Soothing! Romantic! - that's what Danny thought when he heard John Denver's "Leaving on a jet plane...". Don't know what it was - maybe the roar of the engines of the jet plane - but Dan jumped out of his bed all of a sudden and in doing so, he nearly fell all over the place. He just realized that he was sleeping and John Denver was singing to him through his Mobile phone's alarm tone! He dragged his feet to the corner of the room and was standing in front of the mirror not knowing whether to laugh at his face or admire the not so tall, not so dark, and not so handsome looks ;-) He did not have to think much, for he glanced at the big clock hanging in his room and it screamed right at his face, “9:30”. You should have seen the look on his face. I don't know how to describe it. But it looked like thunder, lighting, and constipation stuck him at the same time!
Danny ran and what a run it was – he could have run straight into the Beijing Olympics stadium and they wouldn’t have asked him for a qualification run or credentials and such. He dashed straight to the bathroom and was out of it in record time! Again, if there was an event – maybe some kind of “bath-and-other essentials-athalon”, our Danny would have set a world record. His mother was surprisingly amused at his antics and asked him, Beta, what are you doing? Are you ok? He replied, Maria, mummy!! Maria!!! Her mom wants to meet me today at 11 and its 9:30 already. Where are my socks? My shoes? My belt?....What am I gonna do?, his voice trailed off as he ran in all directions to find his clothing and accessories.
Maria – the very name brought a sparkle in his eye, a spring in his step, and dreams in his sleep. Talk about the name that launched a thousand dreams! But right now, the same name caused more than a spring in his step as he jumped all around his room – getting ready to meet Maria’s mom. He rehearsed his dialogues in front of the mirror and again caught a glimpse of his not so tall, not so dark, and not so handsome being. The same big clock now stuck ten times even as Danny jumped with every gong! 10 am? Danny shook his head faster than what a rotating table fan would if it did so at the speed of light.
The belt! Where’s the belt? He dug his bag to find out where his belt was and as he dug with exasperation, he had a flashback – it was Friday and his friend at office had forgotten her belt at home. She was having a tough time managing without a belt and asked Danny if he had a spare one. He usually traveled back home on Fridays and he did have a spare belt in his bag. He removed his best formal belt and gave it to her and he wore the spare casual one and that’s how he traveled home that day. And as the law of Murphy would have it, Danny forgot all about the belt until the next morning when he needed it the most! Chaos. That’s one word that’d have described his state of mind. He had a brilliant brainwave in the meanwhile – he thought to himself, I will wear this casual belt – with its end hanging around my waist – and go to a shop and buy a nice new belt on my way to Maria’s home! He added a thought, as an afterthought, Dan, you’re a genius!
Danny almost flew out of his door as he darted with destination “Maria” in his mind. He hopped onto a rickshaw and barked out directions to the annoyed rickshaw driver. Post-barking, he realized that he still had to get the belt! To the further annoyance of the rickshaw driver, Danny asked him to stop, paid him and stormed a store with his barking Belt, belt, belt! Show me all nice belts you have! The guy at the store gave him the don’t-get-excited-its-just-a-belt look. That look gave Danny the feeling of being hit below the belt! Eureka. Now he knew what the phrase hitting under the belt meant! Well, he thought so. The store guy laid out an array of belts out of which Danny picked up a decent one and announced that he’d take it. He quickly strapped the belt around his waist and indicated where he’d want punches to dock the belt on his waist. The guy at the store set off punching the belt and he acted as if he was drilling a hole in hard rock! And he made faces – crazy faces like Dan had never seen before. And the time was running out… it was already nearing 10:20!!!! Danny’s famous bark surfaced again as he barked at the guy to show him another belt that he could just snap on! Out came the snap-on belt, which Danny boy grabbed and put it around his waist, packed the other belt in a bag and marched out of the shop!
The Bouquet! Yes, the bouquet! Danny, you’re truly a genius!, he thought again as he planned he would give a bouquet to Maria’s mother who, in turn, will get impressed and marvel at the thoughtfulness of her prospective future “son-in-law”! Danny hopped into a rickshaw and asked the driver to halt at the very first sight of a florist. He hopped out of the rick, skipped up to the florist, grabbed the biggest bouquet he’d see and jumped back into the rick. Quarter to eleven and he was still about half of a sand-box away from her house and the huge bouquet wasn’t helping either! A windy day and the rick moving fast – would have been heartily welcome on a hot and sultry day like this but Danny wasn’t in a mood to welcome even the hint of a breeze. He had a tough time guarding the flowers against the breeze and he was sure by the time he reached his destination, they’ll look like they were picked off either from somebody’s house or from a graveyard! Gulp! Danny gulped so loud that the poor driver jumped with fright. But one look at Dan’s face, and the driver changed his mind of giving a piece of his own to Danny boy. It was half-past eleven when Danny stepped out of the rick with the bouquet and his old belt in hand. He looked skywards and smiled. He adjusted his hairstyle – not that he had a great one but he wanted to be presentable.
