Nisha's Birthday!

"Nisha!" Seher shouted at the top of her voice from her room.
Her elder sister, Nisha, stormed into the room with an exhausted expression. "What?"
"How's the cake coming along, sissy?" Seher smirked.
Nisha sighed. "I'd bake the cake if you'd let me. Why did you shout like a dying man?"
"Hush, now. It's your birthday. Don't let little sister get on your nerves." She pouted.
That was all Nisha could take. She burst into laughter and hit Seher playfully.
"I still can't believe you are making me bake my own birthday cake. You're impossible!" She muttered as she turned to leave.
"Aw, Nish. I love you, too."
Just a few minutes later a buzzer went off and Seher jolted down the stairs and entered the kitchen, after making sure Nisha wasn't in there.
"Yay! Yummy cake, here I come." Seher reached for the cake.
"Not so soon, Seher. Wait for people to come. Remember, it's Nisha's birthday, not yours." Ronit gave a stern look.
"Ronit, the guy who hates his sister-in-law!" Seher muttered under her breath and walked away.
Ronit followed her into the living room and sat next to her on the sofa.
"Did you get her something?"
"Of course I did, Nisha's boyfriend. What did you get her?"
"Remember that trench coat she was looking at a few days ago? That is her gift."
"You mean, you hadn't bought her gift until just a couple of days ago? What kinda boyfriend are you?" Seher pulled a disgusted face.
"Yeah, stop acting all cute and tell me what you got her?"
"A small snowflake pendant, which by the way, she already knows of." She scratched the back of her neck
"You're a smarty!"
"So I'm told."

*20 Jan, 2015. 6 P.M*
"Put on the lights, will you, Ronit?" Nisha called out from her room.
On getting no response, she decided to put on the lights herself.
Before leaving, she checked her reflection one last time, made sure she looked good and walked out of her room. The moment she stepped into the living room, lights came on and everyone shouted 'Happy birthday,' in unison. Nisha was in a trance. It took her a moment to register her surroundings. Blue coloured balloons were everywhere, floating in the air, on the ground, on the recliners.
Must be Seher's choice, she thought, who else would decorate the room all in blue. Laughing at her sister's love for the colour, she stepped inside the room with a huge smile on her face.
All her colleagues, cousins and friends were present. But her eyes were transfixed on two people in the room, her guy and her sister.
She walked towards Ronit and gave him a hug.
"Happy birthday, again, Nishu!" Ronit whispered in her ears.
"Thank you, Ronit, for all this. It means a lot to me."
She turned and smiled at her sister, who was looking pretty in her red gown.
"Seher, thank you. Especially for the blue balloons, you remembered that I love blue!" She winked.
"This is all I wanted to hear, mission accomplished." Seher stuck her tongue out at Ronit. "Happy birthday, darling. I love you!" She said, facing Nisha again.
"I love you, too. Both of you. Thank you for everything!" She hugged them both in a tight hug. As a tiny drop of tear surfaced on her cheek, she wiped it and wished again that her father would've been there too.

The Pawed Angels!

I recently came across this saying, "Dogs are angels with fur instead of wings."
As beautiful as it can get, isn't it? It's obvious that I love dogs, even to strangers apparently. I'm often found stating dogs are better than humans and I still root for it. And here are a few reasons listed.
A dog can be loyal, loving, compassionate and a companion, all at once, throughout his life. Humans? Not so much.
The never ending energy, the love for a simple ball game, the crazy lopsided grin. Unmatchable!
And don't even get me started on their unwavering faith in their humans. As if a dog's motto for life is to show us, humans, how to love unconditionally.

When I say this I might be talking for a lot of people, life changes dramatically once you own a dog. Our schedules change, our perspectives change. It's almost like having new kids. Only dogs never grow up. Their abundant energy might wear off over the years, but their craziness stays as long as they do.
My mother gets hysterical when I go about feeding/petting stray dogs around my place. She often wonders why I go play with them when I have my own dog? It's pretty simple really, I can never get enough of them. More the puppies, merrier it gets for me.
But frankly, there's nothing in this world that can match my love for my dog. I might've named him Lucky, but it's me who got lucky. I wouldn't lie and say he's the best dog, in fact he misbehaves more often than a notorious child would. It's hard to contain his energy, harder still to keep things away from him because he's too smart for his own good. But no matter how determined you are to give him an earful, he always gets away with a wag of his tail.
It always breaks my heart when I have to leave him back on my way to hostel. And it makes my week worth when I return home for the weekend and see that crazy look on his face. That 'I'll-forgive-you-for-leaving-me-if-you-promise-to-play' look makes me feel more loved than anything else could. It's funny how I miss his incessant barking or the 'doggy' smell or his tail slaps the moment I'm away from home.
 I wonder if it's okay to say he's equal to all of my close friends put together?

Well, my only complaint is about their short lives. I mean, if they can change a person's life and make him so much better, what all could have been accomplished if they lived a little longer. The world would totally be a better place to live in. Or maybe we wouldn't love them as much if they lived longer. I can't say.
But indeed, they were created to make our lives better. Their mere existence fills our lives with so much happiness. If only they could live longer, if only.

