Youth Tales #ATOZCHALLENGE- Y

 


Regina, the 60-year-old woman carried her sun umberella as she walked towards the old age home. It was a hot summer day and the scorching heat had reached 45 degrees.

"Throughout my youth, the temperature never crossed 32 in this city. Now with all this global warming and all, the brutal heat has just become impossible to beat."

Mary, her companion, nodded in agreement. She was 12 years her junior, yet both women bonded well. Regina was the chatty one, and Mary was the patient listener.

"Mary, you know, in my youth, I would run to the theatre every Sunday and catch a movie. The place where the home is now used to be an opera theatre. Do you know, once even Rajesh Khanna had come for a premier. I can never forget that day. I wrestled through the crowd just to get his autograph. But then my husband who was then my boyfriend took it and tore it to pieces. So jealous he was!"

Mary smiled.

"And you know, Nelson used to hate going out. But I was such a party animal. I would mix a little extra spirit in his drink so that he passes out and then would dash off to meet my friends. When I would return he would still be zoned out. What fun we girls used to have. We used to go to the beach and then ride the waves during the high tide. One day we even saw a dolphin. I will never forget that day."

"That's nice," replied Mary with a calm composure.

"And you know what? I was the beauty queen in the college, so even after I married Nelson, all the local boys would wait at the coffee shop for me to pass. I too used to wear my tight denim jeans and dark red top. When the wind would blow my mullet, the boys would swoon in delight. Some people still say that even at this age I could get a good proposal, but then I will miss my Nellu terribly. However he is, he is still my husband."

Mary just smiled.

"And you know, people in my younger days would say why would a college topper and all-rounder like me settle for a school drop-out like Nelson."

Mary turned her head and raised her brows slightly.

"Guess you must really love him Regina."

"Oh! Of course! He is my world. Anything for Nellu is so less. To compensate, he would take me out every night. That theatre was our regular place. But then when that Rajesh Khanna incident happened, he got too, too jealous. From that day we stopped going to the theatre. We sit at home and enjoy some spirits together and even sing my favourite songs. You know I was called the nightingale in college? People would say I would get into Bollywood as a playback singer, or even become a lead actress considering how beautiful I was."

"See you, Regina. I'll come again tomorrow and we'll take another trip together."

"Oh, yes Mary. I hope you enjoyed today."

Nurse Kutty walked up to Mary. "Hope Mrs. DSa was stable today. You know how delusional she gets. Poor lady grew up in an orphanage, could not do college due to poverty and then married some nobody called Nelson who would get drunk and beat her."

Mary smiled back and said, "She lives in her own beautiful youth tales that always light up her face. Even if its a delusion, its a beautiful one. I hope she sleeps peacefully tonight in her bed in the old age home. I will take her to my house tomorrow and allow her to make me some tea in what she thinks is her house."

"God bless you, Mary. You are more than a social worker. You are an angel!"

Mary smiled back, said a little prayer for Regina DSa in the chapel and then headed back to her regular job.


Comments

  1. Balaka BasuApril 29, 2026 at 11:50 PM

    It is a coping mechanism to live in this illusory bubble. Nice story dear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AlMSApril 30, 2026 at 3:01 AM

      Totally! We don't always count our blessings till we stumble upon such borrowed moments of joy.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Amateur's Arrogance #ATOZCHALLENGE – A (2026)

Image
Sandeep Sharma walked in chuffed with entitlement into his father's cabin. His expression wore suppressed hostility and a sense of disapproval from the get-go. The first button of his shirt was undone, providing a sneak-peak into a well waxed chest. He wanted it to be  seen , a sign of his misplaced swagger. The button would never meet the eye for that day.  His slick black hair was thrown on his face like a mullet. He pushed it behind with a black hairband, branded and expensive beyond rationality. His mullet made a puff just above his forehead. The mosaic on his designer shirt looked asymmetrical and complicated. His fair complexion and broad rimmed smart glasses sat on his bulbous nose, his eyes were narrow and dismissive, like walking into the workplace had been the forced chore of the day. The crisp blazer and trousers, matching in hue, looked dark and murky as he might unfold to be. The make of an unheard of Italian brand that rhymed with Ferrari. His cufflinks were Swar...
Read more

Haunting- #ATOZCHALLENGE – H (2026)

Image
Anisha darted into the thick forest, her heart pounding louder with each sprint. They were close— too close . The angry thudding sound of their footsteps cut through the silence. If she stopped, they would catch up soon, and then the worst would happen. She planned to hide behind the overgrown bushes, but her laboured breathing would be a sure shot giveaway. No, no, no. God, this isn’t even happening. She thought to herself frantic with worry till she spotted an old mansion. A faint light was flickering from the window of the ground floor. She heaved a quick sigh of relief. She may get help soon. Or at least she could try. Looking hither nor dither, she ran for her life, making it to the compound of the mansion. The rogues spotted her running through the foliage. “Look, there she is,” snarled one of them to his fellows. Anisha had managed to reach the main gate and began pounding the rusty and weathered iron ring loudly. Sheer terror had got the better of her while she almost ...
Read more

Behen**** #ATOZCHALLENGE - B (2026)

Image
  He talked, talked and talked like he had verbal diarrhoea. He needed to splutter out the last word he knew about whatever he was talking about. And then this infamous B-word would splutter out of his mouth if he felt very strongly that things were amiss. It would slip through his tongue in the most innocuous fashion, while the rest of us looked on quite wide-eyed. The B-word was like his trailing spouse. She followed wherever he went annoyed, as if she were the only thing that would pacify his agitated state of mind. She just had to come out! Retired seniors read newspapers like the world depended on their being better informed. Politics and current affairs are key topics of their discussion. Being neighbours, our parents made socials calls to each other quite frequently. During one such visit the argument over a politician's vested interest got heated up. He felt very strongly for the politician in question as did my parents feel against him. When the kitchen heat brewed too...
Read more