So the expirement "The Game" has come to an end. (You can read the post explaining the game here)
As promised, I have complied the story and tried to link up the lines to the blog of authors. Most worked, some didn't. However, I have linked up the profile if nothing else.
At few places (precisely two) I have added a few words and striked off a few, so that the flow could continue...
With this I must say, we have had a wonderful story come up. Hope you like it too. Thank you all for participating. (I feared that it might not turn out to be more than a paragraph)
With that I present to you - Mr. Blackpaws, cat or catalyst (can't think of another title, if you have anything in more suitable please let me know)
Finally it had stopped raining and sun shined in Mumbai sky after days of gloominess. But still there was anguish in my heart and grief in my eyes. I thought of those bygone days and wondered what went wrong. Did anything really go wrong - maybe we were never meant to be. I clearly remember the day, 5 winters ago when we had steaming hot coffee together. And then... that stupid cat came into our lives. Or should I call it the lucky cat. Wasn’t it the reason we came close? But after all we were meant to be... The cat was just the catalyst. Or was it? Five years down the line, I am still undecided whether I should bless that cat or curse it to the hell. I have decided, however, to bless him. Even though things didn't work out (the way we wanted) , we had fun and I learned a lot.
The days of fun, joy and love. Three of us, Mr. Blackpaws, her and me had been living together for last five years. It was a complete family, with him as the child that we never had or could have. Now with one gone, I do not know will we both hold on to each other together for long. Someone suggested, it was just a cat, you can adopt other but we know there won’t be any other, there won’t be any us. We were even advised to adopt a kitten from the nearby pet store but the mere thought of replacing Mr. BlackPaws was an insult to his memory. So we went ahead and contacted an adoption center and in a few days, we the proud parent of tiny little 3 month old baby boy! We were so happy and ultimately I found peace.
"Tap, tap, tap! Tap, tap, tap!" It must be the drizzle. "Tap, tap, tap!" My reverie was broken, and I realized with a start that someone was knocking at the door. I slowly got up to open the door, only to find no one there. However, there was a package there. It was a courier from my son. Seeing this made me realize the number of years that have passed by since he came into our lives. He is now a grown man and we are his old parents. With excitement as well as nervousness in my heart, I took the packet (courier) (from the delivery boy )'What will it be? A card or something else? My favorite book or a sketch straight from his heart'? My heart asked and started beating faster as I tried to open the parcel.
I was both surprised and amused at the same time. It was a gold statue of the Egyptian cat-goddess Bastet. What an unusual gift, even for Ryan. But then, my archaeologist of a son had always been a peculiar one. And the Gift found a very Unusual Place in my Home and in My Heart…I put up a Placard with the Statue showing the love and respect a Son from a son to his Parent's.
That evening when she returned from her work the first thing she noticed was the gift and the placard. For a while it once again took us down the memory lane, years of losing Mr. Blackpaws, adopting Ryan and his growing up. I decided to place a call to Ryan next morning and then realized that I still didn’t have his new number.
Just then the phone rang. Could that be? Hello Ryan. But the anxiety we felt over not being able to talk about it. And often when we felt alone we would call Ryan and feel suddenly better about our lives. But now it has been a while since we have spoken to him. I could see that I was probably dealing it better but her eyes couldn't stop staring at the gift over and over again. I had no choice I finally picked up the phone and dialed another number. The Number that we used to call him...But as I dialing the number my hand was shaking...Somehow I dialed the number and all these time her eyes was looking at me attentively...
No one answered… I dialed four more times. Turning towards my table I fetched his visiting card from my wallet, to confirm the digits. It was the right number. Then why? ... I grew more anxious with every passing second with many questions and possibilities flashing in my mind. Then I realized! All the phone lines in Cairo must be down because of the volatile situation due to recent political events. Oh my God! My son was stuck in a foreign country going through a bloody revolution! As the realization struck, I needed the support of the table to stand. My legs turned to lead and my head swam with frightening thoughts.
She came close and held me steady. She gave me a glass of water and reminded me that it was just day before that we had spoken to Ryan and he was perfectly alright. It was warm in her arms… But I still felt uneasy about the statue... What was it? Why did it feel that something's wrong?? I shifted again on my feet wondering what was making me anxious! Her arms were reassuring, her shoulder strong. She was my strength and support. It was this love that had brought us together. Those had been difficult times just like today and we had found solace in each other's presence.
It had been a big deal in those days, to come out of the closet and declare my homosexuality, but she had given me the strength to fight the world and that is when we had vowed to love each other and our child Ryan till the end of time. Together today, I know that Mr. BlackPaws, whichever world he might be and our son, Ryan are happy that we are together and wish the very best for us and somewhere deep inside me I know that Ryan must be fine too.
What a clever idea to weave words together in the form of a story. Well done. Visiting from UBC.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting...
DeleteWow..That is a very very Nice Read..Guess we formed a Pretty Nice Story..Kudos to all the Bloggers who contributed and Cheers to you Sugandha for this wonderful idea.. :-)
ReplyDeleteTurned out well, didn't it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I came across this experiment of yours and took part in it!
Really glad. :D
Who could think that a story could be weaved with comments :)
ReplyDeleteIt turned out pretty well. The string of thoughts worked out. What a lovely idea!
ReplyDeleteRicha