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.

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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...

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The sleek steel grey landline with it's cordless handset gleams in the mid morning sunlight. It's only a fixture on the tabletop these past several years yet loved and flaunted for old times sake. Also, for the numerous times the handset had nestled in our palms. The vintage feel of it and the stronghold of memories I associate it with beats the smartphone by miles. It has in turn been a confidante of our precious moments, some idling talk, some annoyance oh yes ! and all before Whatsapp made an entry into our lives and the poor dear was no longer in demand. The world was at our fingertips. It doesn't complain, doesn't whimper, not even a sigh, murmur or a slightest hint at a whisper of life for the past decade and more! Except… On Thursday the daylights were socked out of me! Lost in mundane chores, I had my gloved hands deep in a pile of soapy water scrubbing away at the breakfast dishes. The usual swell of silence was harshly rend by the landline from the livin...

Sangeetha Kamath

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