Z - Zoya

Image Source

Zoya applied the black eyeliner carefully, giving more precision to her already smoky eyes. Last year, this time, she had been a pathetic mess. Drowning in a pool of self-pity and random strangers with whom she had shared her bed with. The best way to mend a broken heart was to numb the pain, at least that was what she had felt like then. 

Though temporary measures such as seeking solace in men and alcohol, had no long term effects of lifting her spirits, she had turned to it. If anything, she would wake up feeling more depressed the next day. All that had changed the day he had walked into her life. 

With him by her side, she learnt that life was not all grey skies and looming clouds. That when the rays of sunshine would finally break through them, things would take on a magical sheen. And slowly, the days seemed bearable, the nights longer and filled with promise, the words she read in books and the musical lyrics she heard spoke  to her in a language that she hadn't understood before. 

And today, she was getting married to him. The one who had taught her that life was not all lows, that there were highs as well. The dreaded wedding attire suddenly seemed beautiful. Those gold ornaments that she had shied away from all her life glittered on her hands and neck as she moved, reminding her of a symphony that she had heard, and thought forgotten, long ago. 

With a final satisfied smile, Zoya turned and headed down to be with the one person who made the world, her world a better place to be in. 

Linking this post to the A to Z Challenge. 

Y - Yesterday

Image courtesy: Google

I have learnt from yesterday

Just like the challenges undertaken today

I have hope, faith and belief 

That we are going to emerge winners tomorrow

April has been a memorable month gone by us

One that I stepped into with uncertainties a lot

There have been friends who had my back 

And some new made along the path 

Today I'm a little sad

The journey comes to an end tomorrow

It doesn't have to be so 

We shall continue to walk hand in hand

So many lessons learned

Writing has been grueling on some days 

We never gave up, continued at our own stride

And tomorrow we shall hold victory in our hands...

P.S. Am I the only one feeling this way? The challenge shall surely come to an end tomorrow but our journey doesn't have to. 

Linking this post to the A to Z Challenge. 

X - Xerox

Image Source

"Sasha!" their mother called out. 

"Yes, Mom?" one of the twins went and stood in front of her with a straight face.

As always, it was not easy to tell them apart, even for their parents. Sasha was a spitting image of Shayna and vice versa; one a xerox of the other. Two peas in a pod. 

Like most twins, growing up, they were always dressed identically by their Mom. They got into all sorts of mischief together and had each others' backs all the time. However upon reaching college, the twins were forced to go their separate ways. Sasha wanted to study the arts. She wanted to follow her passion to be a painter and artist. Shayna, on the other hand, was interested in the cut throat world of politics. 

Though they spoke to each other regularly, the physical distance soon turned into an emotional one. No matter how hard they tried to bridge the gap, it was always there, making its silent presence felt each time they came together at home for their vacations. 

Sixty years later, when the call came at midnight, it was certainly not what Sasha had expected. She knew that the choices she had made at a young age were not ones to be proud of. 

Hanging up the phone, Sasha wept for the sister she had and lost, for her other half, for the lost time that had flowed through her fingers like running water, for keeping things until it was too late to change any of it. 

As for Shayna, she had said goodbye to the world surrounded by her children and grandchildren. In those last moments, as she looked around at the familiar faces around her she realized that the one that she had wanted to see the most was missing in the crowd. 

As Shayna turned her head and looked into the mirror that someone had placed on her side table, she smiled seeing the wrinkled face looking back at her and closed her eyes for the last time. 

Linking this post to the A to Z Challenge. 

W - Wild

Wild was a movie that I had been looking forward to watching for quite sometime. There were so many good reviews going around and the story itself seemed interesting to me. So I finally sat down to watch it sometime last month. 

The film is based on Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Like all bibliophiles, I would have liked to read it first before watching. Unfortunately, I didn't have a copy with me. I plan on buying one soon though. Anyway, coming back to the story, Cheryl (played by Reese Witherspoon) is a twenty six year old who sets out to hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone in order to heal and find herself again. 

We all react to grief in different ways. When Cheryl, at twenty two years, loses her mother to cancer, she is devastated. As she says in the movie "She was the love of my life". In order to cope with the loss, she gets involved in drugs use, cheats on her husband with other men and eventually gets divorced. When there is a void in our life, we try to fill it with whatever things that we imagine will help us even in a small way. 

Finally, at twenty-six, after years of self destructive behavior, Strayed sets out alone on a hike seeking some sort of closure as a means of healing herself. The film alternates between the past and the present, showing us glimpses of her life as a child, teenager and young adult. The special relationship she shares with her mother is a central part of the story. 

