#12 Red Handed

There was something surreal about what was happening. Was Catherine a ghost or did Samantha just run over a wild imagination by calling her Lissy? Why did Sarvesh freak at the sight of her and what was this extraordinary skill of hers to be drawing real people out of sheer imagination? Prakash’s mind raced through rapid thoughts that kept oscillating back and forth. 

His focus suddenly shifted on Catherine’s painting that had Samantha watching over the two babies. ‘Who are the babies?’ he shooted at Samantha, desperate for clues. They are my daughters, she said, frozen at the thought that Lissy has caught her red handed. ‘But Annie was your only daughter, you claimed?’ Prakash snapped, as he could envisage some hidden parts of the puzzle dropping in.

‘Th..that..that was a neighbour’s daughter,’ she fumbled as Prakash’s skeptical look pierced her already terrified heart. She immediately blurted, ‘I didn't murder Lissy!’ But Prakash would not budge. His agonised eyes showed furious fire that seemed to burn her down.

‘Lissy was my daughter! I didn't do it!’ she pleaded, now trying to sound sympathetic. Steven seemed fearful too and gestured to pacify Samantha. ‘What the hell is going on here?’ Prakash broke as he moved closer to Samantha who was willing to reveal everything that she knew.

‘Lissy was my first child through my boyfriend Nick. I had abandoned her because Nick was unwilling to marry me. A year later Annie was born after marriage. But she loved you more than Lissy did. You chose Lissy over her and it pained all of us, ’ she said panting in fear. Before she could complete, an arrow darted to her head from the window and she broke down speechless and spot dead.

The arrow had a note that read,

Roses are blue

Violets are red

When the ghosts conspire

Mind and body transpire

He immediately looked at Catherine and to his shock, she was bleeding in her arms but desperately trying to draw.

                                                     ................

The other chapters include

 #1 A haunted Memory

#2 Three strokes of red

#3 The Red Saree

#4 Black Heart

#5 WHo's NEXT?

#6 Numb3rs

#7 Will O the Wisp

#8 Resurrection

#9 I watched you

#10 Fates Entwined

#11 The Other Side

#12 Red Handed

I now invite Pallavi to take over the final chapter

Note : This post is a part of the “Tagged” Contest by writer Kaarthika and The Chennai Bloggers Club. Kaarthika’s book is being released on May 29. Do pre-order it on Amazon.

Zip

#Z

Here zips my A-Z Challenge. It is a pleasure to save the best for the last. Some of the reflections of having taken part in this for the third time:

1.This is the first time that I'm succeeding in this challenge that I participated in three consecutive years. The reason I'm succeeding this time is my husband Sundar who kept nagging me to post every day.

2. Motivation dwindles with each passing day. To stay in the challenge it takes some excitement in the form of other bloggers. Comment on various blogs and you will never know, your source of inspiration can come from places you never expected from.

3. You don't just write, you read, you learn and you accomplish something each day. You have enough freedom to think and write and it gives great satisfaction.

4. Life is a challenge. With each challenge completion you get life lessons too. So never miss it.

5.Congratulations to me and everyone who survived. You made it!

You

#Y

You are special. Yes, you. As my challenge almost comes to an end with just a day more to go, I take this opportunity to thank all those who have dropped by and kept me pushing along. As yet another daunting day comes to an end, my determination to complete this comes from the strength from all of you. This post is not intended to be witty or helpful or classic. I'm here because I am still keeping my head up the water to stay in the challenge. Thank you for being with me. Cheers and good wishes to all those who survived and those who even attempted it. Trying something matters much more than winning. Congratulations on your endeavor. You have done something not everyone ventured. You are special. 

Xylophone

#X

My first musical instrument was xylophone. It was my birthday gift when I was three years old. It was colorful and sounded marvellous. The sizes of the pipes were different but all put together was out of the world combination.

Life is like a xylophone. Challenges come in different sizes and opportunities in different colors. If you put everything together and play, it produces an unique music.

Wonder

#W

Here goes my favorite line from a song

Take me to your heart, take me to your soul
Give me your hands before I'm old.
Show me what love is, haven't got a clue
Show me that wonders can be true.

I sang this song two years ago with heart full of dreams and yearning. Little did I realize that these desires would bear the sweetest fruit in my life. Wonders did come true and I met my prince charm.

Adorned with an engulfing smile he came walking towards me at the entrance of Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanam temple an April 18. Dressed in bright yellow T-shirt, he answered like he would like any of his best client interviews in office. And.. He impressed my mom. I was left wondering what kind of wonder this was while my mom and groom chatted away merrily.

