The Crash And The Bash

It was a cloudy and rainy day in Gurgaon and Simran Gupta couldn’t wait to go out to play in the rain. Her mother had promised her that she could play in the rain after her homework was done. As Simran was just completing her last mathematics sum, the doorbell rang. Suddenly, there were many whispers in the hallway below. Cautiously, Simran inched towards the staircase. At the bottom of the staircase was her mother, Sheila. Sheila gave one wary glance at Simran and she knew something wasn’t right.

                        The next morning was a Saturday and Simran had gotten out of bed early. As she descended down the staircase, she noticed that in Sheila’s bed (where her parents slept), was only her mother. There was no sign of her father ever getting into bed. She was shocked. She ran down to her mother, her face was pale.

                        Simran was very curious at the moment. She woke her mother up. Sheila went to the kitchen and fixed the two of them some cereal and juice. Now Simran was very curious, because her mother acted as though nothing had happened the previous night.

                        When Simran finally broke the silence and said “Mom, where’s Daddy?” Sheila started weeping. Very soon the news was out, her father had DIED in a car accident. Both mother and daughter sat at the dining table, weeping for hours.

                        That evening was the funeral and both mother and daughter invited Simran’s grandparents for the event. Her grandparents sat there, in front of the corpse, crying for hours. For the coming week, Simran was not to go to school. Her mother decided that it was time for a holiday. So Sheila and Simran took the next plane to Goa. They rented a house near the beach. The next five days would only be surfing, swimming and restaurant food.  On the third day, while walking back to the beach, her mother saw a fair, young lady walk past them. On her bag in neat printed handwriting, it said, Koyil Singh N.E. Florentine, Gurgaon. The lady was their neighbour!! Sheila stopped walking and said “Why, hello!” The young woman looked up in surprise and said, “Do I know you by any chance?”

                        Her mother’s answer was obviously “Yes, I believe we are neighbours.” After a while Sheila and Koyil were firm friends. Simran had no problems, because Koyil’s children Alvin and Lara were very fun children to hang out with. They spent the night at Koyil’s house. By then Sheila had found out that even Koyil’s husband had died very recently and that was the cause of their vacation too.

                        There were many odd similarities between the Singh family and the Gupta family. Both fathers had died on the same date, due to the same cause. Both the mothers had chosen the same vacation destination for making their child/children get over their father’s death. Something hit Simran on a school night. Was it possible that both dads had crashed cars? When one man was leaving the house and one arriving?

                        The days were just a blur for these two families. Finally Simran decided to tell her mother about the conclusion she had come to.  Her mother asked the police if the other person included in the car crash had died? If he had, what was his name?

                        The answer was yes, he died and his name was Kunal Singh! This brought horror to both families. The children more often spoke to each other, the mothers more often went out together. Life was back to normal and the families.

THIS STORY WAS WRITTEN TO BE TAKEN PART IN THE COMMONWEALTH ESSAY COMPETITION.

The Gorgon Sisters

The three of us are widely known.
We're each a horrid, haggard crone.
We croak and cry a mournful moan.
A glance at us, you'll turn to stone.

Our hair is made of living snakes.
To hear their hiss will give you shakes.
We love the savage sound it makes.
We'll laugh until your spirit breaks.

But solitude is all we crave,
So don't intrude within our cave.
Regardless if you're strong or brave,
We'll send you swiftly to your grave.

As we draw near, your heart will thud.
Your breath with stop, your brain will flood.
Our wicked wail will chill your blood,
And cause your veins to fill with mud.

And if there is the slightest breeze,
Our stench will make you choke and wheeze.
You'll gasp and tumble to your knees.
We smell like Gorgon-zola cheese.

Where's the Picnic Food?

Once upon a time there was a forest fire in a big, big forest. All  the little animals that lived there ran as fast as they could to get away from the hot flames. Squirrels, raccoons, foxes, snakes, turtles, rabbits, mice and many other animals had to find new homes. Some of them went to other  forests, some of them went to parks, and some of them actually had to make their little homes in the yards of human beings, or, people.

Far, far away from the fire was a house where three little children  lived.  Their names were Thomas, Kathy, and Carrie.  They all went to school but on this September day it was Saturday.   They had been playing all morning.  Now it was lunchtime.   They were hungry. They asked their mom if they could have lunch, and she said, "Why don't you have a picnic in the yard"?

That sounded like a great idea, but WHERE in the yard?  So Mom told them to lay a picnic cloth in the green grassy grass near the scruffy old juniper bushes.  While they were doing that, she would make some celery sticks, carrot sticks, and some yummy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

When the kids had spread out the picnic blanket, they ran into the  kitchen and asked if lunch was ready.  Mom told them to take the carrot sticks and plates out to the blanket, and to take their drinks also.  So Thomas, Kathy and Carrie took these things out to the blanket and arranged them carefully. Then they ran as fast as they could, huffing and puffing, back to the kitchen and said to Mom, "What else have you made so far"?  So she said, "I've got your celery sticks cut up for you now – run these out to your picnic blanket."  So out ran the three kids as fast as they could go to add these to the carrots on their plates.

