2AM

The clock struck 2am.

As I dragged myself from the couch, after saving my work. Mind was still occupied by my character, Lennard, who was trying hard to cope with his wife's demise.

I was taking baby steps towards my bedroom while trying to find a solution on how to help him cope, just then I heard a loud thumping and pounding of the pipes. Frightened, I ran towards the noise. Peeped out the window to hear humming as loud as a bee. 'Focused towards the ruckus to find the sprinkler system set off at an odd hour. 

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 In 99 words (no more, no less) write a 2 a.m. story

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Spotlight of Angelic Beats by Sarita Singh

Angelic Beats 

By 

Sarita Singh

The Blurb

Angelic Beats is the story of a boy in his late teens who falls in love with a married woman. Both defy their ages; the woman for her looks and innocence and the boy for his confidence and clarity in life along with integrity. The journey of the boy for his passion also becomes journey of love for both that finally takes them to more meaningful destinations. It unfolds the changing perspective of a young boy and a married woman in various situations of life treading the path of love and success together. How they carry on with love and friendship as a responsibility is quintessence to their journeys.Love can make one completely blind or it can candle all the darkness in life.Sometimes destiny becomes the greatest magician. It brings two opposite people, Sahil and Aakanksha, on one platform. Even their personal statuses do not match for one is married and the other single. One is confident about making choices in life, whereas the other is always scared of making a choice. One is always positive, and the other is negative in outlook. Unlike mathematics, where “+” and “−” always make “−”, sometimes in real life, “+” and “−“ do make a “+” together. On the road leading to his passion, he happened to meet the first love of his life too. Before going to the National Defence Academy for the journey to be a commissioned officer in Indian Air Force finally, he introduced “love” in her and his own life and pledged his heart to her. The arrows of cupid struck her also. Do their final choices engulf all other relationships like a storm and rage and bleed their self-esteem? Or are they able to carry their choices gracefully through their quest for happiness?

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Meet the Author

The author, Sarita Singh, is a post-graduate in chemistry with a post-graduate diploma in mass communications. Born and brought up in Panipat, Haryana, she has been married to a doctor and is blessed with a son. The author is a state civil services (allied) officer, who has also taught in various institutions earlier. Reading and writing have always been a part of Sarita Singh who used to write her diary from a very young age. Like many others, she too loves gossiping and enjoying with friends and family as she loves spending time with them. The author believes in a few optimistic thoughts: “I am alright, I am happy where I am now, but I wish to be somewhere else. And I will try for it.”

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A Fall and a Rise

It was the 20th century, I was a high schooler and my parents had enrolled me in a Karate Academy. Self-defense was numero uno even at that time especially since I used to love going on trekking expeditions with groups. I had to become self-sufficient and thus started the journey of sweating and grinding those teeth and blowing out air while furiously yet with elegance and swiftness move my legs and arms in the air to learn the right strokes of defense. 

With repeated actions for a few months day in and out, my muscle memory was getting sharp, thus helping me transform from a crude to a couth.

Came the day of testing where myself a white belt was aspiring for a yellow belt. Practiced my drill many times in the presence and the absence of my instructor. 

Many schools had assembled there for the belt testing of their respective students. 

The Academy had decided to start from the highest rank to the lowest. Thus, I was seated with all the white belt students and enjoying the show although would gulp now and then seeing how meticulous and thorough the students testing for higher belts were. I was amazed at how their simple shout from the gut and keeping their hands slightly tilted they could break "n" number of tiles. At every slab thrashed, I would look at my hand, which thankfully was intact. 

*Gulp*

Finally the colored belts finished, and my name was announced. I performed my drills and then when it came to breaking the tiles, I gave out a loud sound (inspired by the pros) and brought my hand thrashing to the tile.

Alas, it did not break. 

In fact, I felt my flexor tendons tire out.

Hmm strange!

I tried this time with a bellowing sound again and came towards the tile with an active force. 

Nothing!

Finally, the instructor asked me to be seated. 
I was devastated!

This was my epic fail moment, cause I came with full confidence but could not deliver the result. 

Sad, and dejected I sat down hand in hand while caressing it. 

The result was clear since I did not break that darn tile, I was a white belter for another ~six months until the next testing period.

Needless to say, my next testing was perfect. My stances, punches, kicks, blocks and self-defense was smooth. It was as if over a period, I was polished several times, and thus was shining like a diamond on the day of my test. 

Mantra for today: Nothing is termed as the epic fail, as long as you learn from the fall. 


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FTSF is here.
Their sentence is,"A Epic Fail moment"

Wordless Wednesday #68

We are welcomed with fog each morning. This heavy mist reduces visibility leaving us all perplexed as we drive with caution.

The same analogy could be applied to our lives.

