E for ..... Empowerment

This is a work of fiction and forms a part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I will attempt to write a new story based on the word for the day every day during the month of April.

“He hit you again, didn’t he?”, I asked Ela, catching sight of the bruises she had been trying to hide with her scarf. “Why do you put up with it? Just leave him.”

“You don’t understand”, she stated. “If I resist, he will go after my Princess.”

Try as I would, I could never understand. Why did she have to put up with the abuse when she was the only earning member in the family?

That was five years back. Today, her daughter is a software engineer, and Ela lives with her. Maybe she was more empowered than I thought.

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A Drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

D for ..... Destiny

This is a work of fiction and forms a part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I will attempt to write a new story based on the word for the day every day during the month of April.

I was turning off my laptop, when my boss called out. “I need something done. Can you stay back for an hour or two?”

I couldn’t. It was the last day of the Picasso Exhibition, and Disha and I were both looking forward to it. But Appraisals were coming up, and I really had no choice.

“Thank you so much for staying back”, my boss told me when I was done. “By the way, I have two passes for a private reception at the Picasso Exhibition. Would you be interested?”

I never really believed in Destiny, but sometimes I wonder.

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A Drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

C for ..... Courage

This is a work of fiction and forms a part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I will attempt to write a new story based on the word for the day every day during the month of April.

“You better not be throwing a party when Mom and Dad are away”, Chris warned.

“Oh come on. This is not a party. I’m just calling a couple of friends.”

“This is not a couple of friends. This is a whole bunch of people you barely know.”

“Don’t be a spoilsport. They won’t even know unless you tell them.”

“That’s not the point. You promised something, stick to it. If you have a problem, take it up with them.”

“You coward. You sissy. You.....”

Chris ignored his sister. He knew it took courage to stand up for what was right.

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A Drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

B for ...... Beauty

This is a work of fiction and forms a part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I will attempt to write a new story based on the word for the day every day during the month of April.

Buck toothed and bespectacled, everyone picked on poor Bindu. When she wasn’t being bullied, she was being shunned.

“Beauty is only skin deep”, her mother would assure her. But she was never convinced. She wanted to be accepted. She wanted to be like them.

And then she transformed herself. With her braces removed, and brand new contact lenses, she became Beautiful. Suddenly, she was popular. The boys who’d pulled her pigtails lined up to ask her out. The girls who’d ignored her wanted to be friends.

It was nice to be Beautiful, but Bindu knew exactly who she could trust.

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A Drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.

A for ...... Advice

This is a work of fiction and forms a part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I will attempt to write a new story based on the word for the day every day during the month of April.

To her friends, she was Anna. Compassionate Anna, who’s shoulder was always there for you to cry on. Dependable Anna, who never repeated any of your confidences.

Nobody suspected she was Aunt Agatha- the sassy, savvy, cynical Agony Aunt who said it as she saw it. Aunt Agatha, who often sounded blunt and uncaring, but was nothing if not sensible. How could they? Anna never professed advice; she only patiently heard you out.

Aunt Agatha was famous. People hung on to every word she uttered. But deep down, she knew that it was as Anna that she was most effective.

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A Drabble is a story told in exactly 100 words.