Wednesday, July 13, 2022
A Letter to Dance
A Letter to Dance - Acknowledgments
A Letter to Dance - Prologue
Saturday, June 4, 2022
Chai Therapy - Epilogue
Note: This is continuation from Chapter-3.
The Fairy Godmother Tea made me realize that I had been the thirstiest. It quenched a unique thirst and initiated a revolution within me. A revolution that was much easier said than it was done.
But the key was to start with baby steps. One of the first things I realized was that my Driver’s License had expired to the extent that it was getting impossible to prove who I was. I had ignored it long enough, focusing on the sadness in my life. I got it renewed and celebrated the small win by sharing a glass of wine with Fairy Godmother. And apparently, that was the last time she had walked the halls of my condo unit.
The Fairy Godmother is now back into the living room mirror, sitting in her comfortable rocking chair, sipping wine. I am back to my usual routine of morning jogs and evening racquetball, participating in tournaments over the weekends.
At times, I’m also hosting parties, inviting friends, Nicole and Nick. However, there is no trauma anymore. We meet, we greet and we can co-exist in a civilized manner.
The Fairy Godmother was right, he didn’t have to apologize for me to forgive him & move on with my happiness. I had it inside of me all along and will always have.
Chai Therapy - Chapter 3
“Aren’t you getting bored of this, Ana?”
I hadn’t realized when the Fairy Godmother had entered bathroom. She leaned against the countertop on the vanity. I was astonished at the power she had assumed to walk out from the living room mirror into my bathroom.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I answered, attempting to ignore her. And she continued to stare at me, raising an eyebrow.
“I remember how he used to look at me,” I confessed, finding it hard to match her gaze. “He made me feel loved and honored. I don’t like what he thinks of me now. And I don’t know…”
“If at all he thinks in coherence with you,” she interrupted. “And I think it is unfair for your bathtub to have to hold your sad body while you sulk in your own filth and sorrow.”
“It was one thing for you to judge me with your twirling glass of wine from inside the mirror. But it is preposterous for you to be sitting in my bathroom and insulting me.” I snapped. “I will not take it.”
The Fairy Godmother laughed so hard, I could see the cavities in her molars. “Are you doing this on purpose? Putting on the act of sounding stupid, girl?” The Fairy Godmother went on. “That’s what happens when you call false love, love. The man doesn’t look at you the way you think he does. Not anymore, at least. And, I hope you realize that the more you chase him, the more you drive him away. Is that what you want? To chase him for the rest of your life?”
“I want him to apologize.” I spoke out. There was a part of me that wanted him to tell me that he was sorry. And, there was another part that was craving vengeance.
“Well, whether he apologizes or not, is up to him. However, whether you forgive him; is up to you.” She calmly smiled.
A long moment of silence followed while I tried to gather the words I wanted to say next, while the Fairy Godmother turned away and walked out of the bathroom. I drained the tub, threw on my robe and followed her.
The Fairy Godmother was now in the kitchen, filling up the kettle. She turned it on as I walked towards her.
“Do you even remember who you were when you met Nick?” She asked while I stared at her.
“For starters, you were a tea person,” she had assumed it wasn’t necessary to wait for my answer and poured a cup of tea for me. “You turned into a coffee person with him.” She went on, handing me the tea cup and leading me into the balcony.
“Do you remember when was the last time you showed up for racquetball?” She argued.
“I remember being happy with him.” I confessed.
“Your happiness is a consequence of your own personal effort. You cannot burden him with the responsibility to make you happy.” She continued, “would you prefer to date a person who is not happy with themselves and belittles their self-respect by chasing another person?”
“And enough with the mind tricks of trying to run into him and seduce him.” She went on, “it is only adding to his ego and making him treat you like a doormat. You’re mistaken to accept that as love.”
I took a sip from the tea she made. The steaming hot tea that she served hit different in the spring evening. It was delicious.
“As a matter of fact, you need to find yourself again, Ana. Rediscover yourself.”
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Chai Therapy - Chapter-2
Chapter-2Nick & I
Note: This is continuation to Chapter-1.
I started my evening routine of soaking myself in the bubble bath, attempting to ignore The Fairy Godmother. The synopsis of what was going on was annoyingly humiliating.
Last summer, I had met Nick at the engagement party of my best friend Nicole, allegedly my conjoint twin since our teenage years. The four of us would occasionally hangout together and we’d always be joking about how I was living the dream with my own version of The Knicks; Nick and Nicole.
By autumn, Nick and I had developed a routine wherein we would catch up after work and he’d join me for a coffee at my condo and we’d spend our evenings together. We would meet up with Nicole or Nick’s friends over the weekend and take trips to mountains in the North or get vibing in clubs of the city.
All of this lasted until the end of autumn when Nick had started to act distant and decided that it was time to end our relationship in the classiest way possible, by having a conversation about wanting to be just friends and nothing more.
The impact of this breakup was making me try everything to restore my life into “living the dream” status. I had pestered him to convince how the relationship was right for the both of us, had issued a general apology for him to forgive me for the mistakes I might have committed that I had no knowledge of and even tried to emotionally blackmail him by asking him to “return me the Nick that belonged to me”. When nothing else worked, I tried to be friends with him by hanging out with his friends and Nicole every time anyone made a plan that involved Nick.
I would deliberately walk in his neighborhood and run into him on occasions; act breezy and insinuate to have a coffee together at my condo. After we were in the unit, I’d try to seduce him, or beg him, or remind him of the times we enjoyed in each other’s company. It would mostly work, and at times, he’d walk away. Every time it worked, his face would turn into his “Look-What-You-Made-Me-Do” expressions and I’d go back into being miserable.