Meeting the (Un) Dead

As a usual practice, I would discard the princesses and the princes; witches and enchantress; good versus evil immediately after my kids go to bed after their book ends. I would then pick my own book and immerse myself in the world of grown-ups and their predicaments in my own choice of books. But last night was different; no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t connect to the character Bette from the book I was reading. She got drunk; went crazy in a high couture party and wore brands worth dying for but I didn’t feel like getting in her world at all. (why? Got no explanation!)
I closed my book and put it aside. Lay holding my li’l one’s tiny fingers, feeling her soft breath near my cheek. I peeked further and tousled my other kiddo’s hair as she lay fluttering her eyelids lightly. “She is dreaming!” I said aloud in the dim room.
Still holding my li’l one’s hands I don’t remember when exactly I dozed off. Suddenly I found myself in a room buzzing with activity. There was sea of faces I didn’t recognize. People moving around; talking; smiling; laughing. A lady in navy blue skirt and a shirt two shades lighter caught my attention. “Ama!” I called out. She glanced towards me and came hurriedly carrying a plate. “See, I got you this,” and she handed me the plate with something that always had me licking my fingers.
“Come here, “she pulled me out of the throng of people buzzing around. She took me to a corner, it looked familiar but I didn’t try hard to figure out which room’s corner that was. As we took our seat and I dipped my fingers in that yummy dish for the last stroke, I remembered something I had to ask her. My lips seemed to have a life of its own. “Ama, in those last final days, I remember you casting glances at me and you seemed to have a lot to say. What was that you wanted to say?” I found myself asking her so casually as if death and dying is a temporary matter.
“Ong ni!( she always began her sentences with this). I knew I was dying and I wanted to tell you that I’m dying but I had lost my voice,” she explained. Warms tears gushed out of my eyes. It flooded my cheeks and I woke up with a start to find my pillow wet with fresh tears.
Sadness gripped me. A part of me wanted to go back to sleep and get a chance of meeting my ama once again but part of me ached with sadness that didn’t need a re- run of those pain filled moments. However, soon I again found myself in a room bustling with activity. I craned my neck trying to locate somebody, I didn’t know who. Someone pulled me by the hand. Startled, I found a lady in typical Bhutanese hair cut in mathra kira smiling at me. She was telling me something and I was laughing with her but neither could I hear our conversation nor did I know who that lady was.
“She also went from the same pyre your mother went,” I heard a distant voice reminding me. I saw my eyes widen with amazement as I saw another woman sitting close to us, she looked so familiar but was totally unaware of the woman who sat so comfortably nudging me and making me laugh. “Isn’t that your granddaughter?” I found myself asking the kind lady who looked in the direction I was looking to find a tiny girl with chinky eyes, moving with a toy in her hands. “Isn’t she a darling?” she said, her voice somehow soothed my furiously throbbing heart.
“Your mom and my mom, both passed away on the second,” the voice sounded again. I trembled and woke up once again. “Why did I see these two women who had already left us?” I kept on picturing my own mom and the other mom who in reality was a stranger to me. There was something two of them were trying to tell me but what? I kept on tossing and turning, thinking of the two women and feeling their touch; remembering the way I smiled with them and how comfortable it felt being with them.
Outside a dog cried in a melancholic tone.

Does it mean something?

