Painting At Night

Shadows crept across the wall. Lights from the opposite building through the thin curtains and the night lamp added to the effects…so quiet, she could hear her palpitating  heart.  Taking a deep breath, she picked up the thin brush, mixed the three  colours and carefully painted the petals.

‘Bitchy Prostitute’* the voice echoed, stronger than it had all week. She barely managed to pull away the shaking brush. The leaf was now shaded orange.

‘Damn!  Get a grip.’ 'It kinda looked nice’,  she noted…autumn leaves on the blouse would stand out indeed. She glanced at the clock on the wall, 12.45 a.m…half an hour more before  sweet talking  the mistress of dreams.

Lost in the swirling colours , she barely heard him till he stepped close. Laughed at her efforts,”Well, Picasso, get back to bed.”

“ A few minutes” the pleading voice.

“You know who’s up at this time?”

“Not that word, I will definitely leave this time.”

“Really? Poor Mrs Virgin, pity your face didn’t find any takers in college. We both know, your parents will send you right back.” walking away.

Ignoring the rolling tears, blurred eyes sought the brush… clutching it tightly, in its strength everything faded.

* the closest translation of the cuss word in English

WC 200 with the word 'orange' , the end words 'everything faded' and in my usual genre of  Realistic+ Contemporary Women fiction.

( Scene from my WIP on domestic violence  Scarred ....modified)



     At Rach Writes,  First Campaigner Challenge, woot!!! The Challenge is:

Write a flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count. 

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:

• end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)

• include the word "orange" in the story

• write in the same genre you normally write

• make your story 200 words exactly!

Check other entries there. 

My Humble Origins - Blogfest

 Origins Blogfest

Co-hosted by DL Hammons, Creepy Query Girl KatieMills, Alex J. Cavanaugh and Matthew MacNish,  


To share when, how and why my writing began. 




A nervous hi, takes a seat...
"My origins...from India, so I guess ..." jumps up in alarm as Robyn Engel  from Life By Chocolate, present here on persistent pleading butts in.
"Rek, Rek...%&#$@" does a face-palm, accuses me " You hoodwinked us all this time!! Took you to be a smart, witty woman who knows her ifs and buts..."
I , as usual, burst into tears melting her kind heart. She pats my head (in a petting way) " Come now, here, have a chocolate."
Pouting "Hello, trying to lose weight here."
She mutters" More like losing steam and our audience."
"Alex! Tbone!" she hollers, literally yanking them off their chairs...giving them a 'don't mess with me' look
"Be my guest!" and thunders her way out.
I whimper, still licking a dark bit, "Robyn, Wait!"
Tbone clears his throat, "Look Lady, We don't have all day...220 odd others waiting, so cut the crap!"
In a stronger, cocoa dipped voice, "Written essays and poems in school and college and such...read books too. Summer vacations meant my cousins would hide away their books lest I spent less time with them."
Alex looks at Tbone, a telepathic exchange, 'Next time, our Blogfest is by invitation only!' and emphatic nods.
"My 8th grade(13yrs) English teacher liked my story, especially about a ranch horse...it reminded her of Black beauty...she loved my first line for another one, the one which went,"Under the star lit sky, with only the full moon for company, here I lie in a corner, a street dog."
Looks around for applause, none...stammers on, "But never aspired to be a writer, a published one at that."
Alex ""Finally!"  Tbone "No grovelling for sympathy!"
"Ok." "Written on and off for two decades now, till I joined Twitter in 2009 after my ... hmm...still a very bad word  here 'D'. Met two cool bloggers (now friends) T.S Hendrik and  Aditya, followed their blogs for a year before taking the plunge."
'"Joined some creative blog groups for poets and flash fiction writers, their encouragement helped as did that of my first few followers...then gave into my ambitious, pestering brother's advice and took up writing full time in 2010."
"Moving out of Mumbai meant I could only hold a part-time accountant's job since I never managed to crack my C.A (C.P.A equivalent) final exams. I lick my wounds with the hard fact that in the 90s only 3% of 15,000 students got that elusive title every year, maybe because of fewer job openings then... sigh...but on the flip side, I have a lot of time to read, write, research, submit and get rejected, photograph, fabric paint, mess around with different software applications and blog now."
Alex softly "Lets get back to writing."
"Did I mention I got a commerce degree just because Arts is not a cool career option for the great Indian Middle Class! To cut the long story short...finally found the courage to get around doing what I love and what I think is one of the few things I am good at. So, if my books get printed or not, sell or not....I am and will be an Artist/Writer!!"

