Ayan was frantically searching every inch of the room when Tina walked in.
“What are you looking for?” she asked her husband.
“My watch. I can’t find it anywhere. I remember keeping it on the table last night.”
In his anxiety, Ayan didn’t notice the smile on Tina’s face.
“I’ve a gift for you,” she said, showing him the packet she was hiding behind her back.
“You’ve had that old silver strap watch since so many years. It has lost its color, its shine, its beauty. It’s your birthday today, your first one after our marriage. So I took that away and bought you a new one.”
Ayan opened the packet to find a new gold watch. She smiled seeing the beauty of the new watch, gave him a hug and went out of the room.
He stood there, unable to speak, remembering the birthday twenty years back when his father had given him the old watch.
My theme for this April is something I call ON SHORT NOTICE. The topic for the letter B is Beauty lies in the Eyes of the Beholder as suggested by Sneha, in the previous post, and Beauty as suggested by Radhika, Christie and Moonie as well. I request you, my readers, to suggest a word with C that might inspire my post for C. I’ll choose one from the options I get, and write on that. I won’t choose the same reader for successive days. Thanks in advance!
(© Vinay Leo R. @ I Rhyme Without Reason,
3rd April, 2017)
Vinay Leo R.
Poetry & writing to me are to me, a breath of fresh air in a life that is sometimes covered by the smoke of sorrow or self doubt. They also become the sweets I share to celebrate when life offers me a reason to. But most of all, they are to me, my life. For each word I write is a piece of my heart, a thought that just had to find its way into the world.
“B for Beauty” – Is it in the topic or the beauty of emotions covered in your writing! Super impressed Vinu. Equally amazed that you wrote it spontaneously on a suggested topic.
Keep Impressing and Keep writing..
My topic suggestion for C is Companion or Care
Glad that the short notice fiction worked out, Janie. 🙂 Perhaps the villain in this tale is just the circumstances. It happens. Maybe he can try to get the old watch back too.
Glad the writing impressed. Companion or Care? Sounds nice. Let’s see what the others suggest. 🙂
hmmm now the situation is tricky – to treasure the watch long given by dad and the new one by wife. Hope he gets the old one back! And my name sake isn’t bad after all – she thought about him.
Tina Basu recently posted…Believe in Yourself – Step 2 to a Meaningful Life – A to Z Challenge 2017
Yes. Tricky. 🙂 I hope he gets the old one back too. No portrayal of bad or good here, Tina. 😀 It’s just the perspective of beauty. She was thinking of him, and his reasons for the old watch’s pricelessness are valid too.
Brilliant, as usual, Leo <3
Amazing twist in the end. Keep writing.
My suggestions for C are Chaos, Cataclysm and Conundrum. 🙂
Yes. Though it does need some work to be clearer! 🙂 Thanks for the suggestions, Panda.
Wish he wore the one gifted by his Dad! He can always convince his wife. Loved the story!
My choice for C will be Cold-blooded murderer 😁
Shalini recently posted…Bangkok
She has only taken it away. Maybe she still has it and will give it to him once he tells of its importance. Alle? 🙂
Glad you loved the story, Shalzzz. Cold Blooded Murderer? Feeling dark, are we? 😉
I wonder why Ayan didn’t mention about the importance of his watch to Tina all this time?
Sheethal recently posted…Wrong B’s
A valid wondering, SSJ. 🙂 I imagined that they were recently married, with the birthday coming soon after, before he could explain the importance. I think that that didn’t come through in the post. (Good catch. Something I can work on in the next fiction I write.)
Ohh … I loved how you weaved this story around the quote. Too bad the wifey didn’t know his story.
Rajlakshmi recently posted…YogaEveryday: Being a Wannabe Crow #atozchallenge
Yeah. Early into marriage perhaps. Thanks, Raji. 😀
I can understand his predicament. Hope he gets his treasured watch back though.
That’s a good one, Vinay!
Shilpa Garg recently posted…Blackmail #AtoZChallenge @AprilA2Z
Hope so too, Shilpa. 🙂 It could happen. Glad you liked the story. 😀
Oh no! Things others do to make us happy but end up hurting us 🙁
Well written!
How about C for creativity?
Btw – this is a unique way of taking up the challenge. Good luck and I’ll come back for your stories.
Parul recently posted…B for Being you #AtoZChallenge
Yes. That happens at times, Parul. Part of life. Glad you felt it well written. 🙂
Unique way, perhaps. Extremely challenging already though. Hehehe. 😀
Oh my! That was certainly unexpected. I doubt she realised the value of the watch. You’d have to appreciate the gesture of course. But now I feel sorry for the guy. Ah, sentimentality.
Shailaja Vishwanath recently posted…Beautiful- #FlashFiction #AtoZChallenge
She might not have, Shailaja. A bittersweet moment, that one. Sentimentality does make it so. 🙂
Well written.
C word for you is Collaborate
Thank you, Stibu. 🙂
Beautiful! One of the first lessons in a marriage! Don’t think you know best for your spouse. Sad.
Blame #Lexicon of Leaving
Haha. I see the point, yes. 🙂 But that early excitement does bring a smile. Still not too late for the watch, hopefully.
Thank you, Kalpanaa.
