Summer

The summers had always been wonderful. The beautiful clear evenings. Skies, pink, blue and all shades of sunlight red. They spent all their days reading by the window or cycling along the winding river – racing each other. Eating juicy mangoes in the shade of the old trees. Oblivious to the sands of time. Meera and Anamika.

They were a fiery pair. Always getting into mischief. They had spent their childhood in the same orphanage. Begged on the same streets. Made their way in the world together. They would have done anything for each other.

One such summer day dawned with Meera, coughing blood. Her health spiraled out of control. And life - just came to a standstill. As if trapped between the frozen hands of a clock which has run out of time. It became apparent that only a rare transplant could save her.

Anamika stayed with her all the time. Trying to ease the pain. But it was futile. She would lapse into nightmares seeing of her best friend, her sister, just withering away. She asked around for donor. It was as if, finally fate had succumbed to jealousy and had decided to tear them apart.

The next summer. Meera sat on the same window. Looked at the river outside. And the old beautiful trees. Filled up her lungs with the preciously fragrant familiar air. Tracing the path with her eyes, where she would never cycle with her friend again.
They would have done anything for each other.

The Lollipop

It was unbelievable. Amazing. Fantastic.

The colours! All of them. Red, blue, green, yellow, pink.. In beautiful swirls.

And it tasted heavenly. Sweet. Never ending. However much you lick! Even if you took a sumptuous bite, immediately the missing part would reappear and the lollipop would be a whole again. Lovely!

Amy could not believe her luck. Here she was walking around, starving, looking in bins and cans for something to eat. When she came upon this innocent looking lollipop, lying there, peacefully. In its wrapper too! Now she would never be hungry. Yeah! Might get a bad stomach ache or rotten teeth. But never hungry again.

Blissfully happy. Skipping away she started back to her little home in a big pipe. She should have not closed her eyes in ecstasy! She tripped.

She gazed at the dark clouds above from the hole in the pipe. She sighed! Will have to go hungry again tonight. She could almost still taste the lollipop.