But my choice was never wrong. Our connection has crossed one year mark but he has not ceased making me wonder how even little things matter. He remembers every need of mine and makes sure it is satisfied even if I fail to remember it. Today, he has shown me that wonders can be true. And made me believe in magic, the power of love. Life is wonderful.

Vote

#V

In India, we don't practice anything unless we are threatened to be punished. Like the famous line goes, here you can piss in public but cannot kiss in public. That's how we try to project our culture. While an Indian who goes to a foreign nation with stringent laws is all praise for the country’s discipline, the same guy doesn't follow the rules in his own country. So what's the big deal about following rules?

Your character is well defined more by your choices than your abilities. To be a good citizen takes minimum effort and by doing it, you only better your own life. The Election Commission in Tamilnadu has spent over 7 crore rupees for voters awareness campaigns. Are citizens not really aware or act like sleeping?

We have been acting like sleeping already in the issue of global warming. If we don't choose our leaders right, it plainly means we are digging our own grave. Even if it is Nota(An option to vote for none) that is the only thing that you feel like opting, get out of your couch and vote. Freedom without responsibility is like a child without oversight. As we enjoy a democracy, we are entitled to exercise our duty too. May 16 is the D-day. Are you ready to vote?

Ubiquitous

#U

The word ubiquitous means present everywhere. Often times one would have heard religious priests preaching that God is ubiquitous. But the same people do idol worship and emphasize on the fact that the idol is God and rituals to it go straight to heaven. On special occasions or festivals countless number of devotees throng temples to compete against others to prove their devotion and some merely come to get the most effective blessing as given on a D-day.

Although to an extent I agree the fact that the chanting and prayers of many people gathered at a time can have a calming effect, I feel that I am far more closer to God than what the physical distance speaks. To me, goodness is God and he rewards those who are good. Donating food for the hungry is equivalent to getting flowers for God. In fact, the concept of buying flowers itself is to help the poor people generate some income by selling flowers.

God is ubiquitous and he rewards us for our karma or deeds. If you are bad, he teaches a good lesson. If you are good, he gives back to you manifold. He lives in our deeds and stays in good hearts. Although visits to temple might strengthen one’s faith and give the satisfaction of having seen his form, like Swami Vivekananda rightly put, Devotion and salvation is meaningless without service to humanity. God can see you when you wrong-do. He is ubiquitous. God can also reward for your right actions. So embrace humanity and be the beneficiary of God’s ubiquity.

Take

#T

This is a deep line from the movie Kung Fu Panda that I digested drinking in the beauty of its meaning. It says, ‘The more you take, the less you have.’ Not many have realised the depth of what it means. Most of us want more and are never satisfied in life. We seek more riches, more space, more luxury but at the end of it, we have only less. The typical example for this is the scorching heat that Tamilnadu, India faces during this peak summer. 

Every year, the intensity of this heat increases at an alarming rate. And the cause for this? We wanted more space, farmlands were converted into real estate. We took away more trees. We bought more vehicles so that we could travel luxuriously. The core interest of everything was to have a comfortable life. Conversely, we are suffering from the consequence of having taken more and having less of what we actually need. 

This applies to every single thing in life. When you take something, you stand at the weak receiving end. But when you give something, you stand at the strong circumstance of being the beneficiary of it in some way or the other. You don't need to be a millionaire to give. It just takes a good heart to keep a bowl of water for thirsty birds in summer. Even if you contribute Rs 1 for a noble cause, you become a rich person than many others.

Take less, give more and you will naturally receive more!

Sleepy head

#S

The emotion currently associated with me with S as the starting letter is sleep. I am sleepy. I am struggling with this disorder for a long time now. Sleep merely indicates boredom or the lack of excitement in life. Of late my husband and I are suffering from this problem in the morning. We wake up with a grumpiness, reluctant to get out of bed. I, in particular ruin my morning by waking late and a feeling of gloom envelopes with a boring start.

The same happens every time I feel bored and each time I

fall asleep. How can we eradicate boredom and thus avoid sleepiness?

The first aid to sleep is sprinkling water on the eyes and taking a walk down the corridor. Next, you need to replace sleep with excitement. What are the methods to trigger excitement? Here are 10 ways.

1. When at home, jump and dance in the morning. May be tap to the numbers of your favourite songs, it does a world of good.

