Blue Seas

"Yes." "Yes." "Uh-huh." "Uh, no. I checked the accounts last night. I transferred it a week ago. It should have reached by now." "Yes, he's fine. I spoke with him yesterday. No, don't call him today, he has an exam. I'll tell him you'll call him tomorrow after you reach Hong Kong." "I have to leave in five minutes if I want to make it to the meeting on time." "I'm fine, dad. Are you? Did you bother to get a check-up done before you left?" "Hmm, I thought as much." "Dad, I said, Luke is fine. No, I've transferred his rent for this month. Yes, and the tuition fees." "Not bloody likely." "Fine, I won't swear." "Sorry." "I don't know, Dad! I can't tell you three months in advance if I'm going to get a leave for..." "Yeah well, when I...you know what? Never mind. I'm ...

One chilly winter evening, we had an unexpected visitor drop by at our house. My grandfather had just gotten up from his nap and was pulling the curtains that covered the glass doors that led to his balcony. My brother and I were loitering around the house since it was too dark to go out and play and my mother had just set the kettle to boil for tea. Our dog Ben was waiting patiently for my grandfather to open the doors of the balcony so that he could sit outside and survey the scenery and occasionally growl at the children and street dogs that passed by below. All of a sudden, I saw Ben become tense. His hackles raised, a soft, predatory growl at the back of his throat; he began to paw furiously at the glass door.  "What is it, Ben?" I asked curiously. Ben let out a thin, reedy whine and continued to paw, his long nails hitting the marbonite floor as he bumped his nose against the glass. The unfamiliar cheep-cheep of a small bird greeted us from the other side....

The days are long and the nights are long. The hours are too short to cram in the inhuman number of chapters per subject, much less for revision. My usual, narcissistic, self-centred ways magnify manifold. My room mates more than put up with it. I find my hair tied, knotted, plaited. A cup of coffee (my third for the day) left next to my notes. Cereal for breakfast, with freshly cut strawberries waiting at the dining table. What did I do to deserve such altruistic souls in my life? Friends who will walk with you to the grocery store in the middle of the night. Buying crackers so you won't go hungry during the marathon late-night study sessions, then forgetting to eat them anyway. Hop on a bus. Go to their house. Take over their study desk for the rest of the day. Stay for dinner. Dark circles that are indistinguishable from eyeliner. Cola-flavoured lollipops while I work on editing the magazine, because of course, that has to coincide with the midterms. Buying...

N: You know why I love hanging out with you guys? P: I don't know, our charming personalities? S laughs out aloud. N: No. I mean yeah, that is there. But besides that...you guys don't have problems. I mean, you guys don't sit around and mope and be miserable all day. You're genuinely happy. P and S exchange looks. P: Clearly, you haven't scratched our surfaces deep enough. S: Yeah, we do have problems... P: Just because we don't let them get the better of us all the time, doesn't mean...oh my God! Is that a dog? P runs to admire a stuffed French bulldog in the display window of a chocolate shop. N: See. This is what I'm talking about.

His twisted, contorted face crumpled in agony. He dug his long nails into my shoulder, shaking me, rattling my teeth. My hair swung in front of my face. He let out a howl of fury. I tried to close my eyes, tried to hide my face away. But I couldn't stop looking. My mouth hung open in an ill-formed 'o' and my eyes, wide open with horror took in his face, twisted, contorted in grief and anger. "And if it doesn't rain? If it doesn't? What then? Have you thought about that?" he yelled. I watched him in morbid fascination. My shoulders were numb and I had lost the feeling in my arms where his fingers clawed at my skin. "I…" I tried to stammer. His face was dark, as dark as the clouds that gathered and grumbled everyday with the promise of rain. They never delivered. His eyes flashed with the light of a hundred thousand volt lightning that lit up the sky every night, and led to nothing. He is not human , I remind myself. His voice rumble...

For Neeti In the brightness of day You found me, you found me; Reflecting your own light, You were sitting there. In the darkness of night I found you, I found you. I borrowed your light To light up myself. In the shadow of eclipse You hid me, you hid me. Little did I know You were trying to protect. In the void of space Across time, across time, I saw in you A reflection of mine.

For Kritika Goenka What do you do when life becomes scary? When your heart grows fond And your mind grows weary? When your soul is caught between the two, Tell me, friend, what are you expected to do? Since when have you been preparing for this? What do you know? You’ve spent your life in bliss. And now you have to wake up and see This is not how your life was meant to be. You thought your path ahead was clear. You couldn’t be more wrong. I feel sorry for you, dear. There’s only so much you can plan, so much you can follow. What do you do when you’re overtaken by sorrow? You can wait, and cry, and wait some more. You can scream and shout; You can lie on the floor. I don’t know, perhaps that’s as bad as it gets. In real life, there are no placing bets. Or, maybe you should get up and keep going. I know life is scary, There’s no denying. See, you’re expected to fall, but I want you to stay. It’s just a bump in the road, love,...