Woven

Sweet N' Sour

                           Seetha stared in awe as the evening sun broke into a million pieces,painting the sky red.The birds were chirping merifully as for them another day of toiling has came to an end.Seetha has always felt the happiest when in one with the nature,it is as though they understood her,though no words could be spoken or understood.But the gentle swaying of the mango trees she grew up with soothed her now grown up,agitated mind.The mountains gave her a sense of protection and the forest had always been her sweet escape.Someties she would simply lay on the forest floor for hours doing nothing,it was the only place where she felt safe and protected.Seetha smiled as she observed how the mango flowers were now a bright yellow.Soon cuckoos would flock in on  to feed on it's sweet necter.Seetha had heard stories of how the cuckoos get their sweet voice from drinking the nectar of mango trees,and as a child she would spend hours observing this process whenever she visited the village.The cuckoos would swiftly move from one flower to the other ,all the while being completely aware of their surroundings.A slight swaying of hands by Seetha,and they would be gone like the wind.Maybe they are scared that I will discover their secret,Seetha would then think.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you pour the water over the dough,not the other way around!"

Seetha turned around startled by the sudden noise to find her childhood friend Savitri standing at the door way,hands folded,her lips set into a thin line, reflecting her dissapoinment.Seetha's agitation soon turned into guilt as she remembered that she was in the middle of one of Savithri's forced cooking lessons.

"I leave for a minute and you mess it all up" Savithri continued pointing at the imperfectly knead dough before her.

"Too much water" Savithri mumbled feeling the dough between her fingers.Savithri tied her messy hair into a bun before proceeding to work on the dough.

"Try serving this to you mother-in-law,and she will turn you into dough"

Seetha stared at her for a moment before bursting out into laughter.

"Savithri why are you so worried about my marriage?You know that is never going to happen"Seetha said folding her legs,and settling down on the rough muddy floor of her backyard.

Savithri,Seetha and Ranjan have been really close friends since childhood.Savithri being 2 years older than Seetha,has always been very protective of her.Though Savithri was herself unmarried,Seetha's decision to not marry bothered her very much.She would bring up the topic whenever she could and try and persuade Seetha into changing her mind,which always failed miserably at.

"And I keep asking you why not?" Savithri protested.

"You know why"

"I know,yes I know,the goddamned revolution,you keep telling me you want to be a part of ,but I do not understand why"Savithri sighed and took one final look at her work before getting up to clean her hands.

"I want to make a difference in this world,I want to change things.Don't you feel agitated that you wake up everyday scared ,that you have to spend every moment of your life in fear"

Savithri remained silent her expression softening.

"I understand what how feel,but sometimes we just need to leave things to sort out on their own" Savithri  said ,sitting down next to her.

"That's because we keep thinking that we are helpless,no we are not,anyone can make a difference"

"I do not understand any of this,even after being force fed hours and hours of endless stories of French and American revolutions"

Savithri said leaning on her arms.

Seetha smiled,recalling how she would narrate,carefully recallled stories of famous revolutions from Mr. Smith's history class to Savithri,though the latter often fell asleep in middle of lectures.In exchange Seetha  agreed to let Savithri teach her cooking,which she now deeply regretted.