Rebirth.

(Image Source)

Brushing against my face, the wind is forceful and rough

With every touch, it burns the skin. Oh! You know it hurts.

"Bottomless ditch awaits me,
 Catch me dear, if I fall.
Give me wings and let me fly
Because I no more want to crawl"

Your unkept promise still rings in my ears

It fools me through a facade of bliss

Drowns me deeper and deeper into nowhere

“I will never let you fall, I promise.”

Weak, I stand and sore feet bleed

Eyes are shut, the soul is freed.

To build my strength, I cradle a hope

To outshine the evil, I cradle it again

I smile at the death of this fiery wind

Laugh at the canvas which was once blue

Take pride in the rise of my sun, my world

And celebrate the birth of me without you!

Her Father, Her World

Dear papa,

I don’t know how to start. So many fragments of memories are flashing before my eyes as I sit here to pen down my love for you. It seems so difficult to put it into words. There’s an over-whelming feeling in my heart which is all the more magnified because today's my marriage. And from tomorrow, your little girl would become a wife and a daughter-in-law too. But you know what Papa, I'm not scared. 

Yes! your girl is not scared and it's all because of you. You have taught me to face life's ups and downs with sheer dignity and confidence. You have always cradled me with your unconditional love and support. The way your teachings and morals have beautified my soul is actually incomparable, Papa and I really admire you. I admire you as a person of gravity and substance.

  

Every single day when I see your face and see that smile which you always have for me, I feel so so so blessed.

*Thank you, God!* 

You are and will always be my favourite man. And I promise that I will never let you down.

Love you more than you’ll ever know!

Your little girl,

Nisha.

P.S: This painting is an outlet for my infinite love for you. I hope you like it. :)

(Image Source)

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I have written this post in response to the latest prompt at Thursday Tales.
And co-incidentally, it is going with the occasion i.e., Father's Day. =)

Enigmatic Love - Part 2

Read first part here!

“I thought you loved me. Then why did you say NO?”

“No, Paolo. I never fell in love with you. But yes, I admit that I loved your company as you were really good to me.”

“But this was all so perfect. Where did I lack?”

“I know it’s my entire mistake. I should have told you this earlier. But I was afraid to confront you. I was afraid that you might not understand me and amiss this, one thing I was sure of that someday or the other I would have to face this. And that day has come.

Look, Paolo, I don’t want to marry you. In fact I don’t want to marry at this age.”

“It’s okay. I can wait for you all my life. I love you, Isabel.”

“No, Paolo. There is something more I have to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Ever since my childhood days, I’ve nurtured a dream in my eyes.....to do something big. I never wanted to spend my life like every other woman, marrying and looking after children. I might sound weird but I want to take an active part in the revolts taking place all over Italy for its unification. And I know nobody would support me, not even you. But there is one person who will definitely understand me. He always did. Ah! Look....there he is.

Paolo...this is Taylor, my first and the last love.”

Paolo was dumbstrucked. He did not know what to say or how to react. Isabel was freaking him out. Of course, he had not expected a girl to say all this stuff. And what further kicked him in the teeth was the fact that he could NOT see any guy standing at the place where she pointed.

“Where? I can’t see anyone.”

“Oh c’mon. He’s right in front of you.”

“Is this some kind of a joke, Isabel? Do you think you can make a fool out of me? First you say that you want to take part in revolts. Okay..I would support you. But now you say you’re in love with an invisible person. What has happened to you, dear?"

“Oh, I see. So now you are also not going to believe me huh? Would you also think that I am mad? Fine! Think whatever you want to. I don’t need to prove his existence to anyone. All I know is that I love him and he loves me. And that he supports me in my every decision.”

“Isabel, come back to reality. You need to understand. There’s no Taylor. If there would have been one, why are we not able to see him? Why only you see him? Think about it.”

“I know. And it is because everyone wants me to marry you. Even you want this. So why would you believe me. Look...Taylor is also saying this.”

Things were hard for everyone, especially for Paolo. First, the love of his life rejected his proposal second, she wants to support the revolutionists for Italy’s unification and lastly, she was in love with an imaginary person whom she called Taylor. That was indeed frustrating. Isabel had built a world of mirage. It was impossible for anyone to bring her out of it.

And then one day, Isabel left. She absconded....without saying anything to anyone.

Three months later...

After trying hard to look for Isabel, everyone gave up the hope that they would ever see her again. They had learnt to live without Isabel. Even Paolo went back to work and things were getting quite normal until one day, a news in a daily local perplexed him and shook him to the core. It read:

“After a civil disobedience strike in Lombardy, the rage of unifying Italy entered the nerves of Tuscans. A violent revolt which broke yesterday i.e., 12th February, 1848 in the streets of Tuscany marked it's beginning. Many people including women took an active part in it, demanding a constitution and republican provisional government for Tuscany. Two women viz. Marianna Attino, age 23 and Isabel D’Angelo, age 19 and a man viz. Taylor Corradi, age 24 died and many others were badly injured during the...”

