ORANGE Tree- #BarAThon

Posted in Aks Corner, BAR-a-THON, Friendship, Love & Relationships, motherhood, Self Love, Short Stories, sisterhood

Shantala and Sudha sat gazing at the stars in the sky, as Sudha peeled an orange and handed over a few pieces to Shantala. They bit into the juicy orange as they reminisced their childhood days. They were childhood buddies, inseparable, people called them Siamese twins.

Their favorite activity was climbing the orange tree in Bhau’s orchid and feasting on the juicy oranges. They loved squirting the orange peels into each other’s eyes. With time, both grew up into young ladies.

Shantala was married off at 21 and she went to live in USA with her hubby. The 2 friends were physically separated but distance was never a barrier. They wrote letters to each other, made a trunk call and with advent of the internet, each was as happy as a lark. Time was now spent in skype, chatting and sharing stuff via Facebook.

Motherhood and responsibilities at home meant they found it a challenge to devote time to each other. At times, the letters were short, the phone calls ended abruptly as a baby wailed nearby. Life’s challenges which each had to face only made their bond stronger. When Shantala wrote her post-graduation exam after 2 kids and Sudha made it to a senior manager post in the bank. both celebrated with equal gusto. Shantala’s hysterectomy and Sudha’s losing her parents in an accident made them hold on to each other even tighter.

Today as they celebrate 55 years of their friendship, they sit side by side enjoying the tranquility of the moment. Shantala has come to India for a visit and the first thing the 2 friends did is take a trip- all by themselves. The squeezed orange peels lay by their side, as they gaze at the stars absorbed in their banter, each thankful for this gift of sisterhood and promising to do her bit in keeping this flame burning.

(This post has been written for the second edition of  BAR-A-THON, the fortnight-long blogging marathon for bloggers everywhere!  My theme is “7 colours of the rainbow ROYGBIV”. I present a Flash Fiction in 300 words  based on one colour  for each day of the challenge and blend it with something that personifies that colour)

barathon

(Blog post image courtesy: Shortday.in)

Published by Akshata Ram

Chartered Accountant, Story Teller, Dreamer, Voracious Reader, Blogger, Mommy to a little munchkin, Shopaholic, Day Dreamer.Passionate about my career in the corporate world and aspire to break the glass ceiling, at the same time nurture my passion for writing. My niche area is short stories, I also write on parenting, sexism, life's experiences, micro blogs and flash fiction. I have won the best Parenting blog post at mycity4kids.com the largest parenting website in India, 4 times and several of my posts have been published in the #MostPopular category on this site garnering millions of views. I also write on Bonobology, Rivo Kids, Women's Web and Youth Ki Awaaz. My blog has been chosen as the Top Indian Blogs for the years 2018-2019,2020 by TopIndianBlogs website and found a place in the prestigious Top 22 Indian Literary Blogs in 2020 @TopIndianBlogs.

24 thoughts on “ORANGE Tree- #BarAThon”

  2. A beautiful tale of friendship and nostalgia. I recently read somewhere that as one grows older, it is such enduring friendships that make old age easier. I loved your theme of using colors to portray emotions.

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    1. Thanks Kala! Long lasting bonds are hard to find for the fact that one needs to invest a lot of time and energy into it . But those who do it and have this special relationship are indeed blessed

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  7. Lovely tale of sisterhood; one that I hope to emulate in my life with my besties. We are close to completing 30 yrs of our friendship and are still the same with each other – a true mirror in each others life!!! Cheers Aks – this is really nicely done 🙂

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    1. 30 years is indeed phenomenal. Sadly I don’t have this kind of relation with anyone. A few who seemed to be special drifted apart. It takes conscious effort by both to keep the boat sailing. Glad that you have such besties!

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  10. Ah the joy & comfort of old friendships. Loved reading this, and happy to discover your blog through BAR A Thon.

    P.S. That is the first ever post that I have read that has a protagonist that shares my name – Shantala. 🙂

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      1. Yep, and the coincidence is especially interesting, because I too moved to US in my early twenties after I got married. 🙂

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