❣ Encounter ❣

Please check out the previous chapter first if you didn't read --->Chapter 1

Chapter~2

❄Stranger❄

Ayesha couldn't sleep well at nights because she used to get bad dreams , they were frightening like monsters . Occassionally early in the morning she used to find herself waking up sobbing ,with tears in her eyes. This morning again, a bad dream jolted her back from sleep. It's Sunday ,this day every week she never used to spend with family but she used to go to library. She picked up her phone to check the time --- 8.30 a.m. On Sundays she never set alarm nor anybody used to wake her up. She lazily freshened up and went downstairs. The morning she spent helping Mrs. Dutta in kitchen , made breakfast . Then leaning on the sofa watched highlights of previous night's football match with uncle and as usual, had a huge argument where she supports Madrid but uncle is a Barcelona fan. It was always a never-ending fight between them. Time seemed to fly rapidly when Mr, Dutta and Ayesha used to spent time in that living room having the telly on, in their own, separate couch that Mr. Dutta recently bought and announced it to be his favorite, that left Ayesha the old sofa but she used to find it comfortable so she never really complained. Weekends were always fun,Mr Dutta used to call it 'house-full, because when Mr. Dutta used to come to sped his holidays , Mrs. Dutta  always looked delightfully excited and used to cook delicious dishes and Ayesha liked spending time with them so much that she, especially on sundays used to get very little time in her room sitting on the bed alone like the other days.  After having lunch Ayesha went to room, took her purse, diary, phone in her black leather backpack which was very old but still kicking.

She went out late today .

©Dayeetachaudhuri

It was 4.00 . When she put on her usual black sneakers and came outside it was already cloudy and colder , no trace of sunlight anywhere . Winter in Shillong is very cold and dry. Though it was February....springtime there , that year winter must have decided to stay longer . Ayesha had come from a place that is hot and humid most of the year so it's been hard for her to adapt to the climate in Shillong. Ayesha liked cloudy days as long as it was not windy unlike that day. She didn't wanna walk in the cold so she took a bus .
It's a local library, senior citizens in their locality set up a club room big enough to fit 18 bookcases filled with different books in different languages . There are sci-fi section, horror, mystery, adventure in thr corners of the hall, from Sherlock to Shakespeare -one could find anything here. At the end of hall and right on the opposite of the main door there were books of the greatest classic tales of authors around the world  The library has been there for seven years , few days ago, they replaced old ,wooden tables with new ones with lamps on them, they were kept in the middle of the hall. A new, young librarian could be seen, sitting at a table near the door.

