Thank you for showing an interest in this book! It motivates me to write more, every day.
This chapter's entry is the first ever that I wrote for chicklit's flash fiction prompts, and it ended up being way too long. After I was done cutting down the words to make sure it was well within the limit, I realised that it had kind of lost the point I was trying to make.
So, in this chapter, I'm going to post the extended version that I wrote earlier. This again was a picture prompt and fortunately, I managed to get the picture this time.
I hope you enjoy reading it.
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The bright morning sun poured its heart out, shining as brightly as ever, signifying a cheerful day. But to her, it was just another day in her life. Another day of travelling to a different place in the country. The warmth of the sun or the chillness of the night held no significance to her whatsoever. She had gotten used to it through travelling and working day and night.
But today was going to be different, more fun. Her elder brother was in town after a long time and had offered to accompany her, as he couldn't think of any other way to spend time with his sister. She was a workaholic and almost took no breaks when it came to her work.
But she loved what she did.
She was a professional photographer who loved travelling and taking photographs of almost anything and everything. Initially, it was difficult to make a career out of photography, but her hard work and determination got her where she was right now. She now took multiple contracts and was paid in thousands of dollars.
Sitting on a train seat in a closed compartment, she was going through her camera rolls when her brother returned.
"You brought skittles!"
Her face lit up when she saw him enter the compartment with a bag of skittles in his hand. He knew those were her favourite and he always made it a point to grab a bag when he saw one.
"You really are the best brother! I love you!", she snatched the bag out of his grasp in her eagerness and started munching on them almost immediately.
"I still don't get why you like them so much. They're not that great", said her brother shaking his head and smiling at her.
"And that's why you don't deserve to eat them", she said in between chomps, playfully pointing a finger at her brother.
He just shook his head, still smiling. "Oh hey, I forgot to get the water. I'll be right back."
As she watched him go out of the door, she saw something that made her drop the bag of skittles. Just outside the window, a young couple stood on the pavement kissing passionately and holding on to each other. Nothing or nobody came in between them – and it didn't matter if it did, because the way they held each other spoke volumes of their love for each other.
She knew what she had to do. It was what she always did and loved doing. But now, she couldn't do it.
The camera was in her hand, yet she didn't have the strength to pick it up. She didn't think she had the courage to look at the picture even if she did take one.
She felt hopeless.
She knew she shouldn't be feeling this way. She knew it was wrong. But as she looked down at her body, she only felt one thing for it – hatred.
She put away the bag of skittles, hating them for making her feel guilty.
She had been obese ever since she could remember, and had grown up hating her body for making her feel miserable and insecure. She was bullied when she was in school and people avoided her in college. She had very few friends who stood by her side, supporting her. She had barely spoken to boys of her age, in fear of being bullied again. She had never been in a relationship or even close to one before.
She wished she could have what the two people had. She wished she knew what love meant.
She had tried to change herself several times before. But it wasn't easy. She had very little time for herself in her busy schedule, and when she did, she easily got dejected when she took notice of her body and tried to make a change.
She didn't think she could bear to watch the two people anymore, let alone take a picture of them.
The sound of footsteps brought her back to reality. Her brother had returned, clutching a bottle of water in his hand.
"Are you done with it already? Wow, that was pretty fast."
"Nah. I just got tired eating."
"Good, because I'm not getting another one anytime soon", he said. He noticed the glum look on her face and decided to burst the news.
"The next one will probably be after you receive the award tonight."
She stared at him. She hadn't told him anything about the award she was getting tonight, as she wanted it to be a surprise. She'd just told him that they were going to another location to shoot.
"How did you know?"
"I just got a call from mom. She was so excited that she couldn't keep quiet. I'm really happy for you Katy. You've made me proud."
"Thank you, brother. I guess I'll get a huge box to store all the skittles that you're going to get me tonight."
They laughed. For a few minutes, they talked about the event that was happening that evening.
When the train pulled away from the station ten minutes later, the lovers were no longer in sight. But as she gazed at the people zooming past the window, she realised she had almost everything a person could ask for – a loving family, a great job and a life that she always wanted.
It doesn't matter if I don't have a life partner, she thought. My life is already my best partner. And I couldn't be happier for it.
And at that moment, all her problems faded as she looked at the beautiful scenery out of the window.
