As I Write This Letter...

2. The Perpetual Confusion of Chaos

"My lovely sweet babies, listen to Mumma and please be good. I know this is not very tasty but it is good for you and will help you grow up nice and strong. And in the evening I shall give you a thin concoction of neem oilseed paste, which I agree is vile but that is also good for you. So be my nice babies and drink it all up so..."

"There are times when I think we should get you married to that Palas tree or the Hibiscus bush. Then when anyone wants to know where Swara is, we can tell she is in her in-laws'place, which will be quite appreciated, for where else would a married woman be but in her husband's house? Do not glare at me; you are forever wallowing in mud so it seemed an appropriate observation."

Swara got up from the bed where she had been kneeling in; she had just finished transplanting a batch of phlox, carefully placing the seedlings at eight to ten inches apart, as the plants did not grow well when crowded. She had been on her knees since dawn; sowing the seeds for begonias and zinnias, pruning the chrysanthemums and the carnations and had finally got around to transplanting the phlox seedlings.

"Kiara di, I am not wallowing in mud, I am planting the seedlings. You should know."

"I know, but you are always in the garden and with those flowers of yours, you hardly seem to have time for us, so I want to complain."

Swara's reply was to throw her arms round Kiara in a hug, which elicited both a return hug and another admonishment, "Swara, you should have at least wiped your hands, you have got dirt on me too."

Her admonishment was met with conspiratorial giggle from Swara, who went on to smear the mud on Kiara's cheeks and ran off before Kiara could react, though she heard her shout, "Swara, come inside soon, Dida made poha for breakfast."

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It was during breakfast that Swara realised that cooking her favourite dish had been a bribe, to make her do what they wanted.

"We got a new contract yesterday, they want a daily delivery for one year; I was there with Dida and we signed it off...though there was an unusual request, Dida agreed for the amount is good."

Spooning the poha into her mouth, Swara mumbled, "Unusual? What do you mean?"

Kiara and Dida exchanged glances, which raised suspicions in Swara, so she stopped eating as she waited for them to spill it out, "well, the client wanted a note to be attached with each delivery, we are free to decide the words."

Swara raised an eyebrow, waiting for them to expound, which Kiara did, with a mischievous smile, "She is a little shy of expressing her feelings so she wants us to write small love notes for her and I agreed..."

Swara spluttered, "You mean to say the two of you agreed that I would write love letters on behalf of a woman..."

"It will be a good practice for you to write the notes, you will gain confidence."

"No, I do not need writing practice, least of all, writing love letters on behalf of a woman who is too scared to confess her feelings. I refuse to help cowards."

"Judgemental, are we?"

That silenced Swara, she was aware how it hurt when people passed judgements and she usually tried not to be the same, but she was not comfortable with what she had been asked to do, especially the writing part; reading and writing had always been problematic for her.

Seeing her silent, Kiara dropped the final bombshell, "We do not have the name of the guy, only the initials SM and she wants you to sign off as Sona.

This time, Swara choked, "Shona? Are you joking with me? You want me to sign off using my nick name?"

"Sona, Swara, Sona, not Shona. And no, I am not joking; her name is Sonal Singh, which he would recognise, so she wants it signed off as Sona."