 There is a delightful sound in silence. Both in her rooftop accommodation and here Ayesha liked the quietness and calmness around her - only the sound of pages and the very familiar smell of old books..... perfect place to get lost in the world of words .
She entered the best seller section ,in farthermost corner where recently a wonderful, large painting of Umiam lake has been hung on the wall .  Last sunday , she saw few New York bestselling novels arrived. In this corner the shelves were new,wooden and newly arrived books were juxtaposed , so it didn't take her long to find the book she had been looking for.
 It's the era of internet, so she had already read the pdf of this book. She picked the book, the blue paperback cover said THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by JOHN GREEN , Ayesha leaned on the wall ,held up the book and started reading the preface and the reviews . Few minutes passed. Ayesha was just about to turn the page over after finishing the review , when a husky voice startled her, "reality triumps over love".  Ayesha was so much into the book that she didn't notice a guy was standing behind her looking at the book. She turned around and took a few steps back because in order to see what book she was reading the guy came close to her.
"How long have you been standing there?" Ayesha asked .
"Sorry didn't mean to frighten you . I was curious to know what book you were reading. It looked familiar." He replied.
Ayesha took a good look at him now, the guy was almost six feet tall, pale skinned. He was wearing a black shirt making him look fairer. The guy was looking at Ayesha therefore she could see his big black eyeballs , pointed nose and sharp jawline that tapered to a pointed chin, was making him so good-looking.
He leaned a little towards Ayehsa and said ," I believe you like reading these kind of romantic books,miss."
Ah! His voice.
Ayesha can't remember hearing such soft yet manly voice before. Instead of answering Ayesha asked," have you read this book?"
"Yes, but I don't usually like such painful ending in love stories. "
" I like the writing. I don't have any liking in particular , no matter what the story is , I appreciate the writers' skills, how they draw the characters and cone up with so many exceptionally awesome stories."
"So , she is a bookworm." he said while running his hand on the book he was holding in his hand .
Ayesha tried to sneak a peek at the book from her glasses ---- ARMS AND THE MAN.
"Bernard Shaw." She smirked.
Suddenly he got excited ,maybe he was waiting for Ayesha to notice his book,"You know what I like about this book?"
Ayesha sat at a table. Not more than 8 people including Ayesha were in the library, so it was very quiet. It made a loud noise as soon as the guy dragged the chair and sat down right next to her and put his book in front of Ayesha ,said," read this"pointing at a sentence written on the cover of the book ---- "an antiromantic comedy in three acts"
Ayesha smiled and looked at him, he was smilingly staring at Ayesha.
Oh! Even the lines on his cheeks when he smiles are so attractive that she got lost for few seconds.
"So what's the story that made you like this book so much or you just like it because it's antiromantic." She said.
" You are highly mistaken if you're thinking of it as a not-very-romantic story. This is a classic play about the serbia-bulgarian war where the author tells the story of a serbian soldier falling for the fiance of a bulgarian officer and how in the end  love conquered. You should read this book " He said and pushed the book towards her.
Ayesha said, " Never read Bernard Shaw, but it sounds like a great plot. " Ayesha picked up the book.
"This time, why don't you take home this book. You'll love it. The play has classic taste with pinch of sweet 'falling in love moments' between the characters. Trust me. This is just the book you want to read." He sounded confident.
He smilingly rolled up his sleeve (his veins on mascular arms were showing )and ran his fingers through his perfectly backbrushed hair. When a normal looking guy does it, usually that never catches our attention..... But when it's a terribly handsome man who's paying all his attention to Ayesha and at the same time he's got a great taste in books does...well , it made her heart skip a beat .
Ayesha was hesitant. He noticed that .

©Dayeetachaudhuri

" I never said I'm an antiromantic reader. I just don't like the sad partings, where one leaves and the other live rest of the life in agony waiting for the lover to come back in spite of knowing that love has left once and for all. No thanx. I'm rather happy with how this book ends." He said .
" Then, how does it end ? Are you satisfied with Shaw's ending ? " Ayesha immediately asked.
" How this play ends....that is for you to find out. But I'm overwhelmed by the way their love bound them and ,the play? It has got all the interesting victuals for a reader's hunger." He answered.
For next few minutes, they were silent, because the guy was replying to a text while Ayesha decided to go through the classic play which she already started to find interesting after being told about it so well.
" I'll tell you the plot summary. But, before that can we take this conversation to a coffee table? I hope you know the cafe across the street?" He asked.
There was indeed a cafe near , Ayesha noticed so many times , people especially couples going in but never went there because she's always come to the library alone and when it's a cafe she prefers to go in with a companion.
Ayesha smiled, " I'd rather read the book and find it out by myself. Thanx." She got up and picked the book .
Ayesha went to keep the other book back in shelf. She thought the guy had already left but she found him still standing near the table when she headed for the door.
" you're still here?" She asked.
" Where are my manners...." He smiled," I'm really sorry. I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Armaan. Armaan Ahuja. It was nice to meet you,miss ." He said.
"Ayesha, you can call me Ayesha. Nice to meet you too." It was late and it was getting colder and she didn't have her sweater in her bag today.
" How will I know if you liked the book or not? Afterall I suggested it." Armaan eagerly waited for her to answer.
" I come here every Sunday. " Ayesha replied .
" Ok then. I'd love to hear the book review , next Sunday, same time but the place will be just across the road." It took Ayesha few seconds to understand that he meant the cafe.
Ayesha didn't say much cause she had to rush, " See you . And thanks for the book." She said and left in hurry . After crossing the road she saw, he was still looking at her standing at the library's main gate, she smiled as much convincingly as she could. 
© By Kinjala chaudhuri
TO BE CONTINUED------------>

