Aathira Jim's Blog, page 19

You

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I wear your old T-shirt as I sit here by the window. Watching, gazing as the world passes by; people wrapped up in their lives, going home to their loved ones. Your T-shirt is too big on me. It falls over my shoulders yet strangely, it gives me the warmth that my clothes don't. Maybe it's because it still smells of you. A bit of your sweat and love. 
But today it no longer offers me the solace that it did some time back. Is it because I can feel your smell fading from this piece of garment that I guard fiercely? With each passing day, it diminishes. Much like your memories. I want to tear my hair apart, scream out in agony. But still, the pain exists. A dull ache, ripping into my soul. 
I want to cry out loud, stop time, do something that would make me cling on those last shards of you that I carry around. I remember you wearing this T-shirt when you went out with your friends. It smelled of stale smoke and beer when you came back. I remember peeling it off your body as we made love that night. It lay discarded in a corner of our bed. 
This T-shirt reminds me of the good times and the bad. But above all, it reminds me of love. Why did you have to go and leave me in the dark? Maybe time heals all wounds. But right now I can't think past this pain. My apartment, no, our apartment is still a mess. It feels like too much of a bother to get up clean it. 
All I want to do is sit around and think of you. It's been few months, but I like to think that you are watching over me. Holding me close and wrapping me in your warmth. Outside, it's started to rain. I can see people scurrying about, anxious to get back home and make a cup of hot chocolate that they will get to share with their loved ones. I realize with a pang that I actually feel jealous of those people that I once despised. They have what I don't. All I ever wanted was you...

Linking this post to Write Tribe Pro Blogger Challenge. 

The Forgotten Daughter

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Alisha was the first born, the result of many sacred prayers. Though her mother was blessed with two more children, it was Alisha who was the apple of her eye. 
She was pampered and loved; but the day she chose to live with the man of her choice, she was deemed an outcast by the family. 
Seven years later, as her mother wept on her death bed, a gentle breeze brushed against her cheeks. She believed it was a final kiss from the forgotten daughter who was banished from her house, but never her heart. 

This post is written for Five sentence fiction for Forgotten at Lillie McFerrin Writes.
Linking this post to Write Tribe Pro Blogger Challenge. 

Things to do while you are sick and a Guest post

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I have been under the weather and had spent the past week simply doing nothing. In case you noticed, I have been MIA because my nose was leaking incessantly and my voice was a little more than a croak. Even writing seemed like too much of a effort to me. But how I missed it and you all!
 Being sick can turn out to be a lonely thing unless you have someone to pamper you left, right and center. Even that can get tiring because you can easily get irritable with all the aches and pains and sniffing. So, here are a list of things that I did when I fell sick. Since almost everyone I know has been suffering due to the change of climate, feel free to give your suggestions too.
1. Reading - Yeah, I caught up on a lot of reading while I was sick. Snuggle up in bed with a good book and catch up on reading those books that you have been meaning to read forever. Also, what better way to lift your spirits than by revisiting your old favorites? I read a Roald Dahl, a Jodi Picoult, an RK Narayan and many more. Find me here on Goodreads. 
2. Sleeping - Agree, this is a given when you are sick. But make sure that you get uninterrupted sleep. Turn off all those devices. Yeah, your phone, tablets and laptops. Switch off all the lights and go to sleep! It always helps of you have dark curtains, that way you don't get disturbed by the bright sunlight. Drinking cough syrup made me so groggy that I found it impossible to keep my eyes open and concentrate on what I was reading. 
3. Drink lots of chukku kaapi aka dry ginger coffee - This is a bit different from the normal coffee that you drink. This has to served piping hot and it is a blend of a lot of spices like pepper, ginger, jaggery etc. The spicy kick of pepper and the sweetness of jaggery makes it a worthwhile medicine for all your nasal congestion and sore throat problems. This is a miracle medicine, I tell you. I drank like lots and lots of it. The instant chukku kaapi is available in most supermarkets.



