Chapter 9

                                  CHAPTER 9

The evening sun lit up the sky. The sun was in no hurry to sink down into the horizon. After around half an hour, we reached the place

I found myself standing in front of a huge mansion. The subtle colour of the mansion was deeply in contrast with the bright coloured flowers of the garden which was spread out before the mansion. The strong fragrance of jasmine easily blended with the mild fragrance of the rose. A bug safely landed on a bright, red rose. The proud roses held their heads high. The beautiful, yet humble hibiscus seemed very coy. The dahlia knowing her weakness of not having a sweet fragrance, out shone others by flaunting her ultra bright petals. But I was in no mood to admire the flowers, because my eyes fell on the woman whom I hated the most, the woman who is my rival forever- Shalini. I noticed, she had not changed much. When she raised her head and looked at me, the poet in me popped out.

As the sun shone over her, her sharp features looked unimaginably elegant. She never looked so beautiful before. She was an angel in disguise, I decided. She wore a welcoming smile on her face, but she spoke nothing. I knew she was searching for the right words, but I was not particular about the right words, I just wanted to hear her voice. After few minutes, which seemed like hours to me, she spoke,

“Hey, Anjali! So glad to meet you after a long time.”

I gave her an equally courteous reply.

“ This is my daughter, Kavya”, she said, smiling proudly. 

I waved at the little girl, who was as old as Aadhya.

The bug was now exploring the rose, probably sniffing the flower all the way.

I turned to Shalini.

 “Shalini, do you remember the story you had narrated to me, during our school days?”

“I don’t remember the whole story, but I am able to recollect few parts of it.”

“Well, I actually want to publish the book, you see. So, I-"

“That’s impossible! I can't imagine an author like you, going back to the silly story of mine."

Well, she knows that I’m an author. Not bad, I thought.

“Your story wasn’t really silly”, I said quickly, trying to sound truthful.

“You never said how the story ends. And only you have the right to decide it, since it’s your story. So tell me, what happens in the end?”

“Well, in the end…. They become friends like us”

“Friends like us?” I felt a sudden jolt. I thought I would collapse and become a mass of boneless flesh.

“Are we actually friends?” I asked in a shaky voice.

Shalini gazed at me. It seemed as if she was searching my face. I didn't know what she intended to do. But I knew one thing for sure, she wasn’t looking pleasant anymore.

“Didn’t you realize that I wanted to be your friend? Now her voice sounded like a siren to my ear. She continued, “That’s what I was trying to tell you through the story! Oh!  How can you be so dumb, Anjali?”

I couldn’t think. I couldn’t speak. I felt a huge lump in my throat. But I decided not to remain silent this time.

“I-I didn’t….I-I’m s-“

She didn’t wait for me to complete the sentence. She had already wrapped her arms around my neck and laid her head on my shoulder… Well, she actually hugged me! I let my tears roll down my cheeks. I wasn’t feeling ashamed, because they were tears of joy. My shoulder was getting wet. I wondered if she was crying too. But my inner voice commanded me to stop wondering things and start relishing the moment. And for the first time, I obediently listened to my inner voice and held her close.

We broke free when we heard two angry, squeaky voices.

It seemed evident that Aadhya and Kavya were having a row.

“That’s a chrysanthemum”, cried Aadhya.

“No, that’s a marigold. Oh! You are so dim-witted!"

“Shut up”

“You shut up”

I turned to face Shalini. She looked at me, straight in the eye. And then… we started giggling together. The sound of our giggle travelled together in the air like the two birds flying overhead.

We made no attempts to stop their argument. Because in our hearts we knew that their rivalry would someday bloom into a beautiful, ever-lasting friendship!   

                                    THE END

A letter to you

Dear friends,

It is my greatest pleasure to write a letter to you. All good things come to an end. And of course, all not-so-good things too eventually come to an end! Thus, my story, The Rivals, has finally ended. This letter is not just to mark the end of the story, I see this letter as the biggest opportunity to express my gratitude towards you.

First of all, I thank God for being my pole star and the captain of the ship. I would like to thank all of you who had the patience to read my posts. I am extremely grateful to Chandana aunty, Sudheeksha, Chinmayee, Srindhi ,Mahisha, Shruthi, Harshini and Priyanka for posting  their comments. Your comments kept me motivated all the time.

 I was really shocked to see Chandana aunty’s comments. I couldn’t believe that she actually spent her precious time on my blog, not just that she was sweet to send me her feedback, too. I feel so safe and secure to have someone as experienced as her, on the ship. And I must thank Sudheeksha for inviting me to teenage writers community. I thank everyone in the community. Actually, I joined the community very recently, yet I feel like I’m part of their family, already. I wish them good luck for their upcoming posts.

I feel so proud to thank my elder brother, Anuraag for all the advices and suggestions he gave me. He politely pointed  out to the drawbacks of the story, so that I can write better the next time. For the past few weeks, my blog has been the dearest thing to me. So, I must definitely thank my blog for displaying my posts every week. Oh! I had almost forgotten to thank the loveliest creatures on Earth-dogs!!! Indeed, I owe them a lot. They have greatly helped me to promote my blog.

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I’ve always been little hesitant to repeat the same words, but in this letter, the word ‘thank you’ has been repeated for nearly ten times. Yet I have no regrets, as it is such a magical word. I had gone through a different set of emotions during blogging and gratefulness was the best among them. 

This was indeed a wonderful journey. It would not have been possible without your wishes and blessings.

So, I’m obliged to thank you all once again for travelling with me even when you sometimes found the journey tiresome and boring.

 I know that the unfavourable winds would blow against our ship, but my heart is filled with hope. Because I truly believe that a wind, no matter strong it might be, cannot blow away your concern for me.

Yours friendly,

Miraa