❣ Encounter ❣

Chapter~1

 ❆ Ayesha's Story ❆

Like every other day, Ayesha put her glasses on the table and sat by the window wearily and looked out. it was her favorite time of the day. Just before dusk, when the last sunlight of the day reflects below the horizon, the rays of sunlight are clearly seen coming through the clouds , making it look like a painting outside the window .There was only a grassland  outside this portion of the house , hence it was a wide, magnificent view of the sun kissing the hills and dusk falling over the town. Ayesha closed her eyes and sighed. Ayesha turned 24 last week, yet she hadn't grown even one inch taller than five feet , made her really upset sometimes. Ayesha was introvert, shy girl so the attic has become her  beautiful, little world. She used to live with her aunt in Shillong. It was a family of three until Ayesha was sent here when she was 14. It was her parental uncle's house and her room once used to belong to uncle's son , Purav who resented her for taking away his room.

©Dayeetachaudhuri

She used to live in Kolkata with her parents. She was the only child . Ayesha's father used to work in a factory as a mechanic.  With his insufficient salary, their family was  happy. She was 13 when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She was too young to know how fatal the disease was or what the upshot could be. Her mother was kept under the supervision of doctors and also had to undergo a surgery. Doctors said it was caused by a tumor in her left chest. It used to cause chest ache which she completely ignored and it resulted in cancer. Treatment was expensive so his father had to borrow a large amount money from various lenders in order to save Ayesha's mother though everybody knew all the effort was not of any use. She kept fighting with cancer for several months, her body kept aching more and more as time passed, even after receiving chemotherapy her body gave up and she passed away in the hospital bed. Ayesha saw everything, her mother struggling, crying every time she saw Ayesha at the hospital, longing to go back home till the moment she took her last breath. Ayesha saw her mother's eyes full of desire to live.

That was a hard time for her and her father. Few days after the funeral, Ayesha became 14. In her mother’s absence  ,she used to take care of all the household works. Father used to work overtime. So Ayesha gradually learnt to stay alone at home. Every time she got scared or feel lonely, she used to comfort herself , saying "one day, everything will be fine."

But, nothing was fine. The worst was yet to come. Her father was running into debts. Lenders were putting pressure on him, few young boys used to come home often and shout at him, asking him for the debt repayment.  Ayesha used to see all this happening from behind the kitchen door. Father was miserable.

There was always awful silence in the house. When , winter came that year, father decided to send Ayesha to her uncle's place . Ayesha happily agreed when dad said , " why don't go spend few days at your uncle's ?"

" Really? " She smiled.

©Kinjalachaudhuri

They were sitting on a torn mat on the roof, father was having tea and Ayesha was gladly looking at him. Not everyday father takes time of his work and relaxes and talks to her like this. But little did she know that father was fired for he could not pay the money back which he took from office, moreover this poor man yelled and cried out of agony and grief .

“Your uncle is coming, tomorrow. I have already talked to him. Your better start packing now. And make sure you take everything with you. All your necessities.  “He patted her back and said, “It’s going to be a long vacation."

Ayesha's smile faded away,"you are not coming?"

"No. Father has to go to work. He cannot take leave now."

“For how many days?" Ayesha asked.

"Huh?"

"For how long will I stay there?" Ayesha repeated.

“For few weeks....just go, enjoy, live with your uncle and aunt. You will have your brother there, you won't be lonely. No workloads and only fun. Only work and no fun has made my baby so unhappy. So I decided to send you there. "

"Send me ? What do you mean by that? You will live alone? Take care of the house and do all the work by yourself? You hardly can do a work or cook. I won't leave you. No." Ayesha shouted.

"You will go . Don't forget I am the one who makes the decisions and you will do as I say and that's final. And it is for your own good. "That was the first time she saw her father so angry and sad.

