The story tag

Well since this was a somewhat unusual tag, I decided its worth a shot. I was sposed to write a story beginning with ""She ran her hands over his face, his hair, tears streaming down her face all the while..." This is my first attempt at writing any kind of story...so feel free to barf!

So here goes nothing...

She ran her hands over his face, his hair, tears streaming down her face all the while...

"Mommy why are you crying" he asked, in a voice that was almost a whisper, and that made her cry even more.

Her thoughts went back to the time when he was born. A normal 3 pound chubby baby boy, he was all she had wanted all her life. At first she didn’t know how she would cope as a single mother, but when the doctor told her she was going to have a son, she couldn’t help dreaming aloud. Maybe he was all she needed to fill the void in her life. He was all hers. She decided to call him Aditya, because he was like the sun that lit her dark and empty world.

It amazed her to see how quickly Adi grew. He seemed to be in a hurry to discover the world around him. His eyes were always wide open, as if he was in awe of his surroundings. And he insisted on putting apart every toy she got for him, longing to know what lay beneath.

When Aditya started school, at first he was disturbed by the change in his surroundings. He wanted Mommy by his side, and her absence annoyed him. But soon he began to take an interest in the little people around him. He was happy to be able to communicate eye- to- eye instead of always looking up. It was only a matter of days when he became popular with his teachers and classmates. His witty answers and chatty nature made him the favorite kid in school. He developed a likeness for all sports, swimming being his passion. She was proud of him. When he won the trophy for being the best swimmer in his age group, there were tears in her eyes. They were happy together, in their own little world.

Then the world came crashing.

One sunny afternoon while playing with his friends, he suddenly fainted. She rushed him to the hospital. They told her they’d have to run some tests. Meanwhile Adi was admitted. “What is wrong with my son? Why can’t he go home?”, she demanded.
“Ma’am, please be patient. The test results would be out soon.” She had this nagging feeling that something was wrong. Very wrong.
The doctor diagnosed Adi with leukemia. As he broke the news to her, she could feel her knees going weak.
“How do I get rid of it?”, she asked bluntly.
“Well, leukemia is treated by combination chemotherapy and sometimes radiation, but…”
“But what?” The doctor looked her in the eye and said, “The five year survival rate for children diagnosed with leukemia and subsequently treated is approximately 70%.”
She slumped into a chair. She could feel herself trembling. Thoughts ran to and fro in her head. They’d given her son less than 5 years to live. It was so unfair. How could this be true? Maybe the doctor was wrong. Adi wasn’t going to die. He can’t. He had so much to do…he couldn’t leave his work unfinished, it would bother him. “No!”, she screamed startling herself as well as the doctor. Then she buried her face in her hands and wept softly.

She went to see him in his room. He was propped against a pillow, reading his favorite bedtime storybook. His eyes lit up, when he saw her. “Mommy!” She tried and composed herself. “Hey ace!”
She took his hand and kissed it. He threw his arms around her and said, “I’ve missed you! Can we go home now?”
She looked at him. He was so young, so small. Her eyes welled up at his questioning looks. Darkness was looming above, so close…and the sun was setting on her life.

Sadness

I know I said I'd try and post something cheerful next time...but being unwell sometimes takes its toll on you. And since an empty mind works overtime, I again came out with something dull. Please bear with me...

Misty, foggy, dull
The day matches my mood
People around me smile
So why do I brood?

I feel I want to cry
But no tears come out
I try to be happy
But still, I sit and pout

Anger, hatred, jealousy
Rest inside me
For whom, I don’t know
They’re waiting to be free

Should I let them out?
Or lock them somewhere
And hide the key
And pretend not to care

For fear they might hurt
Someone I dearly love
And break the delicate bonds
That God lovingly wove

I need to find a way
Out of this strange madness
And make sense of it all
Before I sink into sadness...

Trapped

Shut inside
That dark dingy cell
Trying to find a way out
Unable to take the gloom anymore
Tired of living in the murk
Scared of being alone forever
Screaming in frenzy
For somebody to rescue me
And set my soul free…
Nobody appears.

Conscious of being on my own
I grope about like a blind
Feeling the bare walls
With my hands
Looking for an escape
From that cage
Desperate for freedom
And then
I find a door
My spirits rise…
I hope to see light
With shaking hands I turn the knob…
It’s locked.

I sink to the floor in anguish
Weeping…
And waiting

Hide and Seek

As I watch my 6 yr old niece running and shrieking at the top of her voice, chasing her friend around the house, I feel nostalgic all of a sudden. I find myself thinking of the time when I was 6, when I used to run around without a care in the world. When I used to go crazy over cotton candy, bawl and make a scene so my folks would buy me my favorite toy, make sand castles, get scared of a rubber mask, be kutty wid my friend and abba the next min! When i sneaked into my mom's room and smear all her lipsticks on my face, and wrap her dupatta around me like a saree and pretend to be a famous movie star! When my favourite meal was Maggi and a treat meant getting to eat a whole packet of Gems, without sharing! When I got excited about going to the railway station and look at the trains, or looking up and waving at the aeroplanes that went by, stupidly believing that they're waving back! When getting a 'star' in my notebook meant getting treated to an ice cream. When getting BonBon chocolate biscuits in tiffin was considered a delicacy. When I got nightmares of having to apply Dettol on my cuts and bruises and when band-aids were 'in fashion'!!

Being a kid was so much fun! I just stood and gazed at my niece, lost in thought...when all of a sudden, she looked up and called, "Bujiii, lets play hide and seek, but I'll hide and you'll seek!" I smiled and turned to face the wall and start the long count from 1 to 10...realising, I'm not so grown up after all! The kid is hiding inside me...all I have to do, is find her.