A WALK IN THE WINTER NIGHT

"The place where I live, winter could be seen only through the hearts of the people that are cold enough to not feel anything", she said, when he asked her if she likes winter.

"Haven't you ever seen the true colors of winters", he asked, trying his best to give her a true smile.

"Colors of winter? All I have seen are the colors of humans that change like these unnoticed seasons. " she replied and he could feel the pain she had gone through and all he wanted was to make her pain go away.

"Forget everything, every wrong thing, hold my hand and I shall make you believe no season should ever be left unnoticed. Each season has its own ways to make you fall in love with it. And winter... Winter itself is the season of love. So smile and walk with me" he brought forward his hand and she held it without any delay. She wanted to smile but couldn't, for she didn't know how a smile looks like. But he was happy that now he has a small chance to give back all her lost happiness.

"I feel cold", she said looking up in his eyes, her cheeks flushed a perfect shade of pink. He felt she is blushing but it was yet another color of the season.

"Here. Take my jacket. This is the beginning of our winter journey, I don't want you to catch cold just at the beginning of it" he said with a smile and made her wear his jacket. "You know these silent long winter nights have a lot to speak, they just need good listeners like you and I." he looked into her eyes, there was something new he witnessed in them. The sadness they were carrying seemed to be decreasing and her lips curved up to form a smile. He immediately captured that smile in his camera. "See, this is an all new color of winter this year", he said when he made her watch her own picture in the screen.

"I am smiling", she spoke to herself. She had never came across this feeling before. She turned her face towards him and she felt a sudden warmth by the way he looked back at her. She had now begun to enjoy this adventure. She liked how the air felt with each step they took forward. The cool breeze and the music being played at a distance made the environment more serene. This season was now making her fall in love with it and her partner.

"Hey! Thinking something?" he asked, shaking her hand a bit.

"No" she smiled and shook her head. "You know, earlier I used to think it is just fog that winter brings with it and this fog hides everything. I too wished to hide behind the fog, alone, forever. Where no one could find me out and I could stay there, deeply immersed in my own thoughts" She spoke after a long silence.

He knew what her words meant, he didn't speak anything just tightened his grip in her hand, as if trying to say "You don't have to be sad anymore, my love will bring you all the happiness of the world".

They kept walking, watching the beauty of nature in the form of snow collected over the branches of trees. "Hot Chocolate?" he asked in excitement.

She grinned and shook her head in yes.

"Another amazing color of this season is it's food and nothing can beat the taste of delicious simmering food" he said handling her the cup of hot chocolate he bought and they both laughed. He felt he had now achieved what he wanted. Her eyes had a new aura, the sadness had now completely vanished and happiness was making its place. She looked at him and smiled. It was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

"You are beautiful" he told her and her cheeks flushed red. This time it wasn't the season's color, he knew. And in that moment he wished he could cuddle with her under a warm cozy blanket and make her feel the warmth of love.

She came close and to his surprise, embraced him like this is what she had always wanted. 

LET US STAND TOGETHER

No, I won't let you kill my people for your amusement anymore. 
No, I won't let you rule my world and make
it dirty like your own. 
You say, you do this for your religion, 
But tell me, which religion teaches you the
lesson of destruction. 
No, you are not the follower of God,
You follow the demons of your brain,
That make you destroy my peaceful world, every passing day. 
Lost a family, have you ever? 
Felt the pain, watching the bloodied rivers? 
Doesn't your heart cries, listening to the screams of a mother, who lost her little child?
Don't you feel ashamed of the deeds you do? 
Stop it! Stop it now! Be the human you were supposed to be. 
Change them! Change your thoughts, And let us live in our happy family peacefully. 
We have tolerated a lot, but now we won't. 
You will see how strong is our unity, that will make your evil desires fall. 
Raise your guns, shoot us, I will count your gunshots,
And in return we will give you the pain, you would have never thought of. 
You are just few and so are your bullets,
But we are in millions and our anger won't let you stand tall. 
We are not weak. We are not coward. 
We are humans and you will now see our power. 

STORY OF THE MOON

Let me tell you a story today,

The story of our best friend who lives far away. 

One who has been watching over us since childhood,

Whose one glimpse has made our nights good. 

Yes yes, the moon he is. 

The happy looking bright  ball, our moon he is.

He seems to be happy, but in real he is not. 

He could also have a sad story, have you given it a thought? 

Long time back, he fell in love,

With a star, who was not like anyone of us.

She was the brightest star, in the big sky. 

Who stayed close to him, and who used to make the moon smile. 

She was his friend, she was his partner. 