4. Catch up on your favorite TV shows - Take the time out and catch up on your favorite TV series. I did some back to back watching of How I Met your Mother, How to get away with Murder and Castle. How to get away with murder - highly recommended. I'm simply in love with the character played by Viola Davis- Annalise Keating. That show is a MUST watch! The only downside is that the first season just got over. So it kinda tests your patience unlike old TV series where you can watch a lot of seasons in one go. 
5. Enjoy getting pampered - Yeah, lastly, enjoy all the attention and bask in it :D You should be up and running on your feet in no time. So enjoy it while it lasts! This is the time when everyone around you pampers you. And this also the time when you get to pamper yourself. Not that you have to feel guilty about doing it any time, but still. 
So, yup! That was how I spent the past couple of weeks. And I'm feeling much better now :) Also, the graceful Gayu who blogs at Outside the Kitchen Window was kind enough to invite me over to her space and I penned a short story after ages! Writing it made me realize how much I missed writing fiction. You can read it here. Thanks to Gayu once again!
Linking this post to Write Tribe Pro Blogger Challenge. 

Flying High #BefikarUmarBhar

I have never made a bucket list though I keep making a mental note of things that I want to do. So, when I saw this contest on Indiblogger, I knew without a doubt that I have to participate. We all dream of doing things that make us happy. Yet, more often than not, we end up toiling for the better part of our lives and by the time we actually make the time and money for it, we are too old and weary to go ahead and fulfill those dreams. None of us wants to go to our graves with regret in our hearts, do we?
Anyway, before it gets too late, these are some of the things on my bucket list. Fingers crossed till they come true!
1. Skydiving - Living in a place like Dubai, this has been on my list for quite some time now. The pictures and videos that I have seen are amazing and the experiences shared by people who have already done this make it sound like once-in-a-lifetime encounter. So, yeah, I'm all for it! I do want to try this out and I'm gathering the courage and resources (money, what else) to take the plunge. 
2. Visiting New York - New York has been my dream destination for a long time. Or more precisely, ever since I became a fan of Sex and the City. What better place on earth than the one which has inspired some of my all time favorite movies like Notting Hill and You've got mail. I want to experience the grey skies and the winter hues. The snow that falls magically on trees for christmas. And yes, I want to sit in a cafe in New York and write!
3. Visiting "The Elephant House" - If you are a walking wikipedia on JK Rowling like me, then The Elephant House would be familiar to you. In case you are not familiar with the name, this is a quaint little cafe in Edinburgh where Rowling spent the early days of penning Harry Potter. The smell of coffee and the gentle buzz of customers while her kid lay sleeping, this woman wrote what would become a worldwide phenomenon. I do hope inspiration strikes for me there! The cafe overlooks Edinburgh Castle. All the more reason to visit Edinburgh and walk the streets that inspired Harry Potter. Harry Potter was, however, conceived while on a train journey that Rowling took. Just saying :)
4. Get a tattoo - A tattoo is something that becomes a part of your life forever. I have been meaning to get one but the thought of pin pricks have me chickening out. I do want to get a tattoo, of something worthwhile on me. I have not yet decided what it is, but I do know that I shall end up with one. 
5. Write a book - Last, but certainly not the least, I have the dream which all of us writers have. Write that book. One can always wish to be the next literary sensation that takes the world by storm (a girl can hope, can't she?) but simply seeing your words on paper and being appreciated by even a few people is sufficient enough for me. And well, who knows, you might end up being the next Rowling after all! 
This post is written for Indiblogger in association with IDBI Federal Lifesurance Whole Life - Befikar Umar Bhar . 

Me and You

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You are all I need, All I could possibly ever wantI crave for the comfort of your handsThe warmth of your lipsTo keep me company on a winter’s morningThrough the hazy fog Flitting outside my kitchen windowI think I see a shape huddled over the benchIs it you?
I see the confusion in your eyesThe pain in your sighsDwell not, my dearestThese hands crave for youMy lips hunger for your kissI am unclear, uncertain.But know this: You are me and I am you...