Ayesha still remember the next day when uncle came to take her , she was not crying, she was angry, her father was sending her away on purpose.

So many years have passed, she had turned 24 now. Father used to call sometimes , once in a week , then twice in a month, then suddenly stopped calling her. She knew uncle and father talks on the phone often but it's been so long since uncle heard from him. Ayesha often smiled looking at herself in the mirror ..."quite a vacation".

Shillong is a one of the smallest states in the northeastern part of India. The city lies in the middle of plateau surrounded by rolling hills, that once used to remind the Europeans of Scotland. That's why it is also  called 'Scotland of the east'.

©Dayeetachaudhuri

Uncle had a little house in Shillong. It was one storeyed brick masonry, making it look like a bungalow with a front porch ,a wide space decorated with aunt's flower pots and few vegetables she planted. This was the house where father spent his childhood days with his parents and brothers, therefore, one portion in the front of the house where the kitchen ends , the bricks were broken, the soil was craggy and there was a swing-set once that fell into disuse, had  collected rust in all these years. Main road was outside the metal gate at the entrance and  grassland on the opposite side of the house. The road ended at the house then the extensive meadow went  straight down to the foot of Meghalayan hills.

Ayesha liked the room .It's a small yet cozy space tucked away on the roof. It had a children's bed comfortable enough for Ayesha at the end of the room on the left of door.  There was a dormer window on the opposite of door , used to provide a great view of the widespread meadow meeting the foothills, far from the chaos of the town. There was a small,  dressing unit uncle brought with an oval mirror on it. She gave a little touch of her own decoration , in one part of the closet she put the collection of her books which outnumbered her clothes and somehow managed to put all her clothes in the rest of space and there is a table beside it. Books were her companion in her happy days, in her blues, in loneliness . When things were going wrong , father was in pain , Ayesha stopped going to school and used to read books for long hours ,sitting in the kitchen. That was how the bookworm was born.

Uncle, Niketan Dutta was a high school teacher. He used to  spend most of the time in Assam for work , 4hours 30 mins from Shillong. He always wanted to become a poet. But, poverty triumphed over pen. They were four brothers and grandpa earned very little, father was a school go-er when other two elder brothers fought over a failed business and both left the house with their wives to start new career and moved to new cities in order to start fresh. Therefore, uncle became a teacher and stood by his father's side and a poet stopped dreaming from then on. So, he writes poetry at his leisure now. Last year he published his second book and was praised by so many poetry lovers. Ayesha read the first book he brought for her , she liked it.

Aunt and brother never used to hover over her. Mrs. Dutta used to suffer from a pain in her right knee. Doing all the works at home, walking back and forth often made her ill. She was annoyed, when she came to know Ayesha would be living with them but gradually they became good friends when Mrs. Dutta found a lovely,helpful ally in Ayesha. Ayesha's life was unlike any Cinderella story. Aunt never tormented her nor asked her to work , instead she chose to take care of her own duties and she also looks after her brother when aunt is sick.

 Uncle used to come home every weekend. Hence, weekends were the days when she got to stay alone at home since three of them used to go out to have their own family time together. There were many lakes, parks to visit in Shillong, inundated with tourists and local people. She never regreted saying"no" , everytime she was asked if she wanted to join them, because somewhere she had always felt that her presence could bother their family time. Rather those days were her happy days, she stayed at home, she got to read the books she used to bring from the library every sunday.

©kinjalachaudhuri

the next was sunday, Ayesha had to go to the library to bring a new book , so she decided to have dinner early. She spent long time sitting by the window, thinking about - what else ? Mum and pappa. Finally she got up and put on another sweater. It was colder that day . During the month of February to march it used to remain cold and nights were freezing.  She picked up the lotion and started rubbing it on her hand. "  It's the valentine's week. " She told herself,looked up at the mirror and realized her hair had grown long, her ivory skin had become paler due to dry weather and cheeks had become chubbier. Round, maroon glasses on her small, snub nose and big brown eyes with natural, long lashes made her look no beautiful. Who would fall for such a doll face? 
Mum was her best friend . Ever since she lost her mother she had felt so lonely that sometimes in that small room it used to become hard to breathe, felt like an unfamiliar solitude choking her. Father didn't keep in touch anymore. Though it had been so many years, she never could fraternize well with uncle's family. Loneliness was all she had now but that didn't bother her anymore. But the heart wants what it wants. Somewhere there was a blank space she longed for someone to come and fill up.