The Bride! The very thought brought back the spring in his step and the smile on his face. Upwards, ahoy! – He seemed to shout as he entered the elevator and pressed the button that would teleport him or some such, into Maria’s house. He rang the bell and waited on with his best smile. The best smile he’d ever seen in his life greeted his as Maria opened the door. Hurriedly he removed his shoes as he entered her house. There! There she goes – err, comes – he saw Maria’s mom coming towards him and he was ready with the bouquet and a smile. This is for you, Aunty, said Danny as he bowed – just at the right angle and presented the bouquet to Maria’s mom. After a few formalities that saw them exchange pleasantries, they got down to talking about the serious issue at hand. The question was – why did the boy with the belt and the bouquet deserve the bride? We won’t get into the details of the discussion that happened there for Danny told me he wants those discussions to stay where they happened. With all due respect to Danny and Maria, let me send Danny back home :-) but not before telling you that Danny did keep the belt with him. The bouquet was gone. The bride was too, almost. In his heart he knew they both will be bride and groom, one day…
The boy with the belt and the bouquet (which was no longer his) sat in the bus (no rick this time) traveling back home thinking about the bride (to be). His thoughts sang a lullaby to him as he drifted into a peaceful sleep oblivious of the noise of an entire metropolitan city around him. There was a serene look on his face that always expected the best to happen and believed that whatever happened – happened for the best. An old, wise lady traveling in the same bus saw Danny sleeping like a kid and she thought, what a cute little kid. Little did she know how this very kid went through the day and what happened with the belt, the bouquet and the bride…
Danny ran and what a run it was – he could have run straight into the Beijing Olympics stadium and they wouldn’t have asked him for a qualification run or credentials and such. He dashed straight to the bathroom and was out of it in record time! Again, if there was an event – maybe some kind of “bath-and-other essentials-athalon”, our Danny would have set a world record. His mother was surprisingly amused at his antics and asked him, Beta, what are you doing? Are you ok? He replied, Maria, mummy!! Maria!!! Her mom wants to meet me today at 11 and its 9:30 already. Where are my socks? My shoes? My belt?....What am I gonna do?, his voice trailed off as he ran in all directions to find his clothing and accessories.
Maria – the very name brought a sparkle in his eye, a spring in his step, and dreams in his sleep. Talk about the name that launched a thousand dreams! But right now, the same name caused more than a spring in his step as he jumped all around his room – getting ready to meet Maria’s mom. He rehearsed his dialogues in front of the mirror and again caught a glimpse of his not so tall, not so dark, and not so handsome being. The same big clock now stuck ten times even as Danny jumped with every gong! 10 am? Danny shook his head faster than what a rotating table fan would if it did so at the speed of light.
The belt! Where’s the belt? He dug his bag to find out where his belt was and as he dug with exasperation, he had a flashback – it was Friday and his friend at office had forgotten her belt at home. She was having a tough time managing without a belt and asked Danny if he had a spare one. He usually traveled back home on Fridays and he did have a spare belt in his bag. He removed his best formal belt and gave it to her and he wore the spare casual one and that’s how he traveled home that day. And as the law of Murphy would have it, Danny forgot all about the belt until the next morning when he needed it the most! Chaos. That’s one word that’d have described his state of mind. He had a brilliant brainwave in the meanwhile – he thought to himself, I will wear this casual belt – with its end hanging around my waist – and go to a shop and buy a nice new belt on my way to Maria’s home! He added a thought, as an afterthought, Dan, you’re a genius!