She was the reason, for each one of his laughter. 

They wished to stay together till eternity, 

But their love story was also full of tragedy. 

There came a day, when a devil cursed their love, 

Soon there happened a blast in the Universe.

Some planets changed their locations, some stars got burst 

But what our moon faced, was the worst. 

His love got lost in all the chaos, 

He tried to find her in his world and across.

He was broken, he was sad. 

The universe, his home, now seemed to him like hell. 

But he had to be strong, he had to act wise. 

He was the night's glory, again, he had to rise.

Nights passed by, moon kept doing duty, 

But something was missing, it was his smile's beauty. 

And one day something impossible happened, 

Moon got to see his love in the dark blue yonder. 

She looked changed, different from what she used to be. 

She was no more a star, but she was now the earth, holding millions of lives, in it's affinity.

The Love, That Was Always Mine..

We were walking by the society park, when he slowly held my hand in his. I looked at him and smiled. Twenty years of marriage, but we still manage to have our own romantic moments. All our friends, who are either busy with work or fighting with their partners, openly show their jealousy towards us. There are many, who even pity me, but that doesn't weaken me. 
We heard the birds chirping and the children playing in the park. He is fond of such sounds. These sounds makes him feel connected to the world around. He brought me close and stretched his hand on my shoulders. I kept my hand on his back and leaned to the side of his body. We kept walking that way for the next few minutes until my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket, it was our daughter Shubhanshi. I gave the phone to him, he smiled at me and received the call. Our daughter is a complete Daddy's girl. Whenever she calls us, all she has to do is, talk to her Dad about her college, studies and friends. I am remembered only when she needs some help in her cooking on the weekends. 
We walked a little and sat on a bench. He was busy talking and laughing but did not leave my hand even once. 
Whenever he talks to Shubhanshi, there is a different kind of shine on his face, that shows his love for her. The relationship of a father with his daughter is so pure and deep, one can never judge who loves the other one more. I too had such bond of love and friendship with my father. I was also a Daddy's girl. I remember how he used to get me my favorite chocolates everyday while returning back from office. I used to hide behind the entrance door at his time of arrival, so I can scare him when he enters inside. And he never hurt me by not reacting to my "boo". He always acted to be hell scared. And I laughed at his reaction. We had our own games and talks. He knew me better than anyone else. He was the only one who supported me when I decided to marry Shubham. He was worried about my future with him, but was also confident that I'll manage everything very well. When my mother said she won't allow me to marry a blind man, he was the one who convinced her and asked her to believe in their daughter. 
All the other family members called him Stupid and questioned his love for me, but he didn't care about anything. He just cared about me and my happiness. 
For him, Shubham was my true mate and Shubham has proved him right. 
He shook me and called my name, I returned back from my memory lane. He asked me what had happened. I just smiled and gave him a peck on his cheek. He smiled back. We stood and walked back to our home, holding hands.

The Hidden Love

"Day after the other passed, but he never returned back. He promised me he'll be back within 3 days and take me along with him. Today is the 7th anniversary of that day. Sometimes, I feel good that he didn't return. I've learnt to sleep in the dark and to stay alone without him. I've even started loving the people around me, but not more than how much I loved him. The people here are good or may be they just act good. They call me the Writing Lady. And I just smile when they address me this way. I've got a stack of diaries in my room. They say, I must get them published because they think I write stories in them. But nobody knows that I write my life in them. I write about him in those diaries. I write about the small hope I have of seeing him again, someday. I write about my illness.
Yesterday, my doctor came to check on me and asked me to stay strong. She has been repeating the same sentence everyday for all these years. And I've proved myself on her words. But now, it's the time. Living with Cancer for 7 years was really tough. The Writing Lady writes her final words today. I wish he cares to see me once I die."

I couldn't manage to stop my tears when I read the letter to his grave. He made me promise to not tell his wife where he disappeared. He said she'll not be able to take the shock. She kept thinking he betrayed her but never got to know he died in the accident just after admitting her in the hospital. He wanted her to stay strong and overcome her illness and I kept repeating his words to her. Nobody in the hospital told her about her husband's death, just to save her life. She should have known, he loved her a lot.

Remembrance..

Holding onto the reminiscence of our togetherness, 
I sat on that old bench again. 
The grass wasn't green, the birds weren't singing. 
There was no cold breeze, the bright clouds were not in a mood to provide any relief. 
But there was a serenity of memories all around.
Of the gulmohar tree and the hidden treasure we never found. 
My fingers lingered over the apologies you scribbled every time on arriving late. 
To make me feel, your presence was worth the wait.
Memories they are, memories the will be...