2.Smile wide and break into laughter.

3. Skim through the newspaper. It not only makes you knowledgeable but also gives you a distraction from your empiness.

4.Plan your agenda for the day. This helps in filling the possible empty spaces where you might fall bored (asleep) and make you think and do what excites you.

5.Some ideas for exciting gap fillers:
 *Draw with an image in mind. Take along colours and color it too.
 *Get out of the couch and travel more. If your job involves sitting in one place for long hours, take a stroll around once in a while and take time to feel nature and things around you.
*Listen to songs and memorise the lyrics.
*Attempt a different way to your usual work. For instance if you've been using MS Excel for calculations, try to search for a new software or any other way to do your work more efficiently. Keep bringing innovation in your job every day.

6. Go home, relax and do your favourite exercise.

7.Repeat step 5 or create a new hobby like learning something new.

8. Write down the negativities of the day and make ways to eliminate it the next day.

9. Put all your worries aside and breathe deep. Smile, and say to yourself that tomorrow is going to be wonderful and you will be instrumental in making it happen.

10. Have a good night's sleep

Rose and Rain

#R

I couldn't segregate the two topics based on which I love or rather loved lesser. I loved them equally. Rain and rose. They are two exquisite and priceless things on earth.

Rose, is the queen of flowers. So elegant and cute, I used to keep buying it and give it to my female friends to express love. Then, the colors took meaning. White for peace, yellow for friendship and red for love. Who wouldn't love to have it after all? The soft petals, attractive color and fragrant smell would grab one’s heart even at the sight of it. But there was something more to it than what met the eye. It kindle my aesthetic sense. It gave an air of joy and beauty. It had the power to elate me. No other flower made such a strong connection with my heart and writing is best done when in a strong emotion.

Rain was bliss. Breaking through the fiery of heat, the first raindrop grants truce to the war between the sun and people. It evokes the smell of earth. It gives life and value to mud. The most subtle thing in nature takes dimension when it rains. And, like a peacock dancing, I used to feel out of the world at the sight of it.

Everything once went in for a toss in the rat race to study. I had to control my imagination and focus on the immediate priority. I couldn't but I strived. In that process, I curbed my creative thinking. I cut it short and hid it from light. The result was that, it didn't grow but stems every time there is light of encouragement and creative people around. I should confess that the rose and rain don't excite me anymore as it did in the beginning. Maybe I seek more light and life :)

Quotes

#Q

I have lived my way with the principle of some inspirational quotes and I'm listing my favorite of them:

The journey is a lonely one,
So much more than we know
But, sometimes youve got to go
Go on and be your own hero.
-- Kung Fu Panda

It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
-- JK Rowling from Harry Potter

If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs.
-- Dirubai Ambani

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.
-- West life, Seasons in the sun

Life is a box of chocolates. Some are crunchy, some are chewy and some are nutty but all are delicious in their own way. Without each, it would not be complete.
-- Anonymous

A journey of thousand miles begins with the first step.
--Anonymous

In life,  we meet a lot of people. But make friends with a few. In those few, some touch are lives in such a way that their presence is felt in their absence too. 

--A Sms forward

What are your inspirational quotes?  And have you lived by it? 

Personality

Some tips for a good personality

*Connect the expression of your eyes with your smile. Your eyes should smile when the lips does. It expresses confidence.

*Listen and observe before your open up. When in a new place and you are dying to make friends, do the formal greetings but wait before you take up responsibilities or express your opinion. Observe what each person expresses, even the unsaid words.

*Make your handshake firm, it matters what your bodily contact expresses.

*When you speak, keep your voice audible and yet not to loud or low so that you come across as elegant and courteous.

* Read the newspaper and learn new words everyday. It not only makes you knowledgeable but gives you fodder for conversation.

Observation

#O

What do you find when you look beside? The perspective to the answer to this, depends on the person's observation capacity. The concept of looking into the nuances, is what Sherlock Holmes first taught me. But I was way to young or rather unrefined to practise it in life. Helen Keller taught me that blindness can make one realise the beauty of every single thing that you see and that I had to register in my mind almost anything that I saw. But it all went into one ear and came out through the other and I didnt feel for long, the necessity to observe

Ten years ago, I did not even remember the route to and fro home and school. Everyday my father used to take me in his two-wheeler but I was so ignorant that I didn't care to notice much. Only when I had to be on my own, I took the bus and learnt the names of few places. Necessity is the mother of innovation. The same necessity taught me how to observe and made me a wise person.

