W

"Washington DC ?", I gasp. I am sure you can hear the tears in my voice. The tears that do not take form for the fear of my husband noticing. But they are there nevertheless. I am already inconsolable. I move to the kitchen and switch on the mixie. I do not want him to know anything is wrong. Yet it is.
" It is so far away", I tell you. You console me saying we will not let the distance hinder us. Distance has never hindered us. You moved away after school and I survived college only thanks to phones. I made a million calls. And you were always there for me, be it the first day when I told you I went in to the wrong class or be it the time I knew I was in trouble with the lecturer. I moved to your city when it was time to look for a job. I stayed in the same street as you. I met you every day. Your mom always suspected we were up to something, with those whispers and chuckles. And she was almost always right.
I miss you. When it was time for me to get married, which was inevitable, I looked for someone who stayed in the same city. I still met you. I still talked to you, hurried conversations but I talked to you.
He walks in. He now knows for sure something is up. I tell you goodbye and hang up. I look at him, now tears in my eyes. He tells me, "Let go." I cried. He held me close for those two minutes. "This is 21st century. No one is truly far away. You will still be able to talk to her everyday. You can still catch up on the little gossips. You will not be far away from her.", he tells me.
My dearest friend, my soul sister, will we be alright? And I look at the chats and messages a month later and I know- We are!

#66

The term "battling the bulge" is a joke, as is "battling the wrinkles" and "battling the greys". Also note that "you may lose battles but win the war". No one tells you what this war is.

V

"Verbal Reasoning section was pretty easy, Analytical was great. It was only quantitative reasoning that I had some issues in." I tell you. You look at me and say cheerfully, "No problem.Give it a rest." I am frustrated- " I hope the scores are good. This is the qualifying test to get into the prestigious uniersity that I have been aiming to get into. For you it is a cakewalk. You have been very nonchalant about it, but I know, you are as serious about it as me. For you it is another step in the ladder of life; for me it is the start of my life.
I have lived on the wrong side of the tracks for a long time. I have quite forgotten how I became that way, but the important thing is I did. And then you came along and showed me the happiest days of my life. And when you decided to study further at the university, I knew I would follow you. I studied and studied. I had so many doubts, so many questions and you were patient with me, more than patient. Like a guide, like a teacher. In more than one way.
I learnt so much from you. You have the gift of seeing past the present and looking into the future and seeing only happy things when I have never even thought of anything light. I only hope that I can grow positive too. And this is a positive step for me. I hope it works.
The results come in a month later. A nail-biting month. I could not eat or sleep well. I had constant nightmares that I would be rejected. You bring the envelopes in your hand, one for you and one for me. You open yours first. You are in! I tear mine. I read the first word "congrats" and I start crying.
We both dance, you and I. My darling, how beautiful are going to be the coming days. For the second time in my life I see hope- my daughter, and it is only because of you

#227

When posing for photos, even after sucking in your tummy, if it is still there, it is way past time to hit the gym.

U

"Unquestionably unique." Your friends tell you. You smile proudly and look at me. You sign what they just said across to me. I sign back "Thank them for me". You do that. They smile and shake my hands. I find it a weird custom to shake hands. Some smile wonderfully at me, some are so weirded out by me. That I can do so much for a girl is beyond them. You say that is not it, but I know.
I sit down on the chair that you have placed near yours. I want some familiarity now- the crowd to see me is huge and I feel a little overwhelmed. I pick at my dress and you soothe me. They ask me to smile and I show them my teeth and you ask them to back away and give me some space because I am getting angry. I agree. I do feel angry. They ask me to pose for photos with me father. "Hug him", "Closer", "Tighter", "Give him a kiss", the reporters say. I don't understand what the fuss is all about. I do the tasks you tell me. I do them with speed because I just want to go home to my teddy- Tommy and cuddle into bed for a nap. Some get on their feet and marvel at what I do and clap thunderously.
I feel bored now. I get down and walk to edge of the stage where they have mild coloured lights. I am interested in seeing my shadow on the wall. I strike different poses. They clap for that too. You come over and lead me to the mike. You say " Layla will now take questions." There are a lot of people raising their hands. You point at them and they ask me questions. You sign them to me.
"How does it feel?", one asks. I say, "Nothing different." "What do you want to do now?", I sign "Go home". "Do you like to sing?", "I like it when my father sings. I can't sing." The questions go on. I am bored and I refuse to sign for some. I plop down on the floor and start banging. You know its time to go.
You stand up and say, " I rescued Layla when she was a baby. She is my daughter. She has emotions too and I urge you all to take a stand against testing chemicals on animals. She maybe a chimp but she can sign and perform tasks and that should show you they are individuals too. She can paint and rocks to music, which should show you that they can feel too. She stands up for her fellow animals. I urge you to show your support."
They clap now for me. And like you said, it is not because I am a girl, but because I am a true marvel.
I  know.

The W's

# Why do pregnant celebrities always hold their bumps on red carpet?

# Why do I feel like a cow when people tell me the grass is greener on my side?

#143

Fine and nice are excellent substitution words when you don't really want to say what is on your mind.

Scenario-
W- How do I look?
H- Nice. (I-wish-you-wouldn't-ask-me-this question-everyday-since-I-know-better-than-to-actually-tell-you-what-I-want-and-you-don't-really-care-anyway)

W- So what did you do while I was gone?
H- Well not much. I simply ate and slept and watched TV.
W- Fine. (For-once-I-wish-you-would-say-I-missed-you-or-you-could-have-done-something-at-home-to-surprise-me)