Her Tale

None so perfect as she

Ever was, nor ever shall be.

Gilded with gold

Was every story she told

Of her sentence, every word

Had majestic wings like a bird.

Her emotions were no less

Not a tear would she suppress

And her thoughts too ran deep

Like staring down a cliff so steep.

She cried every day.

Yet not all in dismay.

Every moment she cherished,

With fond memories of those now perished.

That she must lead the future,

Was the spirit she would nurture.

And she deemed nothing too tall,

For even mountains could fall.

The strength of her mind was from experiences bold

But, truth be told, the girl could be hardly called old.

Resolute to the core, for no man ill will she bore.

She knew all sins were simply washed away by the shore.

Water all around her,

Chaos and disorder,

Were all that she faced

With every step that she placed.

The ice caps were melted

The islands had all folded.

But for ships that could be sailed

Few other lands had prevailed.

She sailed the way of the ole' Horner

With all the courage she could garner.

A thousands miles she would cross

Following the Great Albatross.

The Phoenix was the hope she sought

For rise again, she felt it ought.

Placed a loving hand upon her womb

'Membering she'd soon sail to her tomb.

Thunder, rain and lightening struck

Yet she knew that she wasn't out of luck

She smiled up at the Gods above

And laughed at their twisted sense of love.

Seconds to minutes, minutes to hours.

Hours to days and nights of showers.

Moons new and full, and seasons passed.

The wind blew 'against the mast.

At last she saw the hills of age.

The Himalayas, home of sage.

The sun came out to give them a glitter.

As birds she now saw sing and twitter.

The monks took her in, with greetings of peace.

They beckoned she rest now, in the shade of the trees.

Her sleep was too fleeting, and she woke up in pressure.

And ere the end of hour she delivered a beautiful treasure.

Long live the girl, one of not more than a dozen.

For she did survive, fate chose her for a reason.

Her mother's time run out, she wouldn't make it through.

Her last breath held a smile. To her goal, she had stayed true.

A twenty years later, she stared at the ocean.

Determined to survive, yet filled with strong emotion.

A man saw her crying, and came to hold her hand.

And she whispered in his ears, the tales of long forgotten land.

The man listens intently, moved by every word.

A glint in her eyes, as they watch a flying bird.

None so perfect as she

Ever was, nor ever shall be.

Gilded with gold

Was every story she told

Of her sentence, every word

Had majestic wings like a bird.

Her emotions were no less

Not a tear would she suppress

And her thoughts too ran deep

Like staring down a cliff so steep.

She cried every day.

Yet not all in dismay.

Every moment she cherished,

With fond memories of those now perished.

Preparing for X-mas

Christmas was approaching. That always meant a lot of things. It meant a break from work, time spent with family, or at some exotic location far away from the daily chores - it meant workdays would be less tiring for a while, since everyone started planning "long vacations" to use up their piled up leave from work.

For Ben, though, this Christmas was special. For one, this would be Diana's first Christmas. He knew she would forget everything about it, as she grew up. But he knew the feeling of Christmas would remain with her. And it was important for him to make it as special as he could for his daughter.

Ben didn't consider himself a devout Christian. He didn't go to the Church every Sunday. He didn't care a dime whether there really was a Jesus, or a Father, Son and Holy Ghost. However, he did believe that the Bible gave a strong message of how to lead one's life. Every morning, he would cross himself, and think - what can I do to help people today?

Quite in line with his way of thinking, he worked at the Social Security Administration. Day in and day out, he helped people in making claims for social benefits. Sometimes he had to re-read everything that he had learned to help a Senior get what was due to him. Every step along the way, Ben got an immense sense of satisfaction that his work was making people's lives easier.

Big clear numbers rolled up on a laptop screen, as Ben checked the Xmas Clock to see how far off Christmas was. Just about a fortnight away. He sighed. Though it seemed like a long time, there were still many things left to be planned out. The garage and yard had to be cleared out to make space for the barbecue. The car was going to need servicing, so that they could make that long road trip on Boxing day, to see his parents. The dog, Lucy, needed her routine check-up. Getting appointments for everything was going to be tricky.

After half an hour, and half a dozen phone calls, Ben was considerably relieved. Though not at the best of times, he had managed to squeeze everything into the weekends. He knew that neither he nor Laura would have time during the week to get chores done. Between working 9 to 6, dropping their daughter off for day care everyday, and keeping the house together, she was already doing more than her fair share. Ben, on the other hand, would get back early, picking up Diana on the way home. He would keep her engaged as best as he could till Mommy was back, reading out rhymes to her, and entertaining her with new toys.

New toys for the baby was his next major hurdle. The odd thing is, he just could not make out what would catch her attention. He had no choice but to mix things up, so that Diana would still find enough to keep her engaged. They had already bought the usual bouncers, musical trains and cars, and walking piano. She had liked one car, but not another. She appeared to like the tunes from the train, but not the notes from the piano. But she would never stick to one toy for more than five minutes.

