To Appa, With Love

Dear Appa,

I remember the time when we were coming back from Managalore by train some years ago. We got off at the station and were walking towards the exit, when suddenly, there was a massive crowd and a huge rush around us. I remember putting my arms around your waist and clasping on tightly, never letting go, so close that I could hear your heartbeat. You held onto me and made sure I was unharmed. I thought that we would never let go of each other forever.

Now, you will have to leave, and fly, fly far way from home to a new place, where a whole new future is waiting for you. Your dream to pursue further studies is admirable, and I wish the best for you. I do not, however, want to be turn away from my papa, who has been there with me by night for almost every day of my life. When I was small, I used to consider us as a unit, a team, in a cosy nest that we nurtured all these years, all three of us. All that changes now, when you go to your new abode.

I am not trying to be clingy and restrict you, although I would have  if I could. I see that it would be futile, and understand how much this means to you. Go to the places you want to go, do the things you want to do! Just don’t ever stop thinking me. Never change papa, and stay the way you are; soft, kind, determined and ambitious. Don’t hesitate to follow your dreams and go down this new path, no matter how challenging it may seem. There could be downs, difficulties and stones in your way, but do not let that stop you. You know your family is here to wish you the best. My little hands are waiting to be guided by you to the dream that we dreamt together. And when we miss each other ,we The Lion King, one of our favourite movies to remember.

“Look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars... so whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you. And so will I."

Love Anshu

A Day in the Life of a Marshmallow

Who says school homework is boring! The assignment was to write a monologue, 'Daily life of ___'. Here's what I did; what do you think? Do let me know!

I remember the day when I was just a semi-solid goo being prepared into a sugary treat. I was being heated to 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the final step in process. I was picked up tenderly by a little human girl, a bit too early. The heat made her drop me with a yelp, down to the kitchen floor, where I rolled under the space below a closet. Everything seemed dark, but then, suddenly, there were a hundred shining eyes boring into me. Upon closer inspection, they were fellow marshmallows who had been lucky to escape with their lives, like me. It heartened me to be with other melloes (the nickname for marshmallow), and I have lived with them since.

The day starts when a scout wakes up the other sleeping melloes from their slumber. Immediately, we get to work; I am also a scout, and I try and look for human activity in the vicinity. It is weird, but I seem to be an oddball; marshmallows normally detect predators by smell, but for me, everything is like a colourful world, every sound drifting towards me like a musical note from a child’s toy, a xylophone perhaps. Each footstep seems to have a rhythm and that makes my senses much more potent than all the others, making me ‘Captain Mello’. This takes up around 5 hours of my morning, as that is usually my shift.

Marshmallows have relatively quiet lives. We are not all that hardworking, and we loathe stress and pressure. You could say we enjoy the sweetness of life! Due to my ability, my favourite thing to do is to create music; simple rhythms, such as foot-tapping, snapping, clings and clangs of something metallic. After serving my duty, I run over the Sugarcoated Disco, which is near a vent and has cooling. It is where I switch from Captain to DJ Marshmello. I’m getting better at it, and the crowd also gets a wonderful and unique experience. They all fall in love with it, because their usual life is all about survival. That can be tiring, you know!

I think I’m forgetting something here. Why yes, food! It is asurprising fact that Marshmallows love, love, love food. In fact, we usually eat a cherry for breakfast (one serves a family of three) and cream for lunch. It is the night-time ‘snack’ that we adore the most is chocolate syrup, made by cocoa beans. Their silky, smooth nature is what delight us. Civilians usually raid the fridge to get the dry frozen cocoa, which must be left to warm, but the seniors, or melloes like me, get to have premium dark chocolate cocoa, extracted from the depths of the rain-forest. I do not know how they get, but considering the final product, I must learn!

At 11:00, our eyes begin to droop and our strength faltering. Some of us drag ourselves onto our beds, while other just awaken for their night shift. The poor soldiers, armed with their tiny forks, have to constantly be wary of other animals like rats, scurrying across the wooden floor. In the end, when the world of Marshmallows sleeps, there is deadpan silence and no fun in the world. There is a rural legend which says that melloes are the reason for fun in the universe. Most now don’t care for it, but I secretly believe it’s true. When all is done, I look up at the stars, thinking how other marshmallows across the world also look at it. After all, it is a magical and mysterious world, and a mello would be more than willing to forever explore it’s secrets.