2020: Story 7: The Gift

The old man shuffled inside, glancing about, unsure of himself. He had never come to this huge store on the outskirts of his village. If his wife Lakshmi had been there, she would have taken care of all such things. But she wasn’t, so he had to simply do the best he could.  

Looking at all the products, he wondered what Megha would like. The thought brought a wistful smile to his face. His daughter Megha. So excited about starting her new job tomorrow. It would be the first time she traveled from their village to the nearby town.

He had seen more of the world than Megha and knew that everyone was not as nice as they pretended to be. But he didn’t say a word to her. No point alarming her beforehand. “Let her experience and learn by herself,” ordered the father in him, smothering the voice of the mother in him, that tried to counter by saying, “But she’s so young…”

The saleswoman in the store sensed his confusion and with gentle probing questions, helped him make his purchase. He walked home with the precious parcel in his hand, wondering if Megha would like the gift. The house was silent when he returned. Megha had probably gone to her friend’s house for one last chat before the big day.

He placed the gift-wrapped package on her bag and went out to finish his chores for the day. At dusk, he walked back home and squinting from afar, thought, “No! It can’t be Lakshmi!”

As he drew near, he realized a full dress rehearsal was underway on the front porch, with Megha and her friend giggling over something. Through the moisture that suddenly filled his eyes, he nodded and smiled in approval. The red lipstick suited Megha perfectly!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Can you guess the prompt for this 300-word story? 

It was "Red lipstick"! 

Most of the other writers in my writing group came up with tales of seduction or mysterious alluring women, while I could only create this. 

As always, I'd like to know what you thought of it 😃😄 


Comments

  1. Unknown7 August 2020 at 08:42

    That's so adorable.
    I could picturize the event.
    Lovely reading
    Keep them coming

    ReplyDelete
  2. Malini Bhaskar7 August 2020 at 08:42

    Simple super Nice twist. Loved the bonded feeling

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bhanu7 August 2020 at 09:37

    Beautiful... very short..
    Pls write longer stories...Anu

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anu7 August 2020 at 18:27

      Thank you, Bhanu. Yes, I will. This one had a really short word count 😅

      Delete
  4. Nadella Archana7 August 2020 at 09:39

    Awesome 👍👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💐👏🏻

    ReplyDelete
  5. Karthik7 August 2020 at 10:03

    So much life in the story. Very nice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anu7 August 2020 at 18:28

      Thank you, Karthik. That's an interesting observation 🙂

      Delete
  6. Suma G7 August 2020 at 10:33

    S, true...father will know what his daughter likeill get it, even if he doesn't like it.

    ReplyDelete

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