Snippets

I know I'm not the first to say it, but it's a simple fact- pandemic life isn't for me. Yes, yes I know it's best for us all to stay inside, I know there's nothing we can do but wait and I know like all other things, this too shall pass. But that doesn't mean I have to be okay with it. And I most certainly am not. I've never been one of those people with hundreds of friends and a thousand more acquaintances. I've always had a small, tight knit handful of friends who mean the world to me. And to be apart from them for months on end- boy, I never thought it would be such a struggle. Of course, the most obvious argument is, "you have phones, you have social media, it shouldn't be hard to keep in touch with them" and yes, you're right, but what more do you talk about after it has been established that you're bored, stuck at home with nothing to do? How do you tell your friends that you feel low when you don't know the reason yo...

Dear Sadness, It is true that at times, you have been the only one by my side when I felt loneliest. It is true that at the times when a person has chosen to walk out of my life, you have been quickest to take their place. It is true that at times you never seem to leave my side. It is true that, at times, you become so close that I mistake you for a part of me- inbuilt and inseparable. But it is time, I have decided, to end our 'friendship', if at all it can be called so. I have found that your strong arms form a wall around me, hidden under the excuse of a warm embrace. I know you intend to shield me from the pain, the guilt and the regret but you have isolated me from the love and joy along with it. The emotions seem to bounce off the surface, never really getting through to me, because you never seem to let them in. You have been selfish, Sadness, in keeping me all to yourself. You have had too much of me, for too long, and I of you, and as they say, too much of someth...

It was a Friday assembly, meaning it happened on the basket ball courts instead of the small, stuffy auditorium. As usual, no one paid any attention to what the teacher said and were in a world of their own. I was busy studying the back of my shoe when my head started spinning. I felt sick and wanted to puke. It wasn't the first time this was happening, and I wasn't going to let it happen again. I made myself stiff and tried to stay upright. Black spots appeared in front of my eyes. Oh no. I was fainting. Again.   Fainting is a lot like falling asleep(must be why I'm so good at it) on the couch and finding yourself in your bed the next morning. Except, here, the couch is the basket ball court, the bed is the sickbay, the next morning is 30 minutes later and falling asleep is fainting. See- so similar. Apparently, I hadn't got enough of the teasing because I went and fainted again. Even then, in second grade, I knew that I would never hear the end of this ...

As I sat in the car with my mom, aunt and brother , I wiped my sweaty palms off on my skirt. Ma and Pika had come to drop me and my brother off at school on our first day this year. It is my brother's old school and my new but old school. The whole idea is very mixed up- I'd studied in this school up until the beginning of third grade, when we were whisked away to England because of my father's job. When we came back, I had already been replaced, but my brother got a place in the school. I had to spend a year at another school before I did too, but at a cost. I no longer belong to the yellow house as I did before- now it is the blue. As the traffic moved along at snail speed, I glanced at my watch several times a minute. We were going to be late. I was going to be late on my first day of school. Talk about bad first impressions. I tried to push this thought out of my head by thinking about my friends. How many would I remember? More importantly, how many would remember m...

"Teesha.......Wake up!" said a voice, while its owner shook me vigorously."We're in Dover. The Euro tunnel is just five minutes away!" Instantly, I sat up . I was so excited! I decided that I would not miss a moment of this fantastic opportunity! Soon, we reached the shuttle. ' We are in the shuttle, and are the nearly the first vehicle in it ', I printed in my diary. When the shuttle, whose in-side was pale yellow, finally began to move, people began to rush out of the coach. There were large information boards containing instructions for how to keep safe ,written in English as well as French on the shuttle. I sat in my seat, scribbling  in my diary, soon realizing that I was the only one (awake) in the coach. I stared at the view from the large window beside me. There was a never ending line of coaches, cars, vans- almost any mode of (land!) transport you can think of! Suddenly, a robot-like voice boomed - " Here are some safety rules...

Friday, 21st  December 2012 The Confirmation I knew something was about to happen soon, the moment Baba came to pick us up from school. Even though they tried to be as secretive as they could, I   sometimes would be  rather nosy, and over-hear their conversations with other grown ups.One of these conversations was to one of mother's friends, Ma was saying to her: " Teesha won't need a visa, as Americans can spend up to three months in Europe-without one! " That was the biggest clue I needed to know what was going on, we were going to EUROPE! During our journey back to home, I asked dozens of questions, trying to act innocent. "Baba, why didn't Ma come to pick us up as usual? Where is she now? What is she doing at home? Why didn't Ma tell us before that you were coming?" As I had thought, he did not answer most of these.   When we finally reached home, our Mum greeted us, by huffing,"I've packed for me and Teerno, You and ...

Written a month before Christmas                                                                                                                                                                   ...