A GIFT I GIVE MYSELF

Books and more books 📚!

All I talk about are books and Babylou. And for good reason. One is my creative board and the piece of my heart is a wise Sounding Board. When I interact with either of them I get great eye openers and enlightenment. There's of course a story behind this with these two main star casts and in no way are disconnected at all with random mentions.

Yeah, so with all my Ring Binder Journals and the various diaries having been filled to the brim with my daily writing plus visual embellishments, they now look no less than chunky blocks--overfed and hard to shut close. Having almost run their course, it was time to get new ones to document the rest of the year.

Amazon showed me the Paperideas A5 Journals with a shipping price to Singapore that would buy me month's worth of groceries for the household! Heck, ah ?! What the...! Is it trimmed with gold and encrusted with precious gems ! Plus the aesthetic pastel colours were all SOLD OUT with only some gaudy, cringe colours available! What a wave upon wave of disappointment! Why so pricey didn't get me any answers.

But I got the books! And how…is the real story.

I don't know how, but maybe, over time my manifestation works by default without my pouring every ounce of my energy into the outcome....

Came across them at a hardware store (of all the places) called The Grey Shop while mindlessly scrolling for itinerary on another item and what do I see?! The leather bound 180 pages flat lay A5 Journals !

Only 7 books were listed of different colours at only a nominal $7 each compared to the exorbitant, almost close to a three-figure pricing I saw earlier. (Must have been a one-time sale wandered into this shop for clearance I guess because Grey Shop deals in a totally different arena of occupation)

Well, without losing a moment I chose the Berry Blush and Icy Blue which are in mint condition. No defects, no flaws and not currently on the market either!

The seller asked me for a meet up at the next station from where I am...but after 8 pm ! *Sharp exhale on encountering another disappointment! So near yet so far. Why was I doing this to myself 🙄*

Just as I was about to go no deal, I took a chance with a request to meet at an earlier time slot. What did I have to lose? At the most they would refuse, which in any case I had come to accept that these books wouldn't be mine anyway. To my surprise he offered for a meet up with an evening slot the very next day!

Even as I was dancing for joy, there comes another message. To give them my postal code. When I obliged, he instantly replied that one of his drivers stayed in my area and he would drop by the books on his way home this very day at 9 Pm at no extra delivery charges !

I went downstairs to the lobby at the scheduled time and this gentleman had arrived punctually even before I did and was waiting with the package in hand.

Babylou (like my warrior bodyguard had accompanied me 😆😅🤣) "Amma! I don't like this! You going down alone at this time. I'M.. COMING.. ALONG WITH YOU! Don't argue with me."

😄 Well, well, well...I have an athletic looking personal security now...at this point I let the role reversals take place organically and amused myself.

She didn't leave my side even for second. He handed me the package, walked away without a backward glance, neither daring to breathe nor saying a word... So much for her overprotectiveness but that's my admirable Babylou wise beyond her years.

The 188 pages of A5 dot grid journals from Paperideas in Turquoise and Avocado Green were also garnered at $5 each! Not in the mind-blowing BS quoted prices in 80s 🙄

Holy Smokes, is that what you call my luck turning in my favour or what?! Handed down on a silver platter...🙏🏻

Food for thought ---Amazon prices... ! I'll leave the sentence unfinished 😅.

For now, my books await in their fresh, papery fragrance. In the 'Instagrammy' colours I preferred.

Comments

ABERCROMBIE LOCKE MANSION

This post is part of the Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026. CHAPTER 1 ABERCROMBIE LOCKE MANSION The sky bled bruises of plum and cherry over the rolling hills. A full moon hung low against the mauve casting silver shards through the trees. The mansion made of cold greystone loomed large beyond the rusted iron gates. It grated on the gravel, rasping on the hinges and yawned open like a predator's jaw as Goldwynn booted it open with her foot. Her sneakers squished heavily on the mulch of dead leaves. Clutching her backpack, she looked up at the towering, grim structure forebodingly. "Are you sure you want to do this?" her friend Lexi whispered, hesitating by the gate. "This mansion's totally cursed, they say." Lexi's voice was a thin thread. A chill crept up her back and she tight...

THEME REVEAL A~Z BLOGGING CHALLENGE THEME REVEAL 2026

Still indecisive 🤔 The commitment is intimidating, yet this will be my third year of participation that makes me want it to come full circle. Third time's a charm it's said. In 2024, I posted 26 blogs from A~Z--micro fiction, long stories, short stories, poems ( oh yes!) in a motley of genres Magic Realism, Surrealism, also a Creature Horror, a Sci Fi thriller *( in dedication to David Duchovny from X-files who was a crushing heartthrob back in my ancient days haha 😆)* all which can be concised into a broader group --FANTASY ! That was my debut year in the Bloggers world and I completed the event with a flourish. **** 2025 was a year. I had to suspend the event midway through it and fly urgently back home for the major part of April. The theme then was a Mixed Bag. Reflections, Lifestyle, Wellness and Self Care principles were the topics I touched upon with A~Z titles all in foreign languages. That was the USP of my blogging challenge last year. A mini fantas...

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 sai...

Moxie N' Mettle

MOXIE N' METTLE In slivers and fragments as my sleep tiptoes, did I do right or wrong my heart needles… Some skies are born of black holes and tempest wreck, There glitters not a ray of light, nor a speck When curtains turbid hold all light hostage, Sandstorms, hailstorms, dust storms, snowstorms, windstorms assail and ravage Spanning my wings as a raging fire Or as a mellow glow of a fairy light in the distant darkness, quite debonaire I'll ignite my spark from within like a star born into itself spurting lava Or explode leaving trails of cosmic dust like a Supernova I will be the Sun creating galaxies and many a constellation. Or burn like a single flame of the candle to keep my hopes and dreams alive with determination! I will be at my own pace I will be whoever and whatever I want to be—in my own race Collapse, crash and crumble! But I'll...

HILANG

Chapter 2 Muay, the Maddening Scamp Seasons had gone by with vibrant autumns and chilling winters. Muay Thai had now become very outgoing and social. On a full moon night, this newly transformed scamp had bounded away on some nocturnal adventure. I waited for her return for almost a week. As I searched high and low for Muay Thai, my heart raced with panic with every passing moment. On one of my search treks, I spotted something that made my blood run cold. Lying on the ground, partially hidden by the underbrush on the curbside, was Muay Thai's collar. The vibrant fuchsia leather was faded and dirty, but the delicate zircon pendant still sparkled in the sunlight and that had caught my attention. Holding it gently in my hands, I examined it for any sign of what might have happened to Muay Thai. But there was nothing - no blood, dried or otherwise. Maybe, just maybe, Muay Thai was still out there, wait...

Sangeetha Kamath

Search This Blog