Danny almost flew out of his door as he darted with destination “Maria” in his mind. He hopped onto a rickshaw and barked out directions to the annoyed rickshaw driver. Post-barking, he realized that he still had to get the belt! To the further annoyance of the rickshaw driver, Danny asked him to stop, paid him and stormed a store with his barking Belt, belt, belt! Show me all nice belts you have! The guy at the store gave him the don’t-get-excited-its-just-a-belt look. That look gave Danny the feeling of being hit below the belt! Eureka. Now he knew what the phrase hitting under the belt meant! Well, he thought so. The store guy laid out an array of belts out of which Danny picked up a decent one and announced that he’d take it. He quickly strapped the belt around his waist and indicated where he’d want punches to dock the belt on his waist. The guy at the store set off punching the belt and he acted as if he was drilling a hole in hard rock! And he made faces – crazy faces like Dan had never seen before. And the time was running out… it was already nearing 10:20!!!! Danny’s famous bark surfaced again as he barked at the guy to show him another belt that he could just snap on! Out came the snap-on belt, which Danny boy grabbed and put it around his waist, packed the other belt in a bag and marched out of the shop!
The Bouquet! Yes, the bouquet! Danny, you’re truly a genius!, he thought again as he planned he would give a bouquet to Maria’s mother who, in turn, will get impressed and marvel at the thoughtfulness of her prospective future “son-in-law”! Danny hopped into a rickshaw and asked the driver to halt at the very first sight of a florist. He hopped out of the rick, skipped up to the florist, grabbed the biggest bouquet he’d see and jumped back into the rick. Quarter to eleven and he was still about half of a sand-box away from her house and the huge bouquet wasn’t helping either! A windy day and the rick moving fast – would have been heartily welcome on a hot and sultry day like this but Danny wasn’t in a mood to welcome even the hint of a breeze. He had a tough time guarding the flowers against the breeze and he was sure by the time he reached his destination, they’ll look like they were picked off either from somebody’s house or from a graveyard! Gulp! Danny gulped so loud that the poor driver jumped with fright. But one look at Dan’s face, and the driver changed his mind of giving a piece of his own to Danny boy. It was half-past eleven when Danny stepped out of the rick with the bouquet and his old belt in hand. He looked skywards and smiled. He adjusted his hairstyle – not that he had a great one but he wanted to be presentable.
The Bride! The very thought brought back the spring in his step and the smile on his face. Upwards, ahoy! – He seemed to shout as he entered the elevator and pressed the button that would teleport him or some such, into Maria’s house. He rang the bell and waited on with his best smile. The best smile he’d ever seen in his life greeted his as Maria opened the door. Hurriedly he removed his shoes as he entered her house. There! There she goes – err, comes – he saw Maria’s mom coming towards him and he was ready with the bouquet and a smile. This is for you, Aunty, said Danny as he bowed – just at the right angle and presented the bouquet to Maria’s mom. After a few formalities that saw them exchange pleasantries, they got down to talking about the serious issue at hand. The question was – why did the boy with the belt and the bouquet deserve the bride? We won’t get into the details of the discussion that happened there for Danny told me he wants those discussions to stay where they happened. With all due respect to Danny and Maria, let me send Danny back home :-) but not before telling you that Danny did keep the belt with him. The bouquet was gone. The bride was too, almost. In his heart he knew they both will be bride and groom, one day…
The boy with the belt and the bouquet (which was no longer his) sat in the bus (no rick this time) traveling back home thinking about the bride (to be). His thoughts sang a lullaby to him as he drifted into a peaceful sleep oblivious of the noise of an entire metropolitan city around him. There was a serene look on his face that always expected the best to happen and believed that whatever happened – happened for the best. An old, wise lady traveling in the same bus saw Danny sleeping like a kid and she thought, what a cute little kid. Little did she know how this very kid went through the day and what happened with the belt, the bouquet and the bride…
David Antony,
28/05/2008
9 comments:
Ooooh such a sweet story.:) is it even a story? ;)
lol@the running bit!
hey pretty nice n realistic stuff!
n i know it dan wud get the bride!;-)
Is this fiction or did it happen for real?
@Kavitha,
Saare, you stopped by, awesome ;-) he he...
@UD
thanggue dost.. and thanggs for ur wishes too!!
@Shrads,
:-)
LOL! LOL! LOL!
I cudnt stop laughing all thru those these lines brought a sweet smile on my face :D :
Maria – the very name brought a sparkle in his eye, a spring in his step, and dreams in his sleep. Talk about the name that launched a thousand dreams! But right now, the same name caused more than a spring in his step
@Meena the Winnie :-)
Thanggue for stopping by and for your comments...
btw, i love all your blogs!!
and just how do you find so much time to write so many things every day? :-o
Dave....good one....!! ur turn for the same "rush" will come too!!!
good one..makes for a very fast read
edaaa...awsum...i smiled all thru...n had a prayer on my lips at de end...maria belongs wid danny n thts where shez gonna b....
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