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Writer's note: I know you must be wondering how is this possible and how can Taylor be for real. Well, there can be many possibilities. One, that Taylor Corradi was just another person who took part in the revolt and it was a mere co-incidence that his name appeared among the deceased s along with her name. Second, that Isabel might have befriended Corradi during the procession as his name was same as her imaginary lover's. Also, there is a chance that Isabel acted to be a schizophrenic in front of others so that they wouldn't force her to marry Paolo but when she saw that things were still not turning to her side, she escaped.

Now it's up to you, friend. You can churn your mind and decide the end of this time-pass story. I have already helped you a lot to solve the puzzle! :)

Enigmatic Love - Part 1

Once upon a time, somewhere in the 1830s, there was a young girl called Isabel. She was a seven year old and lived with her parents and one brother in the outskirts of Florence, the then capital of Italy. Her family originally belonged to the suburbs of America but had moved to Florence in search of work.

Isabel was a simple-looking girl who did not have any friend as there was no child of her age in that colony. Also, she was usually left ignored by her parents for some or the other reason. This made that little loner, create an imaginary friend, Taylor. She spent her time sitting in the veranda, playing with dolls, toys and Taylor. None of the other family members took much care of Isabel. Her mother was always busy doing the household work, her father worked in a small rug-making factory along with her brother who was six years elder to her.

Young Isabel

Isabel loved her fantasy land as she was not a loner in it. She had Taylor by her side. Whenever her parents scolded her for any kind of mischief, Taylor was the one who used to console and support her. She used to played with him, fought with him, had long talks with him and most of all, carved dreams with him. Over the years, Taylor became an important part of her life and she loved him, much!

Once, when she was fourteen years old, a family moved to their neighbourhood. Due to all the unrest caused by the liberal revolutions in the city, many people were displaced from their native places and took refuge in the outskirts of the city and so did their newly shifted neighbour. They had a sixteen year old son, Paolo. He was a handsome-looking boy having light brown hair and big eyes. The family was a decent Italian family and Paolo’s parents easily gelled with Isabel’s. But both Isabel and Paolo were a little reluctant in the beginning, to befriend each other. Isabel was not in a habit to talk to any other male and Paolo found Isabel beautiful but weird. They both used to get really awkward with each other.

Young Paolo

But as the time passed, the sheet of uneasiness between them began fading and they became good friends. Like all other love stories, the boy fell in love with the girl. Yes! Paolo, by the age of twenty, fell madly and deeply in love with Isabel. On the other hand Isabel still took him as her good friend. She was not absolutely sure of Paolo’s feelings but she had a hint that he loved her. She could tell this by the way he treated her and made her feel special in every possible way. She liked it too. Who would not like to be treated special, anyway? But she did not let him come very close due to her self-made boundaries. Even Paolo, at times, felt that there is a part of Isabel of which he is unaware.

Everything else was so typical and perfect. Their family members began thinking of their children’s marriage. Mothers indulged themselves in the art of planning the wedding and fathers got busy in discussing the dates and finance. But things were not meant to be this way, as far as Isabel’s life was concerned. And an unanticipated and unturned stone came to light, the day Paolo confessed his feelings to Isabel.

Read the next part here.

An Empty Bench.

“The only problem is that you would never understand me. 

*sigh*

You never did. Maybe one day, when you do understand what I felt for you or how much I cared for you, then you might realise my worth. But till then, all of it seems useless and I know it’s not your fault. It’s just that I am too sensitive for you.”

She remained silent with her head bowed. Her loose black hair fell over her shoulder covering half of her right cheek. Her thoughts were hopping in her mind. They were playing around. And they were not sanguine. Each thought had a tinge of sourness filled by his words and was wrecked by his fiery looks. It was aching. But she remained silent.

He continued saying something and something and something. He kept throwing ashes of their burnt love right on her face. She did not respond or rather her heart did not respond. But her senses did. An evil drop, corroding the love she had for him, stepped out and she quickly ran a finger, wiping it out through her kohl-ed eyes. No, he did not notice. Why would he, anyway? Or why wouldn’t he? There was no answer.

Feeling helpless and dejected, she carried her bruised yet numbed heart in her hands and started walking. She wanted to say a lot of things but did not. Going a little farther, she gathered pieces of hope and faith and turned around. She turned around to have a last look of their carvings together but amiss this she forgot a little thing....that life always comes with a 'don’t-expect-anything' tag. Huh...a silly girl, she was.

The bench behind was empty, mirroring all the answers, she once hunted and echoing all the untold truths, she once repelled to hear!