We are also subject to some of the desperate measures that one is subject to while hiking alone on such a long journey. She breaks down, endures physical discomfort to a great level but holds on and comes out of it. Is this a light and entertaining movie? No. It will stay with you for a long time. Some of the images are quite graphic in nature. If you are up for it, do give it a watch. Wild is a movie that will make you introspect and think. 

This is a movie that shows us that we are not alone. It is possible to overcome grief. Even when it feels like you won't be able to make it to the next day. One step at a time and before you realize it, you shall be at the end of a reckless journey. Reese Witherspoon has done a very convincing job at portraying Strayed. If you are looking for a movie that makes you think, in ways more than one, give it a try. It may not be for everyone, but I sure liked it. In case you have watched it already, do let me know your thoughts below.

 

Linking this post to the A to Z Challenge. 

V - Voyage

Image courtesy: Google

Life is a voyage and we are all tiny vessels

Sailing against the wind called time 

The current may be rocky, sometimes smooth

But the trick is to maneuver, to remain steady

The journey is bound to be filled with adventure

We may have to sacrifice some in order to gain some

In the end all that matters is the journey 

Take in those sunsets and sunrises

Drink in all those sights along 

The sound of water lapping

Tiny fishes swimming afloat 

Never give up hope, have faith

There are unseen hands at play

Those dark and stormy nights

Won't last forever, they too shall pass

For the voyage must go on...

Linking this post to the A to Z Challenge. 

U - Umbrella

Image courtesy: Google

I watch her walk in the rain, the blue umbrella in her hand threatening to fold backward any moment in the wind. She is dressed in an emerald green dress, but it's wet, clinging to her curvaceous body, the shade in the dark looks almost black. 

She waits at the bus stop. Whom is she waiting for? A flash of lightening illuminates her face. I'm not sure if it was the rain, but her face is dripping wet. Is she crying? Or is it my mind playing tricks on me like always?

I don't go and talk to her, though that is what I'm dying to do. She is my addiction, an elixir in my otherwise dry life. The fragrance of wet earth and rain surrounds us. The bus stop is deserted. There is no one but me and her. I want to push the wet hair from her face, I want to know what her skin would feel like beneath my fingers. Will her hands be rough from conducting daily chores? Or will they be soft and supple like the jasmine flowers that she sometimes used to adorn her hair?

I watch a car stop not far away and couple of men getting out and approaching her. I'm angry, yet I do nothing but watch them. There seems to be some sort of argument. After a few minutes, she gets into the car with them. She catches my eye before closing the car's door, a wistful look on her face. 

What does she see when she looks at me? My torn clothes, the broken umbrella that has failed to keep even a strand of hair on my head dry or my begging bowl? I bid her goodbye silently; I know she will be back tomorrow. Just like yesterday or the day before. Just like how I know she is going to be cursed for the rest of her life. Like me. We would make a great pair. Me and her. Only if she would realize that. 

Linking this post to the A to Z Challenge. 

T - Twenty-six

Image courtesy: Google

On August 9, 2014, I turned the number that I have been dreading. Twenty-six. Yes, I'm was one of those people who were terrified at the thought of growing old and wrinkly. Like I read somewhere, I was officially on the 'uncool' side of twenties. Till I reached my twenties, I was someone who looked forward to growing older. Ageing gracefully? What did that even mean? However, life had different plans for me. Here are some things that has made me embrace my twenty-six year old self. Things that I have learnt in the last year that I haven't in the previous twenty five years of my life. 

> Nothing lasts forever. Not even the bad times. You will get up, dust yourself and carry forward. 

> It is never too late to learn something new. Try your hand at something different, break some rules. Live life on your own terms. 

> There shall ALWAYS be people who criticize you no matter how hard you try. Quit trying to impress them. The only person that you need to make happy is yourself. Owe it to only yourself. 

> Follow your passion. There maybe days when you feel like giving up, frustration may set it. But when inspiration strikes, it shall always be worth the struggle. 

> There are only a handful of people in your life who want the best for you. Treasure them. 

> You never know when you will have to say goodbye to a loved one. So spend as much time with those people you can't dream of living without. 

> When you let go of some of the people in your life, you will always find other kindred souls in their place. 

> Age is just another number. What matters most is how many of those years you spent on living and not just surviving. 

> Read all those books that have been piling on your shelf. Stop feeling guilty in abandoning a book halfway if it's not your cup of tea. 

> And lastly, don't ever lose hope or faith. The two go hand in hand :) 

So now, I can confidently say, the twenty-sixth year of my life has been a turning point in ways more than one. I have a couple more months for remaining twenty-six in my hands and intend to enjoy each and every moment to the fullest, doing the things that I love and relishing the things makes me happy. As for ageing gracefully, I may not be there yet, but I'm certainly on the right path :)

Linking this post to the A to Z Challenge.