Provoke

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The best thing which happened to me was finding the pool table in the common room on the ground floor. Since then, Son, and I have been addicted to playing every night before going to bed. The only time we don’t play is when Son has to leave early in the morning for his job. This means he has to go early to bed: so no pool playing. Sometimes we have to wait for our turn when someone else is playing there. It’s a torturous wait — willing the persons there to end quickly, so we get a chance at playing.

While Son is getting better all the time, I’m going from bad to worse. When we began Son had played a bit earlier, while I was a complete novice. It seems I was good while not knowing. One game would be a draw, and one of us would win in the other two rounds. Now Son is winning all the time, and I’m the loser. Ugh!

I’m provoked into playing more rounds in the hope of winning. No such luck!

…

Provoke

Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/provoke/

Fragile

Human life is so fragile. It can be taken away in seconds leaving heartbreak.

They had come to spend a weekend with their father’s friend and family. Saima, her mother, older sister Farah, who had come from London for the holidays, and her twin brother Asif. The twins were fourteen years old. They were going back in two days time.

The pool lured them to come and take a dip. It didn’t look deep. A day before Asif had watched small children playing in it, shouting and shoveling each other, and playing ball. 

Where the new comers lived they didn’t have a pool. No one was beside the pool except the twins. Asif got into the pool. It was three feet deep. What he didn’t know was he was standing at the deeper end. The other end where the children played was the shallow side.

His foot slipped, and suddenly the water was closing over his head. Gasping, he shouted to his sister to help him. Without a second thought, Saima dived into the water to save him from drowning. 

Saima was found face downwards floating in the pool. When they took her out she was already dead. Trying to save her brother,  she lost her own life. Asif’s body was recovered from the bottom of the pool. Both didn’t know how to swim.

…..

DAILY PROMPT

Fragile

Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/fragile/

Too Busy

  

Ismail is too young to go by himself to the swimming pool. Mama has decreed that Haroon (the big brother) should take him for his swimming. Mama is busy right now having her own hen session on the phone.

Ismail clutches his swimwear tote, and comes upstairs in search of Haroon.

“Go away, can’t you see I have tons to do?”

“Mama says you have to take me”.

“Tell Musa to go along with you”.

Musa normally is oblivious to everyone, but his hearing becomes acute when something is expected from him. He snarls in response, “I am busy”. Actually he is busy playing with his friend (thanks to Wi-Fi) on a computer game.

“Ha! Why don’t I believe it?” Haroon derides, while his fingers are clicking the controller.

Mama finishes her (important) discussion thirty minutes later, and comes out of her room. She finds Ismail sitting despondently on the bottom stair still holding onto his bag.

She asks, “why are you still here?”

“Nobody is taking me”.

Mama calls Haroon, “come down, and take your brother for swimming”.

“It’s six already. The pool must be closed by now”. Haroon wants the swim taking to be put off.

“No, it closes by seven thirty”.

“Mama! I have homework to do, why can’t he go some other day”.

Mama marches upstairs to find Haroon sprawled in the den (very busy) playing on one of the game console, and conversing with his friends. Mama unplugs the whole thing amidst grunts, and denials.

Ismail finally goes to the swimming pool. He had been waiting patiently (the whole week) for someone to take him swimming. Poor tyke!

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/groupthink/

Groupthink

Write a post that includes dialogue between two people — other than you. (For more of a challenge, try three or more people)

PERSUADING BABA

The dialogue went on like this, “We are still going. You know Baba,I told you Baba we are going to the pool.” This was IB asking his father to take them to the pool. He was talking while gliding down on the stairs’ railing. At lunch time IB asked both his parents. Both said, “No.” They had their own reasons. Baba was tired from cutting his roses and tending the vegetable patch and Mama had earlier given Brunch to her friend and family. So, she was equally tired.

IB kept up pressure on his Baba. At lunch both his parents kept saying no. He climbed up to his father’s lap to put added pressure. Earlier he had recited, “Eenie, meenie, miney, mo to decide who should take IB and the other two to the pool. The ‘mo’ ended on Baba and IB’s mother was ecstatic on getting scot- free.

IB kept reminding his father, “I picked you Baba by saying Eenie, meenie, miney, mo. All the while, Baba protesting, “I am tired IB…….O.” IB’s father likes to add an O to his children’s names. IB kept running down the stairs to Baba’s side at intervals, trying to wear him down with his child’s logic, amid Baba’s protestations that he was tired.

Baba didn’t budge from his stance and finally IB gave up.

This was between my son and grand son.

IB showing me his goggles and air apparatus.