OS for Anu By Oin
The Diary
"eee!! Mumma nahi na...chhodo mujhe...meko padhna hai..pleaajjj" Tanya pleaded as Sharon came scarily close to grabbing her. She was running as fast as her small chubby legs could carry her plump 3 year old body but her mom, even in her current condition was proving quite the adversary.
Sharon could feel her breath catching and knew she should give up the chase but there was too much at stake here. That red velvet diary Tanya was clutching with both hands was her kryptonite and she could not afford to let her daughter relate it's secrets to her dad. Swayum would never let her hear the end of it! As she prepared to climb over the couch in a last ditch attempt to catch her she cursed Swayum for the umpteenth time. Why, oh why did he have to teach Tanya to read so early!! If only she were a regular 3 yr old Sharon might have gotten away with some cock-a-mamie story about the diary..uff!! Damn Swayum and his smart genes! She flopped down on the couch admitting defeat as she saw Tanya run up the stairs and felt her brother gave a mighty kick in her womb. "Already you're siding with your daddy" she sighed patting her big balloon of a tummy. She grabbed a fat cushion and lay down against it, preparing her defense against the ribbing she knew she would receive when Swayum returned in the evening. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep and her mind took her back to that bright autumn day 10 years ago and she was reliving the very incident that was going to be her undoing in the evening.
The weaklings' surprisingly good performance in the footloose auditions had shaken Sharon. She had honestly never thought that anybody could compete with her team. She knew Kria was a good dancer (though she wouldn't admit under the threat of death) but she hadn't believed there could be 5 other equally talented dancers in the college that she, the Diva, had no idea about! For a second she felt an uncomfortable niggle in her heart that maybe she was taking the arrogant act a bit too far but she brushed it aside easily. You can never be too arrogant esp when you're SRP and have the whole world worshipping you, she reasoned. Then what are you doing in this dingy place when you could have been lording it over at the mall? That uncomfortable voice again...ugh..she was getting tired of that stupid voice. The damn thing seemed to think she was about to turn into a saint just because she had felt a smidgen of guilt at her behavior with Swayum after RDX sir's party! The question warranted an answer though she thought as she looked around at her surroundings. She knew she had been behaving oddly ever since the auditions. She felt compelled to know what the weaklings esp that lanky one were up to. Rey had caught her once trying to sneak into the RH when the said team was in there. She shuddered to think what might have happened had the lanky one caught her. As it was, Rey hadn't been easy to brush off either. He kept asking why and after trying to explain for the better part of an hour, she knew he hadn't believed a word she said. How could she explain something she didn't understand herself. All she knew was that she had to watch them dance whenever she could. She told herself it was research on the competition but she knew it was more than that. Mere competition couldn't explain the urgency that overtook her common sense whenever she knew they or rather he would be dancing. The same urgency that now had her sneaking around Bharat's garage like a thief. She heard Bharat's voice asking for Swayum's phone and sped up. They were about to start and she didn't want to miss the beginning. Since the past few days Swayum had been choreographing a remixed classical ballad that for everyone else was pure romance but Sharon saw more. She saw through the light, happy steps to the pain that was underlying each move. He hadn't finished the piece yet and she felt certain there was twist in the tale, a tragedy was coming up and that would be the highlight of the play. Ever since she was little girl she had been drawn inexorably towards tragedy, anything that had ample amount of pain in it enthralled her, as if she knew even then that life wasn't all roses and candy like the grown-ups tried to make it look. She never shared this with anybody, not even Rey because A) she didn't want to be labeled the crazy doomsday predicting kid and B) she already knew the image she wanted to project and this didn't fit in. She watched from her regular perch outside the window as Swayum tried teaching Bharat a particularly delicate move. The latter had little competition in B-boying but when it came to the softer forms he looked like a bull in a china shop. She had seen Swayum trying to teach him this move the last time she had been spying on them and had unknowingly started admiring his patience. She knew that patience was the most important virtue in a teacher and was acutely aware of its lack in herself. The last time Bharat's gaucheness had caused everyone except Swayum to lose their temper and the rehearsal had ended with the former storming out. Maybe that was why there were only two people in the garage today. Just as she knew that only Swayum could teach Bharat, she knew that the solo rehearsal had been his idea. He always knew when somebody was uncomfortable and just how to remedy that. It was his thing. The thing that made her hate him and grudgingly admire him at the same time. He had done it with her countless times and every time she had been torn between a desire to scratch his eyes out coz he saw too much and falling to his feet in gratitude for letting her out of a corner. As the music started again, she saw Swayum make a finger heart and in a flash the story he was portraying became clear to her. A gasp escaped her lips as she realized she was watching their story, hers and Swayum's! That was why the underlying pain was so obvious to only her. Only she saw it because only she felt it. All of a sudden the air was too thick to breathe and she had to get out of there. All the steps she had been admiring till now were starting to mock her. He knew she liked him too and that knowledge was more than she could bear. In her haste she stepped on a dry twig and it snapped with a resounding crack. For half a second she thought she had been caught but she fled before she could ascertain that. Later that day she had made the final entry in her red velvet journal, the one she used to record her observations of the weaklings, the one that read shockingly like a 15 yr old's paean to her crush and hidden it away.
Sharon could feel the earth shaking as her mind reluctantly returned to the present. Her smile turned to a frown as the tremors forced her to open one eye. She closed it again as she realized that it was her daughter, the adorable terror that was causing the tremors. "Mumma utho na, Papa aye hain." "Abhi nahi beta, who sham ko ayenge. Aao tum bhi mere sath so lo thoda." She shifted on the couch and tried to catch hold of Tanya. "Sham ho gayi Mumma, woh aa gaye." Her daughter replied, impatient now as she deftly evaded her mom's searching hands. "What? It's 6 already!" Sharon checked her watch in surprise. Suddenly she remembered she wanted to convince Tanya not to spill the journal's contents to her dad. She looked at her daughter jumping and banging at the door and realized it was too late now. She could hear Swayum's laughter from the other side and knew she didn't have the time. His laughter brought an involuntary smile to her lips and she thanked God for the miracle that was her Swayum. Her Swayum, even now that thought made her heart sing with joy. She chuckled and shook her head with resignation at what was to follow as she opened the door as excited to see her husband as Tanya.
Four hours later, the resignation had turned to puzzlement. Contrary to her belief, Tanya hadn't breathed a word about the journal to Swayum. Sharon had expected her to not only tell him all about it but also thrust it in his hands as soon as he stepped inside the house. She had inherited Sharon's impatience and taken it a step further. She wondered what new mischief her daughter was cooking up in that pretty little head as she entered her room to tuck her in for the night. Before she could ask anything, Tanya handed her the diary and said in the most conspiratorial tone a 3 yr old could manage "Hide it Mumma before bhai is born and he finds it. You never know with these boys so us girls gotta stick together". Then she promptly turned to her side and fell asleep leaving Sharon staring at her.
She turned around at the sound of a soft chuckle to find Swayum standing at the door. She immediately hid the diary behind her. He sniggered and said "Let me hide that diary, it is very important. After all it is the only written record of our rehearsals and the story of your falling in love with me. Tanya is right, you never know with boys, us married people gotta stick together". Then he hooked a finger under her chin, shut her hanging jaw, kissed her plump lips and picked her up to carry her to their bedroom where he could show her in leisure how much he loved her.
Edited by Joshua_TANHA - 11 years ago
Taara
Health and Fitness
Naagin 7
