OF THE SKIES AND OCEANS

Some princesses are locked up high in the castle towers and I'm in a lockdown in my towering building. If the princes were led to Disney princesses for the dulcet songs they sang, I only had a hoarse voice hearing which, even the frog prince would make a hurried exit. A dreadful disease had overtaken the world and people stayed away from each other. Who would come to rescue me, and why would he?

My heart did a double take as I saw a smiling tall, dark, handsome man in an unusual attire outside my window. I was on the 22nd floor! Was he a ghost? I was about to black out when he quickly said, "Sangeetha, fear not! Don't you know me? I'm Aladdin. Come, hop on! We have no time to lose!"

Hop on?? Where??

I gingerly opened my window and there he was on his flying carpet. He took my hand and before I knew it, we were flying through the night sky, high above the skyscrapers and twinkling lights below. I gasped.

"Aladdin, where are we going in a hurry?"

"Sangeetha, you have to save Ariel from making a grave mistake. She's been brainwashed into killing my friend, Prince Eric."

"Ariel? The mermaid? What are you talking about! Why me? Oh! Doesn't she live under water? Are you trying to drown me, Aladdin?"

"Sangeetha! How can you even think …! She's been imprisoned in an impenetrable tower on a small island in the middle of a raging sea. Ursula, the witch who gave her a raw deal, has brainwashed you too and given you land-legs to separate you from your family forever. Don't you remember anything at all?! You're Ariel's sister. I'm here to take you to Ariel."

All this was too much to take in. I had to save my sister. She wouldn't survive long on land!

"Sangeetha, my genie will give you three wishes. Use them wisely."

As I nodded, we reached a strange land and I peeked in through the tower window.

“Don’t be afraid,” I said, stepping in.

Ariel gasped. “Sangeetha! Where were you? How are you? I thought the witch killed you. Can you get me out of here?”

“I think I can." I tried to convince her.

“Then let’s go!” Ariel was anxious. We hopped onto the magic carpet and I rubbed Aladdin's magic lamp. When the genie appeared, I told him to make us invisible.

“Hold on tight, Ariel.”

With her arms wrapped around me, we plunged through the freezing water.

I made my second wish to help me breathe underwater. Once we reached her castle, we were visible to the mermen, who had spotted us swimming towards them.

"Look who's here! It's Ariel...and…. Sangeetha, Your Majesty!"

My father was overjoyed to see me. I was meeting my long lost family. Although I couldn't remember my life with them. A great feast was held in my honour. When it was time for me to leave, they wouldn't let me go! They bound me with seaweed ropes inside a cage made of sharp shark's teeth and poisonous stings of stingrays.

"Ariel! Is this what I get in return for helping you? Release me!"

Ariel, hearing my cries, pleaded to her father to let me go. But her voice too fell on deaf ears. I still had the magic lamp in my pocket. I rubbed it and made my third and last wish to take me back to where I came from.

I was thrashing my hands and legs. I woke up to blinding sunlight outside my window. It was noon. I was back at home! It had felt so real all this time.

I felt something tied on my wrist. My gaze fell on an exotic handkerchief with the most intricate embroidery that I'd seen on the cover page of Arabian Nights' Tales!

Enclosed in my palms was the most beautiful seashell embedded with untold precious stones from the ocean depths. "Thank you, Sangeetha. Live free. With love, your sister, Ariel" was written in dainty writing on it.

Comments

GROWN, FLOWN AND HOME ALONE!

GROWN, FLOWN AND HOME ALONE! The scent of sweet spring is here! Buds and blooms add dashes of color as the grayscale backdrop bids farewell. While the hush of icy twilights were a sweet lullaby and hazy halos of the winter moon sparkled away, our tender snuggles under the downy, weighted quilts were cozy and warm spaces. Dreams floated in and out—whispering their nostalgia and wistfulness. They hummed a timeless tune of a sacred and cherished bonding of a mother and her cub. The sunlight shone a pale peach behind my closed eyelids before they fluttered open to a bright eve of a spring dawn. The rush of warm breeze rustling the pendulous Silver Anne pothos, heady fragrances wafting from rosemary sprigs and the calming lavender stalks roused the lethargic bear in me from my hibernation. A well deserved wintering later, life is once again a delectable stew bubbling away. Of a different flavor this time. **** My den these days is a no sound zone. All day. Un...

