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"Lived happily ever after"

"Pretty Preetiii"
There was a giggle from under the blanket and silence followed.
"Is my pretty Preeti asleep?Oh!so now,what will I do with this glass of milk.The goblin will come.Pretty Preeti..Mumma is scared."
"Mummaa,The Prince..The Prince will save me.Ping Pang Po.Ping Pang Po.."
The blanket was soon kicked away and Preeti was on all fours.Yes.Her mother knew how to make Preeti drink a glass of milk.
"Yes...Yes..Ping Pang Po will work.The Prince will come,will fight the goblin..swishhh swashhh cling clanggg...We need to support him right...So we need strength.Come on,qiuck..Mumma will count till five.So drink.."
"Mumma,will he come?"
"Who,goblin?"
"Nooooooooo mumma.The Prince.Ashika's prince?"
"Oh...Yes..yes...he is on his way..Drink Drink"
"What should I ask him?"
"Drink..Drink..Umm..we'll ask him to.."
"Chocolates..umm..no crayons..umm..."
"ok..k..drink.."

The story,the hope,the fantasy filled her world as she finished her milk.
"Mumma,what happened to the prince and princess after they escaped from the cave?"She asked on her way to the wash basin.Her mother did not answer.She had no time to cook up a story.She just wanted to lie down and unburden herself.
"Mumma,tell me the story.Where is he?What happened to them after that?"
"Oh....ehhh...They lived happily ever after beta"
"Happily ever after?"
"Yes...Preeti dear...and they lived happily ever ever after for so many many years...now,come on...time to sleep...sleep sleep."
Preeti was cosily tucked in and goodnight kisses were exchanged.Hugging her mother tight,she rested her head on her mother's chest.
"Mumma,did they live happily ever after?"
A soft yes.
"Everyone lives happily ever after..."
Again a soft yes.Sleep had kissed her mother.
"Then why didn't you and dad live happily ever after?"

Rewind..Rewind..Rewind..
What had pretty Preeti asked?A moment her mother had always dreaded.
The hug was more tight this time.The voice more emotional.
"Sleep well sweetie.You have school tomorrow."

Silence prevailed.Pretty Preeti had drifted off to sleep but her mother lay awake.Wide awake.

Comments

  1. aravindMay 28, 2010 at 5:48 PM

    u knw its a quite difficult thing to keep on showering good things on some one, come on now farah, for a change write somethng bad, i knw it wud be difficult 4u, bt. . .:):)..

    felt like reading 'portrait of an artist', in the beginning, so cute..

    u cannot end witout ur little ironies right, nt nly is the mother, we will also find it difficult to let go the story..

    why 'beta', is t influence of ya readings, u use kind of images of hindi speaking(mothertongue) english novelists, i m nt sayin it as a prob, though i feel u can do better wit a malayali touch..

    ReplyDelete
  2. NeethaMay 29, 2010 at 7:04 PM

    hey..farah...ijus luv d way u treat d subject matter !!
    as always..sweet,simple n striking !!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Farah ZachariahMay 31, 2010 at 6:22 PM

    hiii...thanx a lotttttt...
    u kno smthin...it seems i am writin for a 'one-reader' audience...hehhee...so ur comments,i consider qte valuable...
    nd abt d 'beta' part...hmm..i donno how...but it jus crept in...surely a malayali touch wd b refreshin rte...next time...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Farah ZachariahMay 31, 2010 at 6:23 PM

    @ Neetha...thanx sweetie...wn r u gonna come up wth urs??waitin...

    ReplyDelete
  5. archiving meMay 31, 2010 at 9:19 PM

    trust farah to think of an unsual and amusing way to something as smug as separation and divorce...ur choice of subject has quite a range, something many are not able to do, including myself...three cheers to u for that...try sharpening ur words at the edges tho;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Farah ZachariahJune 1, 2010 at 8:33 PM

    : )all smiles..
    oh sure..sure....will b careful wth the choice f wrds nxt tme...

    ReplyDelete

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