But when they got to the blanket, something was wrong.  Where were the carrot sticks?  They were all gone! "This must be a trick," said Kathy.  "Let's leave the celery sticks here and see what happens!"

Then they ran as fast as they could back to Mom, who by now was  making the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  They told her that someone had stolen the carrot sticks. She said, "You're kidding!" and they said "Come on – we'll show you!"

Mom hurried out with them to the picnic blanket.  But now, not only were the carrot sticks missing, but the celery sticks were gone, too! Mom said, "Maybe one of your neighbor friends is hiding them just to be silly."

So everyone spread out and looked behind trees, bushes, and just  about everywhere.  Unfortunately, they couldn't find the carrots, the celery, or anyone hiding.

Finally Mom said, "Well, your drinks are still out here.  Let's get your sandwiches. You guys go ahead and eat them out here and maybe something will turn up."

So Thomas, Kathy and Carrie sat down to their picnic and they ate  their sandwiches.  Of course, while they sat there, they couldn't help but look around for the sneaky celery and carrot thief.

They were just about finished eating when Carrie looked over at the  juniper bushes and saw something move.  She softly said, "Shshsh!" to Thomas and Kathy. "There's something wiggling over there!  See the bushes moving?"  So everyone sat very still, and a little brown animal came to edge of the bushes and looked at them.  It was a rabbit.  Quietly it went back into the bushes.

"I have an idea", said Thomas.  "Let's get more celery and carrots, and see if that rabbit is our thief.  We'll put them at the edge of the bushes, and watch from the window."

They quietly went back into the house and got Mom to cut up more  celery and carrots.  They carefully put them down near the bushes and walked back to the house. As they watched, the little rabbit came out and grabbed the vegetables in his mouth and carried them back into the juniper bushes. Mom had watched, too, and she said that she had never seen a rabbit in the yard before.  She thought that maybe because of the forest fire, he had needed to look for a new home.

"Maybe we can keep feeding this rabbit, and he will stay here  for a long time," said Mom.

That is just what they did.  They fed the little rabbit every  day.  A few weeks went by. The weather turned cooler and finally winter came and they didn't see the rabbit.  Sometimes they would take food out to the edge of the bushes, and sometimes the food would disappear, and other times it just stayed there.  All winter they worried about the rabbit – was he cold, was he scared, did he move somewhere else?

Finally, spring came.  They watched for the rabbit day after  day.  In early April, the day before Easter, when the trees had just a few leaves, Thomas, Kathy, and Carrie took the food out to the bushes, and as they watched, the little rabbit came out and grabbed it!  Whatever he had done during the winter, he was OK now!

The kids continued to feed him, and one day, the little rabbit came  out to get his food, and he had four little rabbits with him! Their rabbit was a Mommy rabbit!

So from that time on, the kids fed the rabbits, and year after  year, there was always a little rabbit family that lived in their scruffy old juniper bushes.

Polly Helps a Friend

  Polly pedaled her bicycle swiftly as Mother trotted alongside her. Mother had to hurry to keep up with Polly. They were on their way to the park for their weekly outing. Polly's big blue bag with pink pockets was slung over Mother's shoulder. It held many of Polly's favorite things that she used to create wonderful pictures that Mother would fasten to the refrigerator door for everyone to see. Wonderful things were a part of these trips, wonderful sunshine, wonderful breezes, wonderful colors and most importantly, the big wonderful silver slide.

     Polly was as happy as she could be today. The pink ribbon from her yellow pig-tails flew in the breeze behind her. Today, Polly felt more special than ever. Mother let her wear her new shorts outfit with the blue and pink flowers. Polly promised to be careful not to soil it. Polly loved Mother and always tried to make her proud. She wanted to be just like her when she grew up. Being outside today was like being in a beautiful dream of many colors. The windy sunshine was the yellowiest of yellows. It flooded Polly's smiling blue eyes and pink face as she looked at everything there was to see.

     A tall, green Elm bowed its head to Polly and her mother as they passed. Several feet away, two young boys and a red, curly haired girl tossed a big green and white striped beach ball back and forth. The ball had just gone over the head of one of the boys. He scampered to get it before the red haired girl. Their happy yelps rode on the wind to Polly's ears. They only made Polly feel happier. Polly found the slightly off-key tunes of the ice-cream truck a special treat today. The truck was parked at the far side of the park's edge. Two teenagers dressed in white with tennis rackets raced to get ice cream and cold drinks.

     Everything was wonderful today, even the birds sounded cheerier than ever. They whistled from nearby trees.

     Polly's bicycle barely stopped as she jumped off. They had arrived at the special place in the park where the giant silver slide lived. Polly loved the slide; she got a shivery joy each time she slipped along its long slender back. She ran over to the slide.

     "Slow down, Polly," shouted her mother, smiling at her young daughter.

     Barbara enjoyed these outings as much as Polly. She loved to just relax and visit with the other women she would meet there. They would trade stories about their children. When she felt like it, Barbara tucked her knitting or an interesting novel into Polly's bag. She felt a little tired from her brisk jaunt and plopped down at the nearest picnic table. Soon Carol, one of her friends, wandered over to her.