It was when I took journalism as my career that I learnt how to look beyond a normal eye. I had to come up with story ideas everyday that anything and everything could be made into a story, if only I had eyes for news. I learnt to observe. Observation made me clever and stronger. I could feel how I transformed, at once I started observing. I felt more intelligent and the satisfaction of writing it into a meaningful news was overwhelming. Today, observation has become my duty but its more than just that, it has made a difference to my personality too.

Can you say how many switches are there in your switch board or how many stairs are there in your house or even the number of bangles that the women in your family wear? Start observing today, and you will be amazed by the kind of positive difference it makes to you.

Night

#N

I like nights. I'm not an insomniac but I like spending my late evenings watching the night fall in and the stars showing up. I'm not afraid of the dark or loneliness. I grew up as a lonely single kid. Our family had hard days in my childhood and our solace would be star gazing in our terrace. The night was always mystical and it still is. It is incredible to think of the faces visible in the moon and the forms the clouds take in the night sky. My husband and I used to play guessing game trying to predict those patterns.

I'm startlingly active in the night than the mornings. I can do five different things during the night while I can do only one thing in the morning. I used to stretch into late nights and study for exams than early morning when I was a student because, the time at night used to be plenty, safe and never ending than the hasty morning hours.

 Night has a serene effect but it can turn out to be gloomy when I am depressed. It can be painfully long with sleeplessness. But it always comes with the ambience of a strong emotion, enough to think and retrospect. The period provides a special peace and relaxation for calmness. For the insomniacs, nights can mean harmful, but satisfies their lust for silence and night life. Nights have an uncanny healing power to them eventhough it affects their mood in the day. I love the night that cradles me into dreamland and helps me escape into a new world. Night is for me and you, to drift away and enjoy even the nothingness.

Mine

#M

Mine of gold
Are stories untold
As you each unearth,
Secrets of life and death,
Unfold of fairies and princess
To potters and goddess.

Mine of ore
Are books of lore.
As you each page flip,
And to infer stop,
Knowledge and creativity refine
To perspective and ideas redefine.

Mine is a mind
Wandering to realms find
Of passion and satisfaction
To learn and unlearn
Ideas and ideologies churn
To take every chances and turn

Mine and yours
Combine here
Read my blog
And comment here
To connect with me
And give feedback,
No matter positive or set back.

Luck

#L

Luck is like lift, hard work is like stairs. Lift might fail but steps will definitely get you to where you are going.

How lucky are you?
It depends on how much you have received without giving anything at all. However, it is short lived. The following are likely to occur on its own accord:

What is it called when your crush has a crush on you?
 Imagination!

What is it when a PR likes you?
Opportunist

What is it called when your boss likes you?
More work on the way

What is it called when you buy friendhship?
Ephemeral bliss

How hard working are you?
It depends on how much you can endure to attain something and the benefits are long lived. The following are likely to occur when you earn it:

What is it called when someone you love, loves you back?
Affection

What is it called when you become friends with someone you didnt attempt to become friends with?
A lasting relationship

What is it called when you score 100% in exam?
Focus

However, the combination of luck and hard work can give you the perfect results. One is incomplete without another. Are you lucky enough to work hard? Or do you work hard to get lucky? 

Kill

#K

 

If you don't want to have cob webs, kill the spider.

Most of the time, when a problem occurs, we try to directly jump at it without killing the source it originates from. For example, fever is the outcome of some other problem in the body and it can be anything from cold to viral infection. Paracetamol only controls the temperature whereas antibiotic kills the bacteria.

Similarly, whenever we are faced with challenges in life, it is important to kill the cause of it. A friend of mine had a love failure. The guy had insulted her and another girl who was interested in the guy had bitched about my friend. The guy had regularly sought money from my friend, cashed in her innocence and later alleged her of trying to buy his love with money. 

The problem here is the girl’s failure in attaining him but the source of it was her trust. Only if she killed that trust, could she understand his real character and logically solve the issue. Killing of trust most of the times comes with the penalty of pain but however unroots the problem and heals you faster. 

Kill and let live. 

 

Joy

#J

Ten things that makes me joyous:

*The sight of copper pod trees

*Fragrance of wayside flowers on the road while walking. 

*Singing of birds

*A good book’s read

*A comprehensive and interesting news story that makes me satisfied when written. 

*Love showed by my kin 

*The smell of earth

*Fresh breeze caressing my forehead

*The sight of sunset

*Donating money to deserving people