Enthralling Trails

 “I belong to the people I love, and they belong to me--they, and the love and loyaty I give them, form my identity far more than any word or group ever could.”   ―   Veronica Roth , Meera walked down to her pretty twin daughters. The girls were five years old,  healthy and angel like. It was fun to watch the girls run with  Meera early in the morning walk. Their straight, blunt cut hair flew upwards as they giggled and paced in the park. Just as they crossed the gate, they saw Raju, they yelled ‘Raaaaaju’ and rushed to pet it, but the dog pushed its tail between its legs and ran. Meera tried convincing her kids that it was not Raju. The dog was the same breed with the same striations and tex ture yet Meera knew it was not Raju. Meera bumped into Raju for the first time when she visited her new fla t in the building complex. The edifice had several multistoried blocks and a few row houses. The building, however, opened into a small lane that was ...

“I'm not a teacher: only a fellow traveler of whom you asked the way. I pointed ahead - ahead of myself as well as you.”   ―   George Bernard Shaw Neethi saw the message and could not help smiling, it said “ Neethi Amma, I said Good morning and Good night, why no reply”. Neethi started musing at the past  when life took her backwards.  Neethi had been a school teacher for years when she had reared children lovingly. Her life had been customary for thirty five years. It involved an early  morning rouse , cooking brea kfast, lunch, packing all the lunch boxes for her children and husband and managing the maid with the other chores. At the school, she taught sciences for the secondary children and loved learning new things. Her children and husband had been a great help in her successful career. The kids flew away to their own nests with time   leaving Neethi and husband to fend for themselves. Neethi had retired last year, she joined the virtual wo...

“Everybody is fighting a hard battle that you know nothing about, never give up with yours.”   ―   Auliq Ice Shreya saw the morning sun’s augmentation into an oran ge hue, she looked on wrapped in her problems. Her mind could only concentrate on her struggles, she nev er saw the tones in the sky changing magnificently, she could not appreciate the beautiful world come alive with the birds flying in a formation, the cats licking themselves clean, the plants slowing beginning to bloom and people walking briskly towards a healthier tomorrow. She felt a tear roll down, she looked inside to see her injured son sleeping peacefully. She was an enthusiastic mother, and a responsible employee in the office yet she had been held responsible for error during an audit. It made her feel low and when she came home, she found her son bleeding due to a  bad fall on the ground while playing basketball  with friends. The wound and bruises were bad, but worse was her poor fina...

“Ends are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin . C . JoyBell . Leela stood near the window and kept gazing at the road. She looked listlessly, but told people that she waited for the postman. Those were the good old days when there were no mobiles, no smart phones having search engines like Google to surf, Whatsapp to chat or pictures of every moment in life shared. The virtual world was unknown, yet Leela was facing a change that everyone in the present world must have undergone. The first deviation that Leela consciously felt was when she began her schooling. It was the good old Government School with  her two adorable younger brothers who were ever willing to bestow every second in this world for her. This was an incredible change, she loved studying so took to the change as fish to water. Leela belonged to a rich family, her father owned a rubber plantation and many shops in the area that were let out on a nominal rent. The worst ...

“There are souls in this world who have the gift of finding joy everywhere, and leaving it behind them when they go.”   ―   Frederick William Faber Bhola, a Maruti   Zen car   was manufactured in the Manesar plant in Gurgaon, Haryana. It was painted white  with a black bumper, and had gleaming neon headlights as it rolled into Mr. Suresh’s home in   Hyderabad . It was one of the new cars Suresh had bought owing to the looks and zero maintenance. It was also a gift for his little daughter Chingi who was growing. He drove it straight to Car Shringar and got ‘ Chingy’s ’ engraved on the glass at the back of the car. Chingy had a beautiful curly haired younger cousin sister called   Bundu   who was a regular visitor. Her father owned a dark Olive Green Maruti 800. Whenever Bundu visited Chingy’s family with her parents, the Maruti 800 was parked near Bhola, the Zen. It was during those long waits that Bhola came to know about the whole family...