From a father, to his daughter

Dear daughter,

I know its not easy, to be a strong independent woman in a world that constantly tries to pull you down. I see it, the struggle that you go through, the troubles that you hide. I see it and I keep quiet anyway, because I know you will walk out of these hurdles with your head held high. I didn't just raise a daughter, I raised a fighter. I know how easy it is for the world to judge you every time you don't match their notion of how a woman should be. Some people will have troubles with the way you dress, some with the way you talk, some with the friends you make and some even with the life decisions you take. Everytime you do something for your own self, you'll find someone nodding their head in disapproval. Take my advise, and ignore them all. Standing behind you is the man who has more faith in your choices than you do in your own self, and that is all that matters. There is only one person guaranteed to live with you, and that's you, so make sure you find your own happiness first. You'll never be able to make evryone happy, you absolutely dont have to. You weren't put on this earth to please people, you were born to make the most of the life you were given. Make sure you do justice to that.

You will make mistakes, you'll make a lot of them. As long as you learn your lessons from them, know that you are on the right track. I'll be scared everytime you take a bold decision, but I'll also hold on to my faith in your strength. No matter how scary it looks to you and me, I want you to break barriers that hold you down, and find freedom outside your comfort zone. Be the best version of yourself and never, I repeat, never apologise for being who you are. Take pride in the wonderful woman you have grown into.

With nerves of steel and a heart of gold, you're a woman any man would be lucky to have by his side. Make sure you chose the right one, the one who sees you for who you are and gives you the same love that I do. With love comes respect, and if you find a man that gives you both, you'll know you chose the right one. It's not easy though, to spot a gem in a world where crystals shine brighter than diamonds, but since you've come a long way already, you'll be wise enough to give your heart to the one who deserves it. If ever you do find yourself with someone who thinks that you're lesser than him, or anybody else, leave. Without a second thought, leave. You deserve to spend your life with someone who makes you feel that you're the best in the world, at least in his world. A few years later when you raise your children, make sure you lead them by example. Let your daughter learn that she can turn into a terrific woman and handle life like a boss, just like you do. Let your son learn to respect women by the kind of respect you rightfully earn. That's the beauty women hold, they have the power to mould and inspire the ones around them, just by being the best version of themselves.

Life will never stop throwing curve balls your way. Woman up, take your sword and be your own knight in shining armor. Walk out of your troubles with grit and grace. When its time to go, all that matters is how strongly you held on to your right to live a splendid, crazy, beautiful life and how well you smiled through it all.

Promise me you'll never leave your own side, no matter what life demands from you. Remember, you have me too by your side. Always!

Love,
Your proud father

Lets get drunk on love

Let’s get drunk on love. Travel far far away, away from the chaos of life and its demands. Away to the place where the sun meets the sea. Let’s make castles with sand, get our hair dirty with mud on our heads and salt in our hair. Let’s drown our worries in the towering tides that splash our morning faces. Let’s pick shells and leave our footprints by the beach. Let’s jump high and fall back down laughing our hearts out. Let’s sip lemonades by the sea side, counting all the boats that drift far away. By the blue sea where waves meet wonders, as I place my feet on yours and dance to our own music in the sand, let’s get drunk on love.

Let’s chase butterflies by the mountains. I’ll let you put daisies on my hair that you pluck from the way. Let’s race each other to the top of the hill, only to stop half way and sleep under a tree. Let’s ditch our lunch, and feed on mulberries from the shrubs. Let’s dip our feet in the waterfall by the rocks, jump in the cold river and let it wash away the dust from our minds. We’ll let the breeze sway us into the land of dreams as we lose ourselves in a green paradise. The higher we tread, the closer we get. On a mountain where the clouds kiss our feet and mist fogs our eyes, let’s get drunk on love.

Let’s lay down on the grass in a forest, under the midnight sky. As millions of stars look down on us, let’s hold hands and smile back at them. Let shooting stars pass by, we’ll make no wish. We already got what we wished for, the love beating in our hearts. As glow worms light up above our heads, let’s snuggle in a blanket outside our tent. In a forest that sparkles in the starlit sky, by the sound of a flowing stream nearby, let’s get drunk on love.

Let’s race the road in an open top car. I’ll drive and you can put your feet out the window. We’ll soak the sun light and let the wind play with our hair. Let’s stop by every coffee shop we find, fill our hearts with caffeine and hit the road back again. Let’s engrave the story of us on long endless roads that lead nowhere. On a road trip where wind meets freedom and speed meets love, let’s get drunk on love.

Let’s jump in puddles like frogs in a pond, drenching ourselves in the heaviest of rains. Let’s throw our umbrellas away and kiss in the rain, bringing to life our favorite fairy tales. Let’s make paper boats and set them afloat, letting them carry with it all of our woes. We’ll pull branches of trees and splash raindrops on our heads from the leaves. When the rainbow slowly makes its way, let’s paint the sky with colors of life. By the bench of a tea stall on a rainy evening, sipping piping hot tea from a pot of clay, let’s get drunk on love.

Let’s get drunk on love with every chance we get. Let’s get drunk on love with every chance we make. Across the skies, into the sea, far away in the horizon where birds fly free, darling let’s hold hands and never let go.

If she were mine...

