#37 Who am I?

'Tell me,' he said. 'Who are you?'

She smiled. 'I'm an open book about a mystery you cannot solve.
I'm the rose you'd adore, and get pricked by if you tried to pluck me.
I'm the shooting star that you'll be wishing for, instead of wishing on.
I'm the lonely rainy nights you'll miss all year along.
I'm the music you'll miss when you're amidst a crowd.
I'm the art you'd want to paint that no ink could sketch.
I'm the glass doll you'd rather have your heart broken for.
I'm the tide engulfing the moon sprawled across the surface of the sea.
I'm the shadow you'd miss after you choose the shade over the sun.
I'm the empty canvas you'd want to adorn your central wall with.
I'm the thunder you'd wish for to bring in rain for your heart's garden.
I'm the fire that'll burn you at first but will keep you warm forever.
I'm the storm that'll bring mayhem but will leave you weedless.
I'm the moonless night that'll shower you in starlight.
I'm the magnificent rainbow that doesn't lead you to a treasure.
I'm the daydream you hung dreamcatchers in hope of capturing.
I'm the poem you started, and realised you could never finish.'

He looked at her with admiring eyes. She smiled wider and continued.

'I'm the cocoon you painted on, expecting a rainbow coloured butterfly. But baby, I'm just a tricoloured one. With golden streaks.'

#36 Falling for those eyes.

“Granny Sheeran told me when I’m looking for a partner to fall in love with their eyes cause eyes are the only things that don’t age, so if you fall in love with their eyes you’ll be in love forever.”

– Ed Sheeran

The moment I read this quote, I was struck by the truth behind these simple words. Once, a few years ago, I had fallen in love with a pair of beautiful eyes of an ordinary boy. To a bystander, they would have looked normal, nothing out of the box. But I saw so much when I looked into those eyes. I remember and adore till date; the way they sparkled in the sun, the way they grew tiny when he laughed or the way they seemed a tad brighter every time someone spoke to him about things he liked. The way those eyes would look doubtfully at me whenever they caught me staring, the way they looked back at me, acknowledging my presence and how they had come to search for me in a crowd and hold my gaze for a tiny moment before turning away. It was everything I wanted back then, to stay put in those eyes and never leave.

I had fallen in love with his eyes, those eyes that seemed to be the darkest shade of black, at least from where I saw them. And when my friends asked me what I saw in him, I'd smile and shake my head at them. I never told anyone about my obsession with those eyes, because I knew they would never understand. And maybe, I didn't want anyone to understand, I wanted to be the only one to love those eyes.

I never admitted it to him, and it's often left me wondering, 'but, what if I had?' And every time I happen to look at one of his recent pictures, I feel relieved to I see that those eyes are still the same. They have retained the mischievous glint in them, the shine and the warmth. Every time my eyes hover over those pair of eyes, those magnificent eyes I still remain obsessed with, a part of me otherwise dormant, wakes up and breathes. It smiles, as if the warmth from those eyes brings it to life. And maybe it does, those eyes are magic and I wish someday he finds someone who sees the same magic in those eyes, and I hope she falls in love with his eyes and stays in love forever.

Sun and the stars!

http://imshwethabhat.tumblr.com/post/136531689899/to-hold-the-constellations-in-my-gaze-my-soul

#35. You set me free...

A glimmer of light, you brought,
Like the rays of sun on a winter morning,
Breaking the barriers, you walked in,
Filling in warmth for which I was craving,

If only you knew, if only you knew,
That when you smile at me, you set me free.
If only you knew, if only you knew,
That when you look at me, you set me free.

Like the morning dew, you touched,
And every bud blossomed under your light,
You brought in me a wave of hope,
Of a future we shall together make bright,

If only you knew, if only you knew,
that when you smile at me, you set me free.
If only you knew, if only you knew,
That when you look at me, you set me free.