"Ayesha, please take your dinner ." Aunt's voice paused Ayesha's thoughts, she ran downstairs.

TO BE CONTINUED------->Chapter~2(Click to continue read)

❖ Where the rain is born ❖

Ringing in my ear all along

Calling me at the shore where I belong...

Where the broken one heals

Where a cold heart get the feels.

Noise that covers it all

The rhythm of the waterfall..

Dance of the flowers that has no name

But nobody complains , one can't be blamed.

Soaking the water splash, every gray stone

Carving its way each drop making a way for home.

I wonder where the destination is....

Is it always been the estuary for the ultimate bliss?

It falls to go up
©Dayeetachaudhuri

Or we were wrong all these years

Maybe it is the time where every drop disappears..

Up in the sky

There's a stranger.. Standing by.

Is he really a stranger..

Or a blank mind full of believer

Believing the creator

Believing in the nature

Believes to return to the way

Again and again to sail away...

So drop 'em all

One more time like the water-fall..

But Even this way it hits the rocks...

Also mother nature sure is in shock...

I cry out loud... Oh! Mother wish I could separate

The one who truly cares unlike the "literates" ...

If only world can be felt like my own...

But now I see every flesh becoming a stone.

Becoming a teardrop when its coming down.

Fail to find a forest as there is only town

What changed after he created who himself is fate?

©Dayeetachaudhuri

Well nothing .... Its just we all started to recreate

Started to believe we needed more

More to live life than a peaceful rivershore

Instead of finding a reason for why the stars are there

For once in a lifetime wait a moment and stare.

Why can't we stay unequipped for a while

Appreciate the creativity before launching a missile

Discover the children's desire

Before shouting "fire"

Make a future for the son

Before handing him a gun

We have all started like the waterfall..... Powerful and strong

©Dayeetachaudhuri

By giving your all be a pure subtle river

And write destiny to come back as rain

Instead of taking it all be a  soiled  sewer

And end up drying away from the drain

Either way you will went up and high

Where the creator stand with a sigh

He is nothing but a story teller

We are all lucky to be his charechter

But now The world lost its livelihood....

Moment the value of cheque exceeded the storybook.

♥♥♥♥

❧Oblivion❧

Climb the mountain of hope to see the lights of
next morning~ picture©Ritajapatranabish

They say the world's a stage. Everyone in this world has his own part to play. We are performers. Not all of us are perfect. But not all of us are indifferent. Our roles are already decided. Here no scripts are written, even the next moment is  unpredictable. Not every act turns out the way we want them to. We fail. We learn and pick ourselves up again but never leave the stage until the act ends. Every life here has its own stories,every existence has its own purpose, every life suffers, here peace can be destroyed any moment when cruelty takes over, here ferocity smites righteousness and felicity is not assured. Here we fear the unforeseeable.


There are hardships and obstacles on the way to tranquility. It is always an uphill journey and never easy for no one. The path we walk strangles our motion, the faces we meet are devoid of emotion and every step tries to pull us down. The irony is once we start our journey everybody is obliged to take the path that leads to the unavoidable consequence and we can never avoid the inevitable. Wounds become a companion and scars are the teachers. So, it's ok if you get hurt. Injured is the strongest here. Wounded is the invincible. We are the ones who shed tears when we lose our beloved and we are the ones who strangle love with disgust and hatred. Enmity and war will never end , still we survive, we fight for existence. One chapter ends,another comes and the story takes turn. We all face the ups and downs,we reach high , we fall through and call it life.