"If she were mine…that smile on her face would not be a fake one" he thought, sipping his whisky in the dead of the night, watching her next to her husband. Joe couldn't help but notice how far away they seemed, despite standing next to each other in the balcony. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her fair skin had red patches from his blows. Her beautiful eyes nested in hollow dark sockets. There were fading brown bruises on her hands. "If she were mine…I would never have enough of kissing her cheeks, looking into her eyes and holding her hands."

The husband carried two cups of drinks with him, coffee perhaps. "Didn't he know by now that she likes tea more?" With a wounded hand, she slowly took one from him, moving it to her lips. She hid the withering pain that came with the hot drink brushing against her bruised lips. “If she were mine…I would never stop kissing her lips” Joe sighed.

"I'm sorry" Joe heard the husband apologise.

"It's ok" she said meekly, but Joe could hear her screaming within, that it was not ok. It was just not ok!

"Do you still love me?" the husband asked, holding her by her waist, ignoring the shiver it sent down her spine.

"I do!" she said, unable to look into his eyes.

"Prove it to me then" he said, loosening his grip.

"How?" she asked, dreading his next order. Joe couldn't help but wonder why she put up with him.

"Scream it out from here" he said.

"Now?" she asked, baffled.

"Yes! Now!" Is there a problem? his eyes accrued with rage.

"How can someone be so rude to a wonderful woman like her? If she were mine…I would be the one screaming out to the world how much I loved her, and how lucky I am to have her" Joe thought, pitying her. He clutched his glass of whiskey harder, anymore and it would break in his hands, but Joe didn't care. The broken glass could not incite more pain than he did on her every day.

"No problem..." she mumbled, walking towards the edge of the balcony, leaving her cup behind. Standing at the edge of the railing, she turned her head to the sky. The cold midnight breeze brushed against her tears that fell off her cheeks. Humiliated, yet silent, she prepared to scream out a blatant lie to the winds, that she loved him. Joe wanted to walk away, unable to see him putting her through more humiliation, but he could never have enough of seeing her pretty face.

"If she were mine…her eyes would gleam with joy, not tears. The hair that he pulled, I'd put daisies in them. I'd kiss all the pain away from the cheeks that he so ruthlessly slapped.”

A sudden loud shriek pulled Joe back into the moment!

"Scared you, didn't I" the husband laughed after almost pushing her off the balcony.

Sweating profusely in fear, having come face to face with death, for the first time in two years, Joe saw a storm in her eyes! With burning rage that out shadowed the husband's, her hands shivered again, this time of anger. She mustered all the strength she had buried inside for years and looked straight into his sadist eyes. "Thud!" came a deafening voice as she slapped him right across the face. She looked like an epitome of raging fire with years of pain having been finally eased. "How dare you…" he screamed, ready to hit her, but before he could, she raised her bruised hand again and slapped him harder.

"Enough!" she screamed her lungs out! "Enough! Touch me one more time you sloth and I will murder you right here, right now!" she screamed looking straight into his eyes. It was the first time she looked into his eyes fearlessly.

A sudden silence enthralled as the husband and wife both stood in shock. Had she known before how strong she truly was, the disastrous marriage would have ended long ago. Storming her way into the house, she packed her bags and drove away before he could make sense of what happened.

"If she were mine…again…I would treat her like the princess she is" Joe wiped away a tear, remembering the night he and his wife had both come into their senses. He knew he didn't deserve a second chance. He had been a monster who took her silence way too much for granted, but no amount of guilt or realisation could bring her back to him again. All that accompanied him every night at the balcony now, were a drink to forget the guilt, haunting loneliness and dreams of how life would have been "If she were mine…again..."

What happiness feels like...

Like Water droplets on the glass of the window on a rainy evening.

Like dew drops on blades of grass at dawn on a winter morning.

Like hot piping tea as I read a book on a day off.

Like glittering stars in the pitch dark sky by a highway at midnight.

Like freshly cut flowers in a vase by my bed.

Like a kiss on the forehead. Like a warm blanket on a cold night.

Like a genuine smile from the bottom of my heart.

Like the first wave to touch my feet by the beach.

Like sitting pillion on a fast bike.

Like sunshine on my face on a cold day.

Like the beautiful silence at 2 am.

Like a bird finding a home in my balcony.

Like the breeze against my face outside a rolled down car window. 

Like a profound hug after ages.

Like life!

Love stories in two sentences

Topic inspired from a writing prompt in Quora. Stories inspired from real life fairy tales.

• She blabbers, he listens. Together they have the best conversations.
• Best friends then. Soulmates now.
• He made her believe in fairy tales. She made him believe real life is sweeter.
• They thought they were giving each other a second chance. Little did they know it was love, giving life a reason to stay.
• The past held no power anymore. Their hearts were filled with dreams for the future together.
• They brought out the best in each other. You don’t always fall in love, sometimes you rise!
• He finds magic in her eyes, she finds home in his. It was love at first sight every day for them!
• Fire and Ice can never get together, they thought. Love came along like water and guzzled them both.
• Her madness brings out the child in him he hid inside for too long. The world around them continues to wonder how two opposites found love, as they gleefully build their castle of joy.
• He broke down the walls she hid behind. She made a home for them from the same bricks