He never told her the history behind the watch?? He should have 😀 I like this concept of your blog where you want people to suggest topics…It becomes like a contest where you want your suggestion to be chosen and hence attracts people to the comments section…Brilliant Idea there 🙂 …. My suggestion for C- Cocoon
http://jaishwrites.blogspot.sg/2017/04/atozchallenge-2017-b-for-brachiosaurus.html
jaishvats recently posted…#AtoZchallenge 2017 – B for Brachiosaurus
He might have. I imagined it to be early into their marriage, and the excitement to get him something was overwhelming. 🙂
Glad you liked the theme, Jaish. It helps when I get a topic out of the blue that inspires, but it’s challenging to write on short notice too. 😀
Different perspective to beauty. Does beauty lie in the way something looks or the value it carries. I do hope he gets his old watch back.
Jaibala Rao recently posted…Movies That Shaped Our Generation – Biographies In Motion
He might, Jb. 🙂 She has only taken it away, not thrown it away. Glad you liked the different perspective. 😀
I can relate to Ayan for being a little shocked and perhaps disappointed that Tina replaced something he loved with something new. But this is the moment perhaps that he should realize we keep creating memories all our life and sometimes for the new ones , the older ones need to go.
My suggestion for C is Charisma . I love that word 🙂 will come back to see if it inspired you.
Chandni recently posted…[B] Badass Women Rule the World #AtoZChallenge Day 2
Maybe, but old memories are quite precious too. 🙂 Sentimentality is important to people, I feel. They would work it out. 😀 Thank you, Chandni.
Beauty indeed lies in the eyes of the beholder. To each, his own.
Absolutely, Bhavs. Very true.
Such a beautiful story it is!! I always love such gestures!
Cheers
Geets recently posted…B- Beautiful Bride
Yes. 🙂 The gesture was sweet no doubt, Geets. Thanks.
I got a “Gift of the Magi” feel from the story – beautifully written, the story of “star-crossed” intentions….
Wow. That’s really high praise, Lalita. Thank you very much. O Henry is one of my favorite authors.
Hopefully he’ll get back his dad’s watch. Sentimental value is priceless. Suggest classy for C.
Suzy recently posted…Be like the River … #atozchallenge letter B
I hope so too, and it’s not lost yet. 🙂 Thanks, Suzy.
Oh, such emotional pain to follow. She so wants to please him but has no clue. He doesn’t want to hurt her feelings but is in such pain over his loss. Will he hide his pain? Will she ever have a realization of what she did?
Yes. It is a conundrum, no? But if the love is true, and he tells her the value, I feel she’ll understand. 😀 It’s not yet lost, no? Thanks, Gail.
Such a beautiful story… and I am loving your theme… crowdsourcing your next topic.! You have really taken the challenge to the next level…. awesome!
The theme is nice, but writing at the last moment is definitely more challenging than I expected, Anks. 😀 Glad you liked the story.
Ouch! Yep, I do think old things have a sense of beauty about them purely due to nostalgia and memories. Nicely woven Vinay! For C – Curiosity 🙂
Sanch @ Sanch Writes recently posted…#Brevette: Stories #atozchallenge
Yes. Nostalgia does attach a price to the object, more often than not. Glad you liked the story, Babby. 🙂
Such a delicate situation for the husband. Enjoyed your work of fiction Leo!
Radhika recently posted…Alphabet B – Busy!
Yes. A delicate situation indeed. Hope it works out for him, Radhika.
Brilliantly penned as always. I wish he gets his old watch back 🙂
For C – Catastrophe, Camouflage or Crescent moon 😉
Swathi Shenoy recently posted…Brother
The wish could come true, Swathi. 🙂 Thank you for finding it brilliant.
Though not directly, my C story does have a catastrophe. 😀
Sometimes the best of intentions can produce the opposite effect to that which was intended. We’ve probably all been there, on one side or the other.
Keith’s Ramblings recently posted….
Yes. That does happen, and in the best of times too. Hopefully, it’s a redeemable situation, Keith. 😀 Thanks.
aw, that’s such a twist with the dad!
Love shorts and shorts that can convey a twist. Thanks for writing 🙂
Glad that the twist worked, Rads. 🙂 Thank you so much.
Awwww. I totally get that. Memories are precious and an object becomes precious because it is wrapped in memories. I feel so sad for that guy. And the girl, how was she to know? If only he had told her!
Vidya Sury recently posted…Buddha’s Diet #AtoZChallenge #BookReview
Yes. Memories do matter to the value of the object, Vidya. 🙂 I imagine they’ve only recently been married, so would have not told her yet. But the girl might not have sold it or such. He might find it after the initial shock.
A Catch-22 situation I guess. The old watch with a million memories lost and a new watch from the love of your life. Beauty certainly lies in the eyes of the beholder. Looks like Tina didn’t realize that all this time!
Sreedeep recently posted…#AtoZChallenge – Letter B – Badminton Memories
Yeah. She wouldn’t have. 🙂 But thankfully, she has only taken it away, so there might still be hope for the old watch. 😀 Thanks, Sreedeep.
Sad and beautiful. The poor guy!
Shweta Suresh recently posted…#AtoZChallenge: Everything and yet nothing (tiny tale #12)
Thank you, Shweta.
Yeah!! i am so glad you chose my idea and never knew something so beautiful could come out of it. Beautifully written and great concept!!
I wonder how you are managing the impromptu posts.. must be fun and exciting 🙂
Happy Blogging!!
SS
Thank you for the idea, and am glad that what came of it was beautiful. 🙂 It was fun and exciting for sure, SS, but difficult to maintain with some personal travels and problems later on in the month.