Heartstrings and Harmonies by Manali Desai

Author:Manali Desai [Desai, Manali]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

Note: This story was inspired by the prompt ‘Your favourite fictional characters falling in love’ and was first published as part of Blogchatter Blog Hop. It was a featured story under CauseAChatter for its positive message around mental health. It helped Manali receive a badge and a certificate.

The World's Slogan, Stay Vigilant

ये वक्त के कभी गुलाम नहीं

इन्हें किसी बात का ध्यान नहीं

(He is not a slave of time

He has no clue about anything)

"Mom, really?"

"Yes, c'mon get up. Now! I'll keep playing the song till you're out of bed."

I groaned and kicked the quilt off, stomping my feet on the ground as I got up.

"Oh, very subtle. But I'm also your mother, remember?" She walked up to me and landed a whack on the back of my head.

If there was any drowsiness, the remnants of it were now gone. I rubbed the spot where she'd marked me with her love, and dragged my feet to the bathroom.

"Karara jawab milega" [15]I shouted, blew a raspberry and shut the door on her face. You know, before my mother could react or worse, land me another whack.

"Oh, the sheer obstinance! I can't believe I birthed two polar opposite offspring. I'm pretty sure the nurse made a mistake and I was handed the wrong baby."

In case this scene seems familiar, you have my deepest sympathies; we're in the same boat bro, congratulations! And in the off chance that you haven't figured it out yet, I'm the younger we've probably adopted you child in an Indian household. My family thinks that because my elder brother is a compulsive over-achiever, I'm compelled to follow in his footsteps or rather his walk of fame.

Flash news. It's a big NO, because :

a. I don't want to, and

B. I have zero motivation to walk even on the sidewalk next to said walk of fame.

As the morning went by, I took my own sweet time getting fresh. I then took a leisurely shower before walking out to join the rest of the family for breakfast. I rolled my eyes at the sight of Mayank, my elder brother. As expected, he had his head hanging over an open coursebook in front of him.

Curbing my urge to hit him on the head, I casually took a seat next to him. I whistled and grabbed a banana from the fruit basket and hummed the song which was stuck in my head, courtesy my mother.

क्यों दुनिया का नारा, जमे रहो

क्यों मंज़िल का इशारा, जमे रहो

(Why is the world’s slogan ... stay vigilant

Why does our goal beckon ... stay vigilant)

Three sets of scowling faces turned towards me in unison.

"Are you prepared for the examination?" Came the predictable question from my father.

"Of course!" I answered defiantly and went back to my banana.

He turned skeptically towards my mother and the two of them shrugged their shoulders. Great, pretend as if I don't exist. This was their coping mechanism, always.

Honk! Honk!

"C'mon, time to go." Mayank and my mother jumped off their chairs on cue.

The sound indicated the arrival of our school bus.

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