 Alternate version

There was a little girl who was a bit different, impulsive, hot tempered, rebellious dreaming false worlds when she should have been studying some more. The daydreams grew larger, more verbose and sometimes silly. As the space between the grey cells shrunk, she took to writing on pieces of paper... some saved, some frittered away carelessly...she never showed them to anyone lest she be mocked at by the uncaring. Then it happened, the stuff that her fears were made of. Unlike other kindred spirits, the more she read others, the less pieces of her own got written till a day when the dreams knew better and took flight to the nether regions of her mind, a self  imposed exile.

Time flew, walked, crawled, the dreams peeked out now and then and verses took shape that were protected fiercely for years and yet the best ones cast one day into the fire of battered self esteem (especially the ones dedicated to her fiancé-husband who broke her spirit)....and then after years of grey bleakness, the tumultuous life led her back to the road she had long ago abandoned, the only one left she could travel through, to save her sanity. The journey was risky, shaky, encouraged by loved ones who had secretly read her amateur works...she trots along enjoying the passing scenery.


* My heartfelt apologies to Robyn, Alex And Tbone.... One of my beta readers (aka cousin sister Nimmi) feels that my writing: poems, flash and short stories had one thing in common - sadness. At her request I am trying my hand at humour and other streams.

*Sorry to have put you to sleep...wakey, wakey....time to blogfest surf....

Before I leave....some cool Blogfests to be a part of if you haven't joined yet. ...

WRITERS' PLATFORM-BUILDING CAMPAIGN By Rach Writes

 a way to link writers, aspiring authors, beginner bloggers, industry people, and published authors together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. 

The challenge starts on Feb16 and flash fiction work posted on three days and winners chosen. A chance to get some good books or a critique as some of the prizes.
Last year they created a E book with over 180 entries , the proceeds going to a charity.

Joining Link Open Till Feb 15.

 The A to Z Challenge 

CHALLENGE YOUR BLOGGING SKILLS - every day for 26 DAYS all of April

 Post on  any topic but based on the alphabetic order. Last year over 1300 bloggers participated...a great way to met more people

 Sundays are the Sabbath days here.
 Links open till March 31. They even have a video contest related to the challenge, open for entries till Mar 11

 Evil Genius Blogfest By Golden Eagle to celebrate two years of blogging.
Create a story, in any format whether that's flash fiction or poetry, where the aforementioned character does something qualifying them as an evil genius. You can also choose an already-existing person, perhaps from one of your favorite books or movies--just tell us why you think they're the best.
Word limit for entries: 400.  There will be prizes too.
On February 27. Link closes By Feb 26

Tumble For Ya Blogfest

Image Courtesy Amazon.Com

 Well, no prizes for guessing my 80's crush....

He holds the privilege (hee hee) of being one of the rare actor-celebrity I have crushed on, it helped that my guilt (as in creative snob) was soothed by the fact that he could act as well given the right script and director.

Can we leave his religious, political, sexual leanings aside??

Where was I? Yes, I have a tendency to admire people for their creativity, skills or brains not looks. Judging from the other famous personalities admired in the late 80's, Tommy 'Cute boy next door' look however won hands down...its a different story that I saw the movie on a VCR three years after my brother bought the Top Gun audio tape in 1989 and saw his earlier movies at a much later date. It was the  combination of the songs and the face that captured this then 15 yr old's imagination for a long time, I still make time for his movies even the dull MI Sequels.