     Polly watched her mother and the other woman. Polly liked it when her mother chatted or visited with other women. It gave her extra long playtime.

     The slide was cold today, but this did not stop Polly from whisking down its bare back. The cold metal sent shivers of fun through her. Faster and faster she slid each time she climbed the endless steps. Up, up, up she went eager to swoosh along the cold, silver slide. Polly loved to daydream while she rode on the slide. She would close her eyes and think of herself as a lovely princess on a white horse. Some days, she would pretend that she was either a lost puppy or a lost kitten looking for its mother. She would crawl around while she meowed or whimpered sadly. Polly had heard her mother say that she had a good imagination. She wasn't really sure what this meant. She guessed that it meant that she was really great at pretending things.

     Polly continued her trips up the stairs and down the slide. On what was maybe her twelfth trip, a strange sound shot into the air. It was a very painful groan. "What's that?" she asked, jumping off the end of the slide.

     "Oh, thank you!" came the answer over her shoulder.

     "Who said that?" Polly asked again, looking round and round.

     "I did."

     Polly bent at the waist, jumped to one foot and spun around. She was staring right at the slide. Two very, very sad eyes stared back at her. "Thank you for getting off," said a giant mouth just below the teary eyes.

     "My back aches really badly today."

     Polly rubbed her eyes. Was this really happening? Could she believe her ears? Quickly, she looked over to where her mother sat with her friend. The two women were laughing and talking. Everything seemed okay. Polly looked back at the slide. "Excuse me", she said, "did you speak to me?"

     "Why yes I did," answered the silver slide. "I'm sorry if I startled you, but I can't take it anymore. Each and every day children jump on me and race down my back. It was fine when I was young, but I've grown so old and weary. I'm not nearly as strong and in the great shape I used to be. I love the children, especially you Polly, but I shudder when they dig their feet into my back. What can I do? Can you help me, Polly?" With that, the poor old slide began to cry loudly. His steps shook with each large, wet tear. He pulled a large white handkerchief from his back step and blew his nose sadly. "If this keeps up, I will have to be turned into a pile of steel and thrown onto the junk heap. I know all I need is a little rest. In time I will be okay. The park is putting in a new slide soon. Guess until then, I will have to be brave."

     Polly stepped back as she was puzzled. It took her long minutes to understand. This poor old slide that had given so many children so much fun over the years was asking her for help. She felt sad and important all at once.

     "I'm sooooo sorry you are feeling bad" she heard her small voice say. Her tiny hand gently patted the aching steel. "There must be something I can do." Polly thought and thought for some time. She walked to a swing and started to sit down, but stopped. She then started to go to her mother for help, but again stopped. "Would mother believe her?" Polly wondered aloud. "A talking slide?" Polly did not know what to do to help her friend.

     As she returned to the slide, Polly saw two workmen fixing one of the park benches. The workman dressed in gray coveralls nailed a brand new wooden arm to the bench. The second workman, who wore a white cap, took brushes and two cans from the back of his truck. Polly watched. He dipped his brush in one can of paint and stroked the wooden arm. Polly saw the green paint go on the arm and cover the wood. It looked new and shiny. People would have to wait to a couple of days to sit on that bench she thought.

     Suddenly her face lit up. She raced to her bicycle. "I've got it," she yelled. She grabbed for her big blue bag that was slung over the handlebars of her bicycle. Quickly, she sifted through it. She loved this bag; it had all of her favorite things. Polly pulled out a big, fat red crayon. She then snatched up a yellow sheet of drawing paper. Before a bird could eat a worm, she knelt and scribbled something on the paper. With that, she grabbed once more into the bag and was off in a race to her weary, waiting friend. "I have just the thing," she called to him, as she got nearer. The slide looked so unhappy. His big tears had made quite a large pool at his feet. Polly leaned over him. Her little hands worked quickly. She tucked and taped and finished. "There", she said, as she stepped back to see her work. Not too bad! This will work! Polly felt all warm and soft and good inside like she did when Mother hugged her. Just then she heard her mother's call that it was time to go home. "Don't worry, now you can get the rest you need to feel better." Polly called over her shoulder to the slide as she ran happily off to her mother.

     Polly's arms waved to her mother. Barbara had been picking up the blue bag with its spilled crayons while she waited for her young happy daughter. She wondered why all the crayons were on the ground in such a hurried mess.

     "What went on here?" she asked her daughter.

     "A good thing." answered Polly, hugging her mother. Polly felt proud and happy. Mother would have been proud of her too. Polly wanted to walk her bicycle home so she could think about her special day and how she had made the slide happy. She really had done a good thing.

     Mother and daughter left the park, arms around each other. They passed a bench where a mother sat holding her young son. The little boy seemed very sad. He asked his mother, "But Mummy, why can't I go on the slide?"

     Polly heard his mother's answer; "You must stay off the slide for a few days, honey, the sign says "WET PAINT."

     Polly smiled her biggest smile and hugged Mother tighter.

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