When asked what was the most important thing to me in life, I took time to think it over. If posed a couple of years ago, I would have answered 'Love' or 'Happiness'. That was what the teenager who had barely had any worldly experience would have believed in. But now, after meeting different kinds of people, after coming across different mindsets, I probably can conclude that you are the most important thing in your life. There is no one who will love you for what you are. No one will put your happiness before their needs. Nobody is born for you, except yourself. Whatever love you seek from the world, seek within yourself. What happiness you expect others to give, find it for yourself. There's nothing wrong in being self-centered. If thinking for yourself is called selfish, then please be selfish. If there's anyone worth fighting for, living for; it's you! Because everybody else is busy dealing with their own hassles.

Stop living for others, live for yourself. Love because life is a beautiful gift. When life shoves you into a difficult situation, face it and get yourself out of it. Everyone faces loss, heartbreak and sorrow, learn to talk as less about them as possible.
The world isn't there to help you up every time you fall, learn to stand up on your own. It is, after all, your life; live it the best you can.

 So apt. :'D
But you can never love your dog less. They get the kid out of you, they make you happier and no matter how rough your day goes, one look at them and you have energy surging through you.

Dogs are, in deed, the best of His creations. :)

*Spoiler* This post contains too much of heartbreaking news.

Okay, so, here it is.

Mom told me that Jimmy is no more. I was so devastated for a while, especially when I got to know that someone had poisoned her. I mean, how could someone do that to her? For all I knew, she was one of the most loving dogs on earth! There wasn't one person she'd ever barked at. Even when people tried to pick her pups up, she never once got short tempered. Such an angel she was and someone had done that to her? I wish that person rots in hell for what he/she has done.

That person took away one of the few beings that loved me more than I loved them.
What hurts the most is that I didn't even get to see her for the last time. The last memory of hers is of her wagging her tail at me as I left for my hostel. How I wish I could look at her once more, how I wish.. 

The little girl who I had seen since she was a young pup, the kid that'd happily run after my bike when I got home, the girl who could catch pieces of chapati in midair, the girl who would forget everything and chase a lizard up the wall...

I still look out of the window in hope of seeing her. The naughtiness that her eyes gleamed with, the way she could get anyone to adore her.. I'll never be able to get over her.
People have been telling me that I'll forget it and move on and I sure hope I do. But know it for real, you shall always be the second most loved dog in my life, only after my Lucky. You'll always be remembered, girl.

May Lord Almighty bless you with eternal happiness. Be happy wherever you are and spread love like you always did. Rest in peace, little girl.

I love you and I'll always love you.

~ SB.

Life: Future or Present?

I happened to be talking to a friend of mine and I asked her, "what is Life?" Her answer was simple, yet meaningful. She said, "Life is what you are living now. It is your present."

If that is so, why do we bother so much about the future? Why then do we neglect the present and work to make our future better? Is it even worth all the effort? I needed to know. So I started thinking.

Teachers said, study now so you can have a better future. Elders said, start saving so you can have a secured future. Why is everyone bent on making our future better? Why can't we enjoy our present and not get so worked up about the future? I'm not against planning for the future, I understand how important it is for us to have a dream, a goal for the future. It inspires us to work on, yes. But why live in the fear of tomorrow and not enjoy the moment? I'd rather live the moment, for our future depends on our present. What is the use of being a billionaire if you have no one to enjoy the luxuries with? What is the use of living for a hundred years if you don't have someone to share it with?

So yeah, make friends, loads of them. Fall in love, face the heartbreaks, stand up and move on. Listen to everyone but do what you feel like doing. As long as it makes you happy and as long as it doesn't take away someone else's happiness, it's healthy. Commit mistakes, learn from them and never repeat them. Cry when you can't hold on to the pain. Be a mess. Because one day, when most of your loved ones are gone, these memories will give you solace. Don't give up your present to make your future bright. It's like choosing to walk in darkness, searching for light when you'll already find the light if you know where and how to look for it.

It's stupid how people live for their tomorrow and forget their today. It's not always necessary to act matured, it's okay to be a kid and enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Remember, you'll never be young twice. Dream for a better future, work hard. Learn from the past. And never forget to enjoy the moment.

Life as we know it.

There comes a point in everyone's life when you are made to face reality. You are shown how some people, who you have held close all your life, can't stay forever. It's when the obscure world of 'Forever' falls apart and you realise the void it creates in your life. Changes, especially those that involve parting, break you down. All the promises, the sugar coated talks, all come to sound like bad music you can't get off of your mind. And you begin to curse yourself for letting people come close enough to make you vulnerable.

But honestly, life is all about getting to know how to cope with loss. After all, everything you possess today will either be lost or gone to another's possession tomorrow. What is permanent, what stays back, is hurt and pain. How you accept loss and move on, is what defines you as a person. For change is inevitable, so better accepted than dreaded.

Have you ever let someone reach for the barriers you have built, destroy them and enter your life, though you know staying is a luxury they can't afford? For most, it might just sound absurd. And it is, in a way, because after knowing what the future has in store for you, you are letting them stay. Eventually, they'll have to leave, thus breaking your heart. But be sure of this. The few moments/days you spend with them will last with you for a lifetime. These memories will adorn the scrapbook of your life, if anything as such exists. And if you meet them again, in your later life, you'll look back on the past and reminisce the bitter-sweet memories. And that is when, amidst the pangs of pain, emerges the most beautiful smile you'll ever have smiled.