Sunday, May 17, 2009

Toss

She lay next to him, a young bride, flushed and incredibly happy. He held up a coin. "This is the coin I tossed to decide whether to come home from the city when my parents said they had found me a bride. It told me to come home, and I did. And now I am with you."

She did not know what to say, except stare at him with all the love she could muster in her eyes. He was handsome, loving, and more understanding than she had been brought up to expect in her small patriarchal town. And he would remain loyal to her in 44 years of marriage, through difficult times, joblessness, complaining relatives, and occasionally ungrateful, always forgetful children.

Then one day, he was gone. She saved the coin, secreting it into her purse so that it would always be with her, to remind her of love, and what a matter of chance it was.

And now, it lay in the mud, slipped from her arthritic fingers. And all the world passing by could see was an old woman, stiffly bending to reach below a parked car, as a shining coin of no value lay just out of her grasp.

25 comments:

Aunty G said...

A beautifully simple tale
Of a coin belonging to a male
He turned out to be
Her best buddy
Forty four years is a sum to hail!

Baba said...

A very moving account! Keep alive your thoughts and continue writing.
All our blessings and love

Unknown said...

Oh no I wish someone had picked it up for her. Very poignant .

dipali said...

Very touching. I hope someone got the coin out for her.

Suku said...

nice!

Tagore Town said...

OOOHH !! it almost choked me...too touching...I shall remain lingering in it for some days...wonderfully presented.

Nagaraj said...

Wonderful. Very touching, I could visualize it through the excellent piece of writing.

How do we know said...

this is incredibly good imagery.. i loved this!!!!

rr said...

But is it true?

Thinking Cramps said...

Aunty G: Thanks for remembering to come back and for regularly limericking on this page! :)

Baba: Kaar meye dekhte hobe to!

Eve's Lungs: Yeah, don't you just? It's the sort of scenario any of us might walk past without realizing the deeper meaning.

Dipali: Yeah, I hope so too.

SBora: :)

Tagore Town: Chan didi, linger all you want, but write a new post too!

Nagaraj: Thank you.

How do we know?: Hey, welcome to my blog. And I like your blog image! Please continue to lurk here! (But also comment from time to time!)

Rr: Nah, entirely made up ;)

the mad momma said...

lovely ....

you do know that i will want an autographed copy of your book, right?

right.

Unknown said...

Choked me up completely....

I scribble here said...

very beautifully written..

OrangeJammies said...

Goosebumps, girl, goosebumps. And I'm not complaining.

Anonymous said...

last post: may 17
days passed: 35
my point: exactly

Thinking Cramps said...

Sorry sorry sorry for the silence. Soon, soon soon I will post again.

MM: Before setting my signature on any books, I need to write it. But okay, it's a deal.

Karmickids: Thank you.

I scribble here: Glad you like it.

OJ: :) I just found out goosebumps are actually, really called "horripilation"!

Girl on the Bridge: Point taken. Will mend my ways.

Mystic Margarita said...

After a long time, I read something so poignant. Something so beautiful in its lyrical simplicity.

And yes, I still lurk even though I haven't commented in a while :)

Thinking Cramps said...

Mystic: Good to hear from you again. Glady you liked this. It makes me sad to read it, the woman seems almost real to me.

Thinking Cramps said...

Mystic: Good to hear from you again. Glady you liked this. It makes me sad to read it, the woman seems almost real to me.

OrangeJammies said...

An award awaits you on my blog...hop over!

Unknown said...

madamji .. do us a favour . Post

Ketan said...

Wow! This was just too good! Am blogrolling you. :)

No enigma here. I'm your girl-next-door said...

Blog-hopping does pay off eventually! Lovely imagery!

Thinking Cramps said...

No enigma...: Thanks for commenting :) and welcome to my blog.

VIDYA said...

Wow!
Very touching.
I almost sniffled.
Cheers,keep blogging! :)