ANAM CARA

The waves are soft and frothy. Laced with gossamer frills tenderly kissing the tips of my toes covered with the grainy sand of the rugged seashore where I'm sitting, wistful. A gust of briny breeze tousles my hair as I gaze as far as my eyes can see. A flock of terns wheel overhead, their sharp, shrill cries punctuating the air as they dive and swoop over the surfs. A lone frigate bird, its crimson belly dazzling like a jewel skims majestically above, its long, slender wings outstretched as it rides the thermals high above the ocean. I absorb the sights and sounds of the late afternoon while absentmindedly scooping seashells beside me. As the afternoon phases, the furthest rim of the ocean is fringed in a gilded hem and the sleepy sun yawns, its dipping glow streaking the sky in a mellow tangerine and warm cherry. As I continue sitting there, the ships and yachts appear --specks of light from the portholes glimmering in the distance, reminding me of the phrase “That ship has saile...

A-Z Blogging Challenge Theme Reveal

Hey everyone! April is almost upon us and it reminds me of my childhood summer vacations, visiting my cousins in different cities, playing with them and watching movies late into the nights, brunches, more outdoor skips and hops and when the boiling sun drove us indoors, how the tangy, icy lemonade pitchers awaited us. April is also about April showers, new beginnings and of late —the month of blogging! I'm excited to announce that I'll be participating in the A-Z April Blogger Challenge, starting on April 1st! This challenge is all about pushing myself to create new content, connect with fellow bloggers, and have immense fun while doing it. Throughout the month, I'll be posting daily(except on Sundays) on a variety of topics, ranging from personal reflections to mixed random bags of thoughts especially bordering on memoirs and non fiction. That's something I excel in apart from writing fantasy and the paranormal. 2025 will see my blog Sanguine Allegory bustling with ...

BOKETTO

In my quiet moments, I pause the world from its frantic pace. In that stillness, I wistfully gaze into the distance and just let things unfurl as they please. I let my thoughts flow, absorbing nothing. Internalizing nothing. And just like that, the strands of tightly woven twine untangle and the knots come loose. Today, as usual, I found myself caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily grind. I was rushing to get things done, stressing about deadlines, and feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tasks on my to-do list. But then, I took a deliberate pause. With a deep breath, I stretched, stepped away from my desk, and walked out onto my balcony. Leaning on the railing, I looked down at the familiar lanes of my neighborhood, twirling around the corners behind the blocks of apartments. The park and playground stood deserted at noon amid the cluster of flowering trees and surrounded by the hedges lining the curbs. I gazed at the sky, feeling the warm sun on my face and ...

CHẠ̀WKHRĀW (Chxw̒kh rxw̒)

As usual, at the dot of 8 pm, the Guzheng plays its stirring chords, the haunting notes beginning a slow sweep, rising to a powerful crescendo and alternating with a tranquil ebbing of melody surfing me along the waves of soul-stirring, yet a serene stretch of an hour every day. I make it a point to sit right beside my dining room window to bask in this lulling sound therapy as my neighbor downstairs diligently plays on this zither, oblivious to my admiration. What a luxury it is to have a live orchestra while I savour the last meal of the day. It's a welcome distraction to the otherwise jarring squabbling of the playful neighbourhood children. The Chạ̀wkhrāw of this– that the musical household might move one day is a foreboding thought. Foreshadowing this, deeply ingrained in me is the shattering news I had received upon returning to Singapore after an 8 month absence here. The Ramadan festive season was fast approaching at the end of March but the apartm...

Sangeetha Kamath

Search This Blog