When path divides and opens up the hell holes.... That is the moment on the stage  where climax begins. Where the audience will stick up to your pride and strength.... They will hope to see you fly, fight, run, shout even cry but still carry on, you cannot be the one who chooses to surrender nor escaping is an option. Every act finishes when one  leaves the stage forever, another fills the gap right away.

A universe is a stage spinning around with
you~©Dayeetachaudhuri

Whether or not the act has been satisfactorily completed, it comes to an end and one day everybody has to leave, our existence vanishes into nothingness. If you find the way to cheat the eyes who are watching you to glorify the stage you will serve a lie.
But if you create your stage by glorifying the world around you , you will live even after the curtain drops. You leave an impact on the audience. But, what we never ask ourselves is , if we all are stage players, then whom are those eyes? Who is the audience?
ᖳᖳ If there is an answer to this...in your mind then there is still hope and happiness standing on the next turn for the whole universe cause after all of this if you believe that there can be something or someone who is responsible for your rising in the morning then you are the luckiest person ......as you are the one who choose to take a part of being in the team to prove the audience  that it isn't over yet rather a story is about to begin and a protagonist is yet to lead.

~STUPID LIFE | THEN LEAD IT THAT WAY~

"Fly like you are living don't live like you are dying"
©Dayeetachaudhuri

Protect me oh! Lord.....From the rules and obsessive love,Want to be hated want to be absurd
Broken and curved
I will wear it like a blessing from above.
Shredded like paper  by the life
Feel so awaken and alive
So don’t protect me from the problems
Just secure me from resemblance
I will work hard on stupidity;
Grow my spirit to extreme insanity.

Stopped  at the end ….where is the fun when you can’t start again.

Where is the reason in your smile when you can’t grow again.

Roads are still there , starting point is waiting here.

But where are the men who suppose to begin here.

I know ….Searching for the path

No wonder where they are.

Someone is asleep and dreaming a road;
Someone has lost his power of control;
Someone is cutting the roots.
Apparently everybody is lost in the woods.
Foolish people roaming with the bear
Making the path ignoring the thoroughfare.
Thinking and finding a new shortcut to the finish line
End up running away from the start and just flying blind.

I love the path that seems so stupid.

Because there is a laughter in every minute.

Straight flaws are the safest risk.

Cause there is a thought of purity in it.

So do something stupid ,often in every step.

Cause it might be worst but it will be the best.

©Dayeetachaudhuri

I tried and lead

And trust me when I say it’s a need.

It may be causing the lost of your mind.

But definitely will fill your heart with delight.

Buy the most expansive when you are broke.

Enjoy the same cheap food when you have a crore.

Push the middle ground to coincide the ultimate.

Own the moment you found before the credit goes to the fate.

Everyone will say your life will be a joke.

well take it as a compliment and again write the book.

because when it all over 

promise it will end with the "Happily ever after".

read the the pages stating from the cover 

              you'll find every chapter filled with laughter.

Special or normal | Being yourself

It's fun to be normal ,makes everything seem so special.

Don't think of yourself as a special  person.You are just like the others. The difference you need that it is not meant to be special. It is the difference between knowing to be special...and ...becoming special. 

"Seashell indicates the purity and
Beauty of minimalism"

Either way makes you a normal person with abnormal wishes. Hence abnormality is also great in the normal mind a common sense.  Don't  afraid to be a commoner ....normal is what we lack in today's world.

 Everyone trying to be so special that specialty is what becoming the fragile and more predictable behavior of all. 

Among the people are surrounding us need to be asked if there are anything that makes them separate from this special circumstances, maybe a little interesting , maybe more natural , even weirder.As there are much more greater mystery than how to seize attention to ourselves.

Eventually that actually points out how much you give someone else the attention which you gained for yourself.Socialization  is bliss and it also includes yourself . 

Protecting yourself is just an easiest task you can do. I suggest  at times we all just be a normal human being to think like a special one in the world. 

§"Appearances make impressions but it is 

 the personality that makes an impact."§