THE SPECTACLES - Part-1 - "At the thanksgiving"

“STONE PAPER SCIZZORS”;

No one wins.

“STONE PAPER SCIZZORS”;

No one wins.

“STONE PAPER SCIZZORS”;

No one wins and this continues for another three times.

Cindy remarks,”Are you reading my mind ?”.

“If I could, I would have kept paper instead of stone.” replied Judith.

“Girls, enough of chattering. We need your hand in laying the dinner table.”

“Of the Thanksgiving party?”; Judith said with a twinkle of delight on her face. The girls strolled to the dining Hall. They walked as they chirped and chirped as they walked. “ Judy, its already 4 days since I’ve got you to this country place.”

“Ya, I’ve neither seen a country, nor a family.”

“One more chance ,I would have won and have had those spectacles in the drawer.” yearned Cindy. ”Aye, those gold rimmed spectacles really speculate me. No wonder your rich Grandma owns them.” remarked Judith.

“ I long to experience that authentic feeling of wearing and owning those authentic spectacles. Just one more chance?” desired Cindy.

“Then whose stopping you? Stone, PAPER,…?”said Judith seriously, with her eyes into Cindy’s.. Cindy’s eyes were into Judith’s… With a shriek of “ SCIZZOR!” Cindy raised her hand and Low… there occurred a disaster.

Her Mom came panting and running, to see the cooked meat meet its worst fate on the ground. ”Mom its just cooked meat. We’ll find some more in there. Its it’s destiny .Life must go on.” Cindy held a wrinkled smile. Judith slipped out after listening to her dialogues.

“ Honey, lets bother about the fate of the one who has carried cooked meat on my expensive Japanese plate and ended it up into pieces…”

Finally, at the dining Hall

The Dining Hall gave a blazing smudged shine of yellow lights and candle lights twinkled on here and there. The big hall was full of people babbling, chattering and buzzing around. Noise of this filled the place. Country women in their long and beautiful gowns were in their groups chirping and chuckling endlessly- may it be about their dress, jewellery or about their mate who isn’t present there. Young men were indulged in showing the strength of their muscles. The children chitter chatter here and there eating chocolates and doing mischief. the elderly fondly remembered about their past and among them was Mrs Greta the host of the party and the head of the house.

In the midst of all this Cindy wanted to take her dude to her grandma. Judith was so ecstatic on seeing such a big family that she wished everyone who came in her way may it be uncles, aunts, kids or boys with a star twinkling in her eye. Judith’s this luxury left Cindy’s mission incomplete before everyone were at dinner table, helping themselves with what they wanted.

Judith and Cindy were seated together. Judith’s eyes fell on expensive cutlery but quickly rolled her eyes away from them. She started feasting on the meat ravenously.

Cindy took a shiny silver spoon. She started serving herself with pieces of cooked meat from that big brown bowl. After putting one nice piece on her plate, she brought another of its kind to the plate and when her eyes fell on the plate, there was only one piece on the plate. Never mind, she did it again but still there was only one piece and this repeated for another three times.

Cindy lifts her head up baffled, with a wrinkled forehead and crescented eyes. “ is it that four and one make only one ?”; “ No how can that be?”; to herself. Then she held the spoon, licked it clean and brought it close to her face to find an inverted image of hers on it.” Did you eat my meat ?” She murmured. After a little scratching her head, she turned to Judith.                

“You’re no ordinary woman.” Cindy said with wide open eyes and aweful lips.

“Mmm…”

 “Please make them reappear the way you’ve mysteriously swallowed ‘em.”

 “Mmmm…”

Judith was so engrossed in munching that she said only ”Mmmm”.

Cindy looked at other’s plates with blinking eyes, and grumbled,” Why is she behind only my plate?” and turned right-

“Now I understand where-“, Cindy started in an angry tone but ended with a fading one. A baffled, frustrated face now grew into an increasingly piteous and a charitable one. The frowned eyebrows turned flat, the waves on her forehead turned calm and her eyes shrinked.

The mysterious meat was on a Japanese fork bathed in his saliva. The lad’s teeth clad it and pulled it off the fork – to his mouth where he cherished each and every morsel of it. Not only his chewing ,but also his paced breath was clearly making into Cindy’s ears. A mercified Cindy asked softly,” Wanna have more?”. Before Cindy could see his face,

the boy’s hand ran into his pockets and he put on a mask to his face. The brown stains of the food made their marks on it. As Cindy kept her eyes fixed on his mask , his fingers tipped her spoon and it made a clatter on the floor. Cindy bent to pick it up and got up just to find that seat vacant. Her eyes wandered for him but in vain.

Never mind, she served herself .

The clock struck ten. Drunk men and tired women wibbled and wobbled here and there for their own reasons. Judith and Cindy flung their aprons down after washing their part of the dishes. “ You’ve never trilled about this to me?”; “Yes Judy, because I’m optimistic.”

“ Okay girls, both of you go to your beds!”, commanded Cindy’s mother. The girls took unwilling steps to their room when Judy sparked up, ”Hey, we’ll go to the bed, but your Grandma’s”

The girls entered the old one’s old bedroom. Cindy sat on that warm bed and “ Judy , I’ll have you met with my granny and…”. Meanwhile, Judith’s fingers slipped onto the knob of the wooden drawer saying, ”The furniture is quite old but it has intricate designs..” . and now, only Judy’s honey hued hairs faced Cindy.

“ Yes Judy, just waiting for our grand old lady…” and Cindy’s mouth opened largely for a yawn when Judith’s mouth opened extra largely in wild astonishment. “Judy, Judy…”; “Judy, are you…

 Cindy got up rubbing her eyes to see the spectacles resting on Judith’s face.

Judy was paler than before, her mouth opened larger than never and her eyes grew bigger. Her hands and feet were frozen and in a nut shell, she was drowned in the sea of astonishment.

Mrs Greta came with her meek footsteps breaking the silence of the moment. Soon she was beside Cindy and behind Judith. “ Young dame, why are you horrified on seeing such a lovely lad?”.

Cindy stood dumb.

In front of Judith’s frozen eyes, there was no sight of Grandma’s room. Neither the grand furniture nor the candle lights were visible. But they were no sunglasses, they were crystal clear transparent glasses.

Cindy slowly and cautiously leaned on Judith’s frozen shoulder to see the awe. Then stood there, an awestricken Cindy. Judith’s scene repeats.

Slowly and steadily, Mrs Greta moved towards Judith and pushed her forward towards the mirror. A vent from the floor opened from nowhere and Judith disappeared down into it. The vent got locked. 

In the midst of the darkest of the darkness, Judith opened her eyes.

TO BE CONTINUED…