 Heard they are going to release a 3D version of TG in 2012...wonder if I should watch it or let old memories remain in a beautiful place like this post?

There, my secret is out, I do believe in our alien origins, after all the singe cell organisms could have traveled to Earth on a meteor as some scientists speculate....

 Please don't brand me crazy...I'm not even sure how to spell Scientology without Google's help. :D

By the way, Who's yours?

Today I'm participating in the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest hosted by Nicki Elson,  M. Pax from Wistful Nebulae, and Suze from Analog Breakfast.

Familiar Srangers

Walking on this beach road
finds you often in the opposite direction
a contagious smile from you face to me
a tiny wave acknowledges our presence
names we know not or our safe havens
our lives - a mystery,  seek not to unravel
a few seconds of friendly gestures
is all we are happy to share
cheering up my mornings 
soothing moments soon
forgotten in the chaos of the day.         

(the memory of walking on Worli sea face with Aunty got me thinking)

Valentine Not!

Desire seeks you in vain
loneliness unsettled on the rocking chair.


Pretending seems to no avail
the body's longings will not quail.


How wrong is it to seek
the pleasures of a mortal existence?


Hidden behind placid, lifeless eyes
beats a heart with bridled, strapped passion.


Lost in this crowd of twos and fours
this single woman aches for warm arms to hold.
                          

Hey Olive, R U Listening?

Recession couldn't have come at a better time.
With rising costs and reduced pay, the family budget had to be revamped.
First to go were the non essentials, out came the printed coupons from the kitchen jar.
Food  plentiful in the departmental store aisles, just, out of reach with skyrocketing prices.
Greens had made a comeback with a bang.
Spinach regained her lost sheen, Popeye sat back truly pleased.

Six word stories

Future Bright? 
Money spent : English classes, still jobless!

ouch
 Flower sleeps, nectar denied : Bee stung?

Eluding?

Silent prayers for
success that eludes.
Journey back and forth
on an ever changing road.

Doing whatever it takes
to make time stop still,

if only for a few moments.
To gather baggage and quilt 

to trudge across the finishing line.
The one, that loves playing  vile tricks,

further down the road, it, forever spins.

Proclaim myself victorious,

 to find obstacles strewn across,
 newer, stronger, unexpected.

 Blasphemous messages to ancestors gone,

 return, unheard,

The mocking Gods roll over in mirth,

pointing at this "puny human" in distress.

Curve Ball

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball before you can throw one back.

Everything arranged to perfection, the invites were out.
The surprise party, a celebration of our fifth anniversary.

Today he dropped a bomb, he is seeing someone and wants a divorce.

The report lay unopened on the dressing table, I was finally pregnant.

Submitted to Love in Creativity Project (flash Fiction)

P.S This post for BlueBell Books and the post for the I'll Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest  on feb 10 are the only exceptions to my break from blogging till around Feb 15 or 21.

An Ancient Story Retold

She lay by the lakeside; in the moonlight casting no perceptible shadow  against the glistening waters.  Strangely restless and content, weaving and unweaving  her matted coils…some stangled and twisted to hideous effect or laid as they were. Dark, tangled strings that reflected the  surrounding gloom.

He had escaped far too often, she had let him live the ignorant dream…his scent deadly yet irresistible…his high notes ripping her apart…

 Letting him believe to be the victor in this ancient game she had perfected into an art. The night was their timeless friend, eternal enemy; bewitching , betraying, bespoken…rendering them puppets to mutual desire and hatred.

A secret dance,  feverish  glance lacking tenderness…wine and viper, stillness and motion,  beast and prey circling  in vanity and pride.

Soft footfalls, shodden grass groaning under the slight strain…picture perfect. They waited, glinting eyes and forked tongue for the sweet song to soothe and succumb to, for a little while.

 Medusa and the nightly visitor, her  lover and foe, evenly matched but tonight one would fall , the other would savour a shallow victory…as he played his magical notes, the coils unraveled…inhabiting every inch of the tiny meadow that was their’s alone to claim.