Saturday, February 14, 2009

Marielle

John was very happy today… His birthday was always celebrated with lot of fun and gait...When he throws a party, people come in large numbers…colleagues...friends….acquaintances...and this time it was not going to be different either.

His wife took great care in getting the house ready days before the guests would start pouring in. John made sure that there was plenty of beer and wine stocked in.

Marielle woke up earlier than usual and she was excited too... She wanted to wish daddy before anyone did and she had other plans too…something which she never did before…to give John a birthday gift.

In the wee morning hours armed with a spade and stuff from the attic she went to the backyard and set off to work for something she dreamed long ago…this winter was perfect, she thought.

Meanwhile John and Susan worked in the kitchen making cookies, cakes and other delightful delicacies…they did not want to disappoint guests for they were legendary party hosts.

Marielle was tired after a tough time at the backyard…lifting heavy spades twice her size was no child’s play…but she was happy and proud because it was for someone special.…
Back at home, she ran towards him and with a broad smile on her face she said... “Happy Birthday Daddy” and pecked a kiss on his cheek…

“I love you daddy”
“I love you too...Marielle…Now get ready and put the best dress you have...you know lots of people are coming”
“Daddy...I have a gift for you…Would you come with me outside”

John was busy baking the cookies and he told her that he would check it later….Marielle was sad.

By afternoon the first guests arrived….His boss had come too and John was taking extra care to give the best piece of steak to that wiry old man…Promotions were round the corner…Susan was showing her colleagues the beautiful paintings she had done….There was lot of fun in the party and the mood was jovial…John smiled to Susan in approval…

As the dusk set in and when the last guests had left, Marielle went to John. She was tear eyed and her cheeks swollen red…

“Daddy…..I lost my gift for you”

And she hugged her dad and said she was sorry for that….John told her it was Okay. Susan pulled her back and took her to bed…It was sleep time for Marielle…

After cleaning up the house John went to the backyard to throw away the party junk…And there he saw his old shawl…his old jacket…a hat….and a picture of Marielle hugging him...That’s when it stuck the wonderful gift his daughter had made…A snowman .

A snowman just like daddy….and now what left was his old stuff lying on ground scattered amidst melted snow and dirt…Sometimes it is too late to see the gift someone has for you..

John guilt struck told Susan that night…

“I hope one day…I ll be able to love someone as she loves me….”

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

The story was good. Coming on a valentines day, it couldn't have been better. Sometimes we do not even notice the love offered by people surrounding us that we choose to reacting by offering cold shoulders. It takes years to realize the magnitude of inaction. But by that time, we are in the other side of the table! Apt story. I enjoyed it.

Destination Infinity

thomas said...

Good short story Mathew. Reminded me that Valentine's day is not just about the love b/w couples but is the love for one another in general. Apt.

Abhi said...

Wonderful story mathew. Loved the lesson that valentine's isn't just a day to send roses and get kisses from your boyfriend or girlfriend. But then its a day to celebrate love for loved one's as well.

Happy Valentine's day man!

Jackfruit said...

Amazing story :D:D:D ... great one ...

Mishmash ! said...

A touching short story! when u get old you will be the most loved appooppan in ur neighbourhood :D

but may i ask a doubt.....why john should wait for the day he will be able to love someone as marielle loves him...why cant he love her back the same way? heheh....i know we are not supposed to ask such questions in story telling :P

Mishmash ! said...

aah...now i see the point! hehhe...tubelight me :D

Anonymous said...

this was beautiful...

Deepti said...

Simple n sweet ... :)

Praveen said...

wow..a gr8 story there..Its better we all realised the message in this story and try to understand where real love actually is

mathew said...

@Destination Infinity
you said it..its not just about love...it could be friendship too..some just pretend to be your friends and some just show a cold shoulder..

@thomman
yeah...i just wanted to get that point across..thanks..

@Abhi
exactly...I guess you had a wonderful day!!:-)

@Jackfruit
thanks...

@Mishmash !
hahaha..am not yet the old man!!;-D

What I wanted to convey was here the kid was loving her dad with all her heart...unconditionally....
Whereas John was living in a fake world where he shows love for his colleagues and friends which was very artificial..

it was a hastily written one...i should have brought in more clarity...:)

@Prasoon
thanks dude..

@Deepti
thanks buddy!!

@Praveen
amen to it...thanks for reading through this..

maggi said...

That was awesome!!! :).

Divs said...

ouch!

touche.

anN-series said...

Valentines day!!!!.....the saffron brigade will now send u truck load of saffron chaddis!!!

Priya said...

A cute little bond to show V day is for all :)

Sree said...

Ah..how heart warming to read this.Missed reading you.I'm gonna check all that i did!
Happy valentines.The day is over,yet,may the loving wowing continue.

Dhanya said...

A good one as always :)

Twism said...

A really touching story!
Really brought out the essence of love, which is omnipresent in our lives.
Btw dont let the SRS catch you promoting Valentines day through your blog entry, they may land up with turmeric and garland, and marry you off to your blog!
:D

Sree said...

hahaha Nitram,"they may land up with turmeric and garland, and marry you off to your blog!"

Funny!!!! :D

Rahul Nair said...

nice one mat..
Was sleepy when i came into office after a tiring journey.. Now I am sitting here thinking abt it with my eyes wide open.. :)
Thanks...

Bindhu Unny said...

Touching! :-)

Nanditha Prabhu said...

very beautiful , mathew!
many a times we are just shamed by the unconditional love kids have in store.....a reminder to introspect...

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I was reading ur blog posts and found some of them to be very good.. u write well.. Why don't you popularize it more.. ur posts on ur blog ‘spark’ took my particular attention as some of them are interesting topics of mine too;

BTW I help out some ex-IIMA guys who with another batch mate run www.rambhai.com where you can post links to your most loved blog-posts. Rambhai was the chaiwala at IIMA and it is a site where users can themselves share links to blog posts etc and other can find and vote on them. The best make it to the homepage!

This way you can reach out to rambhai readers some of whom could become your ardent fans.. who knows.. :)

Cheers,
Ray

Usha said...

beautiful!! :)

VIDYA said...

:) :) loved the story!

mathew said...

@maggi
thank you..

@Divs
;-)

@Ann
hehe..my mailbox is full !;-D

@Priya
bingo!

@Sree
thank you...

@Dhanya
thanks a lot..

@Nitram
I think they are extinct now!;-D

@Rahul
thanks..glad that you enjoyed it..

@Bindhu
:-)

@Nanditha
exactly..there love is so innocent..

@usha
:-)

@Vidya
thank you..

Mishmash ! said...

heyy...clarity kku onnum oru kuravum ella...it's perfect & beautiful...i guess that day i was a bit pre-occupied...:)

Anonymous said...

Some day I hope to see you a novelist! Hope you had a great Vday!