts and stories in her journal; this made me like her even more. 

I would recommend this to everyone who's looking  and believes in love; how it is possible that you can find love, true love when you are least expecting it. 

Childhood Dreams

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Sara dipped her beaker into the soapy water before blowing into it; the soapy bubbles that emerged from its end took on a magical sheen in the afternoon sunlight, reflecting colors of the rainbow in each one of them. 

"I don't care what you think. Sara is coming home with me tonight," her mother's voice droned against her father's in the background. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the task at hand; trying to ignore the constant bickering that had become a regular affair between her parents. 

If she tried hard enough, she could see herself reflected in the nearest bubble, her parents smiling in the background; and she could pretend that they were a happy family, just like old times. 

She tried to ignore the pang that gripped her heart whenever reality hit her on the face and continued to blow bubbles, watching them drift away, floating into the wind like fragments of broken dreams. 

This post is written for Five sentence fiction for Bubbles at Lillie McFerrin Writes.

Hello there, August!

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How fast time flies! Seems like only yesterday that I was here writing 26 posts for the A to Z challenge for April and now it's August already. The past couple of months I have been on the lazy side and not much writing or anything else got done for that matter. I did, however, catch up on my reading and read some pretty great books though. Love in the time of Cholera must definitely top the list so far. I have been meaning to do a post on it and have been procrastinating for quite a while now. I should get cracking on that soon. 

Speaking of August, it's my favorite month of the year. Yes, it's my birthday month :) I still feel like a little girl when it comes to August, counting the days to go for my birthday. Birthdays means cake and gifts- some of the most wonderful things in life. I know that age is just another number, so I'm trying not to freak out by the fact that I'm turning 27 in exactly a week's time. It's nearing the dreaded 30, but I'm so proud of myself for the woman that I'm turning into with each passing year. Have I turned wiser? I don't know. Am I happy? Yes, for the first time in years, I have finally learnt to put my happiness first and turning a deaf year towards what people are telling me about what should be making me happy. 

You live only once and each moment should count. What shouldn't matter are back stabbing and fake people. I'm so over them. I was so obsessed with pleasing people in the past that it took me time to realize that all the people pleasing was making me one miserable person. I have said goodbye to all the fakeness in the world for now. I don't mind broken souls, as long as they are honest. Speaking of broken, who isn't? I'm broken myself and healing. I'm not there yet but I should be there soon.  

So, what are your plans for August? I'm so glad that I'm sharing my birthday month with some of my favorite people from the blogging world and outside. Happy Birthday, guys! And today being friendship day, wishing you all a very happy Friendship day too! August, please be kind and last a bit longer. Let me enjoy you for now :) Happy birthday to me!