We don't know our future, thus ought to drive our wheels of life carefully, meticulously and with awareness since we don't know what could hit us the next moment.

Mantra for today: Life could go wasted if not lived with prudence and vigilance. 


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A Gentle Smile...

Heard about his demise so went to the funeral. 

Saw him in his casket with the same old smile that he wore ~40 years ago. It made me go back to the time when I met him first. The boy who excelled in anything that he touched, or had an aspiration. 

Worked hard for a living and enjoyed nature and captured it well. 

He was a helper, a good cook, and brought a smile to many in need. All were there when he breathed his last shutting down all organs of his body yet leaving with that same old smile. 

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In 99 words (no more, no less) write a life span.

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Review and Spotlight of Canvas of Dreams by Jaya Siva Murty

Canvas Of Dreams

by 

Jaya Siva Murty

The Blurb

 Riya seems to have lost everything—the man she loves to another woman, her husband to death and her soul to fear.An unexpected meeting with her first love, Ryan, stirs up long repressed feelings but also allows her to move out of the long shadow of the past. Unburdened, she feels free to pursue her dream of opening an art gallery and the handsome and intriguing artist Rehaan. But memories of her marriage refuse to fade away and then suddenly, Ryan shows up in her life again. Now, Riya must find the courage to reconcile her past and present.For Riya, life is a canvas of dreams. Can she distinguish between reality and fantasy?

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Canvas of Dreams

My Review

Canvas of Dreams is about a story of Riya and Ryan, who were childhood friends and love blossomed thereafter. However, the bond broke loose when they separated for higher studies, and eventually all contacts were deliberately cut when Riya heard a something about her boyfriend, Ryan.

Life continued, and they meet unexpectedly. Old flames rise, which eventually lead to a fire that was getting difficult to extinguish. This lead them to partially open up their pile of their past, but then ego's clashed when temper was raised by each of them, and that resulted in things staying as is, and they departed with a heavy heart.

Life gave them another opportunity, and this time maybe they realized the impact of time and how life was flying by that they both paused to understand each other, and eventually the cat was out of the basket!

This lead to these two individuals to a happily ever after!

The Author, Jaya Siva Murty did an excellent job in telling a story of two lovers that had the urge to unite, but kept themselves away when their self-pride came in the way. They lived their respective lives in bitterness, and agony until destiny threw them together and forced them to unite after breaking all the barriers.

Canvas of Dreams a story that all persons plan to imagine and draw upon a white raw canvas for themselves a tale of happiness. But when different personalities collide, it could become a story of love, misunderstanding, break up, living under regret, egos clash, and finally making up when the flame within refused to extinguish. 

Meet the Author

Jaya Siva Murty is a business writer and social media manager from Visakhapatnam, India. Fascinated with the written word since the age of ten, she would file away her poems and short stories in a secret diary, till some were finally published by ‘Times of India’ and ‘Savvy’. She has written for the Economic Times and now provides India-relevant stories for a Hong Kong based magazine. When she’s not designing content for websites, or writing technical blogs and articles for clients worldwide, she spins yarns with unusual twists and turns through her works of fiction.

Jaya holds a business management degree and has taken creativity lessons at Stanford University. ‘Canvas of Dreams’ is her debut foray into novella writing.

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Review of "The Guest" by Suneetha Balakrishnan

The Guest

by Suneetha Balakrishnan (Goodreads Author)

4.18 of 5 star

Sameer is a 'catch', he is qualified, comfortably off, well-employed, young and has no bad habits. And when Sameer was proposed for serene Kavitha, she thought he was too nice. But is a girl allowed to say No because the groom proposed is unexciting? Then she met his mother...

The Guest is a day in the life of Mama, Sameer and Kavitha. A story of ordinary, everyday people.

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My Review

The Guest by Suneetha Balakrishnan is a story that talks of the daily grind.  It will keep you in the loop as it gives you an insight of a family that consists of a young lady, Kavitha who is married to the only son, Sameer and still shares a loving relationship with her mother-in-law.

The plot starts with the daily routine of going to work, but then it will keep the reader in a swirl of emotions by either sympathizing with Kavitha at times or cursing Sameer for his arrogance and thoughtlessness.  It is a fast read as it talked about an incident that helped mature Sameer and take his relationship with his wife, Kavitha to a new level.

The author did an excellent job in introducing Kavitha's past and how she got married to Sameer while narrating the incident of that day without making the reader feel lost of the past or the present. Although, my only complaint is that it is a short read, and Suneetha could have added more plots and twists and turns to make this title even more intriguing.

While I give this book a four stars asking readers to invest their time in this book, I would look forward to more books by the author, Suneetha. She has the talent to weave characters under her fold, and help them unite after giving a take home message to the reader, thus making it a win-win situation.