From the depths of the sea, emerges,
Feelings so new; I dare not name them at all,
For fear of not doing justice to them,
And you,
The one who held my hand through this fall.

If only you knew, if only you knew,
that when you smile at me, you set me free.
If only you knew, if only you knew,
That when you look at me, you set me free.
You set me free.

Bibliophile for life.

http://imshwethabhat.tumblr.com/post/136444063144/shed-stay-awake-until-late-in-night-a-book

Books.

So I decided to end every year from now on with a post dedicated to just books. Here, I'd be noting down the number of books I read during the year and the chosen top books will be named and numbered. As I started keeping track of the books I read since the year 2013, I'll be mentioning the top favourite books of the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 below.


Year 2013: 31 books.

TOP TEN BOOKS OF 2013.

#1 The immortals of Meluha, by Amish Tripathi.

#2 The fault in our stars, by John Green.

#3 The princess diaries series, by Meg Cabot.

#4 Percy Jackson series, by Rick Riordan.

#5 A walk to remember, by Nicholas Sparks.

#6 The confessions of a shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella.

#7 The kite runner, by Khaled Hosseini.

#8 The hunger games series, by Suzzanne Collins.

#9 Looking for Alaska, by John Green.

#10 The last song, by Nicholas Sparks.


Year 2014: 25 books.

TOP FIVE BOOKS OF 2014.

#1 The notebook, by Nicholas Sparks.

#2 Inferno, by Dan Brown.

#3 The lost hero, by Rick Riordan.

#4 The lost symbol, by Dan Brown

#5 Divergent, by Veronica Roth.


Year 2015: 52 books.

TOP TEN BOOKS OF 2015.

#1 Slammed, by Colleen Hoover.

#2 I'll give you the sun, by Jandy Nelson.

#3 Marley and me, by John Grogan.

#4 Gone girl, by Gillian Flynn.

#5 Along for the ride, by Sarah Dessen.

#6 Before I fall, by Lauren Oliver.

#7 What happened to goodbye, by Sarah Dessen.

#8 Never never, by Colleen Hoover.

#9 This lullaby, by Sarah Dessen.

#10 Paper towns, by John Green.


Year 2016: 60 books.

TOP TEN BOOKS OF 2016.

#1 The murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie.

#2 Me before you, by Jojo Moyes.

#3 The graveyard book, by Neil Gaiman.

#4 Anna and the French kiss, by Stephanie Hawkings.

#5 And then there were none, by Agatha Christie.

#6 All the bright places, by Jennifer Niven.

#7 Memories, by Lang Leav.

#8 Malgudi days, by R K Narayan.

#9 To kill a mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

#10 Isla and the happily ever after, by Stephanie Hawkings.

LOVE

Most of my friends know me as someone who loves to write so they like to test my skills by posing certain questions. One such friend recently asked me to describe love to her. I told her I'd write it for her.

So, what is love?

Love is the feeling of being understood for what you are, accepted for who you are. When you can be yourself around the person, when you can feel yourself being lifted off the ground, when the shackles you've surrounded yourself with are broken, all this happening without your knowledge; that is love.

And many a times, we find love in the most unexpected situations. The people we often run away from can provide us the welcome we anticipate. But do we realize this at the right time? Often we don't. Because we are so busy looking at the wrong people and expecting love from the wrong sources. Look around you, look within you. You're surrounded by love, you only need to open your eyes and learn to embrace it.

And for the lucky ones who do find the love they crave from the very people they seek, a small advice.
If you love someone, love them to the moon and back. Or don't at all. Because if it isn't extreme, it isn't worth anything. Love that doesn't make you want to reach for the stars is not love. Love that helps you grow, and grows with you, is true.
Love needn't make you forget the world, it only has to remind you of itself when you're with the world.
Love is simple, like a drop of rain. But for a soul that's been wandering in the desert, the very drop of rain is a ray of hope. And that is exactly what love is - a ray of hope.