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This is a short story keeping in mind the sacrifices and perils our armed forces and their families undergo, most of which go unnoticed in the civilian world.
Four year old Nyssa was playing with her bunny Troy, a white toy bunny with shades of brown. It was a gift by her father, the previous Christmas. It looked at her with its deep black eyes as she softly whispered in its ears, “Hush, hush, Troy! Papa is coming home!”
Sarah Jane stared blankly at the ceiling as her new born was sleeping peacefully next to her, oblivious to the effect the sudden twist of fate had had on him. She then called out to Nyssa and hugged her tight. The tears flowed. They won’t stop.
Shirley Tomas placed the rosary beads back in the drawer. She had held them in her hand long enough since the dreaded phone call 9 hours ago. She prayed for a long time. Her heart failed to accept the truth even as her mind came to terms with the fact, that she could never relive the phone conversation with her son, about a day ago. And then, a tall man appeared next to her and said, “It is time.”
There was a big crowd that had gathered outside the villa of Retd Brig Benji Tomas. The old man stood at the entrance of his two storeyed villa. His face was expressionless, as always. His mustache was neat and trimmed. His rimmed spectacles made it hard to look into his jet black eyes. He stood tall, impeccably dressed in a white shirt, striped scarf, brown corduroys and well polished wellingtons. His wife, Shirley stood there alongside her husband, with glazed eyes as though they looked into another world. Matrix, their German Shepherd stood by as if on guard.
And then, the old couple looked up as a huge army truck came at their door step. The moment was overwhelming. The moment stilled the air. The moment was deafening as, Maj Neil Tomas, the hero of Ernakulam, the son of Retd Brig Benji Tomas had arrived home, for ever.
The lion-heart who had stood by his oath, fought his adversaries with all his might, and took the bullet on himself to protect his comrade, had come home to his family, in a mahogany coffin draped gracefully in the tricolor with a huge wreath resting on it.
Shirley Tomas staggered as the old man held her by her arm, lest she should fall. Her only child now lay there sleeping in that coffin, never to open his eyes again to feel his father’s hug, his mother’s kiss, his wife’s love, his daughter’s delightful squeals and his day old son’s sweet little nothings…”Lord, guide us in our hour of need!”
Maj Neil Tomas had arrived at his final resting place, a martyr. And then, the stars welcomed him…to their abode.
Author’s note: The above is an attempt at a short story from my side, as a testimonial dedicated to the brave hearts of our country like Maj Raghuram, Maj Mukund, Capt Deepak Sharma and many more…who have sacrificed their lives, guarding our motherland.
Image source: Indian armyman with rifle by Shutterstock.
A software engineer in the past, a content writer, an amateur blogger, an avid reader and traveler, an engaging conversationalist, an army wife, a pre school teacher and importantly, an incurable optimist! read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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