Lexicon

    My entire house shimmered with the mild glow of golden candles. Some rested along the dining area while some were left loose from the ceiling, just the way Vaidehi liked. The holy aroma of essence sticks added life to the ambience and the aartis completed the festive vibes. Everything, starting from the menu for dinner to the detailed decorations in the backyard was the fruit of Vaidehi's enthusiastic efforts.  While I was on the verge of finishing the rangoli near the entrance gate, in came a gorgeous girl of eighteen whom no one could stop looking at. Vaidehi had this naturally graceful charm in her which I admittedly envied. But hey! It's not like I was the only one-  It was hard to not notice how perfect she was. Besides her academic record being a dream-come-true, she was also an excellent artist with marvelous paintings and a skillful dancer with authentic moves. Her life was the definition of perfection in a lot more ways than just one.  For instance,...

  In my sixty years of existence, I’ve never been as happy as I am today. My grandson is meeting me, after all! It’s a little sad at the same time. The fact that I can’t meet my grandson like other grans. Above all of that, the fact that I came to know about his where-abouts via my agents. Such a pity. Brings me back to the day when my Daughter was two...when her dad and I had a really bad fight. That dude wanted me to stop dealing drugs. How could I possibly have done that? And what was his income again? Zero. We’d have gone broke if not for the drugs. He said he’d expose me- big mistake. He did something that really pissed me off, you know? I kicked him real bad. Served him well. But who’d have known he was too weak to take that?   I spent the rest of the years in jail and my daughter was taken away from me even before I could give her a part of my brain. And today, she’s in town again. After about twenty-two years. I’m out of prison too. Waiting for my grands...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

          Every time I shut my eyes close, I see Blake screaming with excruciating pain and lying almost lifelessly on grey tiles covered with blood. Some of which, was my own too. My younger sister Chloe who sat next to Blake's body was yelling at the top of her voice,    "Penny! Do something!"  "Penny?" "PENNY?"  I opened my eyes to face Mr Elliot, accompanied by his daughter Hailey.  "Hello, Elliot" "I have a session right now for 10th grade students, you probably know about it...it's about this---" "yes, I know"  "So, there's this problem. They won't let my six-year-old Hailey enter...and since I don't know any other teacher here...would you mind looking after her if I left her with you? for about 30 mins? until I'm done with the session?" "Oh yes, sure...I'll gladly do it"  "Thanks a lot! You just prevented a disaster" he winked.  "No problem" I smiled ...