Finally, Ben decided he should go for a singing guitar and a "Leaptop", the toy that looked like a laptop. He didn't want to start giving her a real iPad yet. The general recommendation nowadays was to keep babies away from screens for as long as possible, so that they didn't get addicted to today's "Angry Birds" and "Temple Run".

To top it all off, Ben knew he had to get a real Christmas tree. After some googling, he figured he should be able to get one at the closest Home Depot. He made a note to pick it up the next day, as they were sure to run out fast. Ben then considered arranging a Santa Claus to drop by on X-Mas. Would that be a good idea? No, chuck it, he decided. Some surprises should be left for the future.

Though he was done with everything he had planned, it suddenly struck Ben, that his wife would really appreciate a new camera. Laura loved taking photographs, and had been eyeing camera stores every time they walked past them. They only had a old point-and-shoot for the time being. Ben decided he should look up good camera deals. He remembered that his friend had recently pointed him to a really cool site for finding good deals. Surely enough, a quick search at DealScorcher got him some really good deals for the T4i, but he also found some good deals at Sams Club for the T3.(Canon T3 12.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Lens - (Google Affiliate Ad). He decided he'd do a more thorough comparison soon. After all, the best in the market would always be welcome. On the other hand, starting off with the T3 would get Laura accustomed to DSLR photography, and let them buy better much better equipment later, after the prices came down again.

Now that he had most of the nitty-gritties worked out, Ben leaned back to enjoy Rihanna's latest album, Unapologetic. He knew that in a few minutes, his daughter would be up again, toddling around with her Mommy following her, trying to once again rediscover the living room, and find something she hadn't seen before. He would soon have some more new things for her to explore.

The new beginning

[ Disclaimer: All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.]

Noah stepped off the space ship. He had spent 4 long years working as an aerospace engineer. He had made a home away from home on those strange planets that he had chanced to land on as he traveled from one craft to another. He had no choice. It was his job. But he had loved his job. Every moment of those 4 years had been well spent. He had seen creatures he had never imagined existed. He had learned skills that he never though he would be capable of. He felt proud to have worked with such intricate machinery. He felt honored to have worked shoulder to shoulder with the leading mechanics of the galaxy.

It had been a tough decision. But Noah had decided it was time to come back home. To start things afresh. To bring his experience back home, and build on his home planet. What would he build? He didn't know. All he knew was, he had an unfulfilled duty that he owed to his motherland. He would figure out the rest. Or, he would just wing it.

As he took in the surroundings, he observed his near and dear ones among the crowd cheering for him. He hadn't anticipated his homecoming to be such an event. After all, he had never been famous. Alright, his job had actually been "rocket science". Still... he had just gone out, done his regular job, and decided to come back. It was no different from any other job in the galaxy.

He observed the expressions on the faces around him, and noticed quite a plethora of emotions. Some were delighted, while many others held an expression of fear or confusion. He knew they would ask the inevitable question... "Why did you come home? You could have made a life there!" He also knew that he wasn't ready with an answer. He let it be, hoping that time would answer all of the questions.

Now back home, he found that little had changed in his town. His favorite snack shop was right where he remembered, and the snacks were just as tasty. The weather could never have been better. The people all went about doing their daily chores, busy as ever. Everyone greeted each other with the same warmth that he had always associated with home.

Though Noah did take some time to readjust himself to his old ways of life, he was glad to be home. He had been fortunate to get the best of treatment, and garner respect throughout his career, even when far away. But it felt good to be treated once again like the little fledgling who was stumbling along these streets not too long ago. It felt great to relive his memories of childhood, and of the place where he learned to walk, then run before he flew off on his interplanetary adventures. As he stood by, staring at the glory of the sunset, he looked onward at the horizon. It reminded him once again, of how far he had come, yet also of the limitless expanse that lay in front of him, begging to be discovered.

The grass is greener on this side

A few months back, my brother, my sister-in-law and I were at a charity event where funds are raised through 5k and 10k walks and runs. It was a wonderful sunny day, and the races had just got over. The park was really nice as well, with plenty of greenery all around us. As we were heading back after the event, I observed the turf that we were walking over, and said to my brother, comparing it with some grass that a ditch divided us from... "It looks like the grass is greener on this side!" We laughed about it.

Today, I was thinking back to that day, and realizing that there was much more to my state of mind that day, than the landscape I saw. I really enjoyed that day for many reasons.

To begin with, I was spending time outside in the sun after a long time. The weather was just right, and I was enjoying it with family. For a while, I felt the freedom that I had - to do just what I had wanted to do. That in itself, cast away any anxieties that I may have felt the day before. I felt in control of my life.

Besides, it felt really good to be giving - to be volunteering at an event, that would give that good feeling to so many more people who had come to participate in the event, while funding the education of children who couldn't otherwise afford it. It felt good to just be doing that small bit, no matter how small, to make a difference to the world.

When I said "the grass is greener on this side", what I really felt was how fortunate I am to be where I am. To be in a position to think these thoughts and write a blog post about it, or to even read one, is to have come a long long way. In fact, just writing this post has inspired me to move on and make a difference yet again. It's the drops that make the ocean.

Peace.