Cooking up a Fairytale

The second snowfall was beautiful; it was thicker and stayed long enough to allow the kids to have the share of fun they always talk about. Taking the kids out and making a (not so beautiful) snowman was an awesome fun thing to do. But the aftermath of this few minutes of fun was definitely not so good. The white blanket outside led to dark homes for three consecutive days. I guess this was no deal for some of the parents who have seen darker weeks and months before but for the kids who have always had some electronic gadget or the other it was monstrous three days without electricity.
Much of our daily schedule had to be changed as per the dark hours by the candle light. One event that I always follow with my daughters is the book reading session before going to bed. But I didn’t want them squinting their eyes trying to see the letters in the dim candle light. But rituals once started are difficult to break, especially with my li’l one. So I didn’t read them a story but I decided to tell them a story. The difficult part is my li’l one has to choose the character as per her mood and no other story would work. So, I asked, “what story do you want me to tell?” “Star and Moon!” Pat came the reply without further delay. So I had to cook up a story with moon and star and do it fast and lo! I did and by the end of it I was so impressed with myself that I decided to put it here.
Long ago, there lived a moon at the edge of the forest. One day, he got up and found out that he was really hungry and lonely. So he decided to go into the forest to find a friend and may be with some luck find something to fill his empty belly too. On the way he met a li’l girl with a red cape bouncing with a basket dangling on the hand. “Hi. What’s your name?” The moon asked. “I’m Red Riding Hood and I’m going to my grandma’s place to give her some cake and wine.” “Can I have some of it, please? I’m really hungry,” the moon pleaded. “I’m sorry these are for my granny, I can’t give it to you.” “Then can you please be my friend and play with me for some time?” “I’ve no time to waste,” replied the girl and she hopped away with much gusto. “Go then, May you encounter the wolf!” cursed the Moon and walked further deeper into the forest.
Next he met the Gingerbreadman. “Hello li’l man. Where are you off to?” asked the moon. “I’m Gingerbreadman and I ‘m running away from the old woman, the cow and the horse who want to eat me for tea. Byeeeeeee,got no time to chat,” and away he sprinted. “So much for a conversation, may a fox gobble you up,” cursed the Moon who was getting agitated with hunger.
As he walked on he met Humpty-Dumpty who was sitting on a wall. “Hello, Mr. Eggy, Can I eat you?” the moon drew nearer (by then his hunger was causing a huge wreck in his patience). “I ain’t no Eggy and No! You can’t eat me!” huffed Humpty- Dumpty. However, the Moon jumped closer and splash! down came Humpty- Dumpty. So the Moon ran away as far as possible before the king’s horses and the king’s men could come looking for the one who caused the mishap.
Soon he caught up with Puss in boots. “ Hiya, Round, Round, circle of a man, where ar’ yoo off to?” Puss asked in his western twang. “Hi, I’m Moon and really hungry,” he replied in one breath. “wooaahhhh……we got one hungry ‘un here, eh? Want this?” and he spread out his paws to reveal a freshly caught mouse. “Eww, thanks but no thanks, I’m not hungry for a mouse.” He darted off.
He then caught up with another lonely character in the small clearing. “I’m star and yes I do have some food for you.” Finally! The star shared his food with the moon and they played in the rose garden outside the star’s house. The moon was so happy and wanted to reward the good character, so he asked the star to hold his hands and close his eyes. The moon then said some magical chant and off he darted with the star. When they opened their eyes, they were far off in the sky away from all other unfriendly characters. That’s why still to this day we see the friendship between the star and the moon is strong and no other character can reach out to them. THE END.
So, this was the story I cooked up for my li’l girls. Dark nights can sometimes ignite the sparks of imaginations. By the way, all the fairytale characters are some familiar characters we meet every night when we have our bedtime story readings. If your kids are acquainted with some more characters, you can go on adding but don’t you forget to make your child choose the main character! That brings out the real joy in your kiddo.

Sibling Rivalry

A typical scene whenever we got together, I mean my family and my sister’s family. Her three sons plus my two daughters, I always felt elated, a feeling I was crowned for being the mother of daughters who were supposed to be lot more silent compared to the adventure seeking three boys. “I never know if my kids are home!” I would proudly tell our cousins who would cast ‘lost cause’ look at the three boys shouting and screaming the roofs off. I would try to teach some sense to my sister in upbringing her three musketeers. “Get them into books, make them paint, let them have a favorite show, buy them games, give your laptop, blah blah.” Well, these are some things I had gotten into my two doves who sat in one corner happy with any gadget they could lay their hands on.
But of late, away from my sister and her screaming boys I feel the scene from her house is replaying itself in my house too. My silent girls have turned more skirmish and well, bit too loud too (sigh!). “Mama, can I play your phone please!” my li’l one comes innocently just when she sees her elder sister fiddling with it. On many occasions I chastise my elder one and make her give in to the innocence of the li’l one. But I know my li’l one is not as innocent as she plays it. Take for instance, during bed time, I get in between the two so that both can have equal share of me but my li’l one goes,”achuuu….mama, its cold on the side, can I come in the middle?” To any outsider it may seem like an honest plea but the way she casts a mean look on her elder sister who is holding onto me I know its sheer sibling rivalry. I have no options but to relent. I give a quick wink to my elder one, she knows this wink means,” I’ll come in between after she is asleep.”
Being the eldest one, I know how it feels when the parents always support the li’l one just because the li’l one is the younger one, hence the blessed one. So I always try to balance the choices offered to my two kids. “Mama, I don’t like this song, I want the other song!” my very particular about choices elder one quips while her baby sister is dancing to a song of her choice. “You are going to switch to ana’s choice of song after you are done with this,okay?” And I shouldn’t forget to add, “ I love the way you dance to this song but aren’t you tired with just this one?” (laugh!laugh! smile! Smile!......that does the trick!)
My li’l one digs out an old invitation card from among their books and although she doesn’t know A from S, would religiously read,” mama and papa loves ana and don’t love me!” (Pout! Tears well up!) “Baby, who told you this?” I question, exasperated with the kind of stories my li’l one is capable of cooking up. “Look! Ana has her picture on this card. I never had such card!” Well, how can I explain to a three year old that that card happened when she wasn’t born only and the reason she doesn’t have a birthday invitation card is not because we don’t love her but because we missed two of her birthdays.” This year we’ll make this kind of card for your birthday too, okay!” I promise. She giggles gleefully and runs to tell her ana about her birthday plans.
...and there are many such competitions between the two that I am often left wondering, "As a parent, am I doing justice to these two people who look at me as if I am God of some sort, always!"