The book of snippets

Ugly Duckling

"Oh come on na" Vignesh whined, exasperated, "it's not like we did a crime. We made you a police."

He ended with a chuckle and Maha too laughed along. Sakthi glared at them but there was no heat.

"You're both backstabbers" he declared, "you chose dad over me."

"Well..." Maha clicked her teeth, "he's our dad so if we choose him, we're actually choosing you."

"Yeah" Vignesh added, "you both are always on the same page."

"And when we're not" Sakthi asked raising his eyebrows.

Vignesh just shrugged, while maha blew a raspberry, "yeah like that's gonna happen."

~

"Why are you doing this to him?" She asked the man who has been her husband for over forty years.

He let pride get to him easily, his anger seemed boundless, he was harsh spoken... yet he was so loving.

He loved her.

He loved their kids.

Yet here they were, "What do you even mean?" He asked already irritated.

"I am asking you why you're putting our son through this?" Today she was harsh too.

"What's the matter?" He said flippantly, "He's happy isn't he?"

Happy? "Sivan have you looked at your son?"

"Yeah my son... that little sentiment of his has gone long enough.. he is truly my son now " Sivan said, his pride rearing its ugly horns.

"So he wasn't all this time?" She raged, "He wasn't your boy when he stood by you when he was 12? He wasn't your boy when he broke his leg when he was 15? He wasn't your boy when he did your errands and managed your empire when he was barely 19? Is he only your son if he becomes a police against his wishes? Is he only your son when he chips off his soul to feed your pride?"

"It's not just for me" he shouted, "it's for everyone, for our people, for you, for our kids, for him. However posh we are, he was just a rowdy on the streets at the end of the day. Do you even know how many people would die to get a hit on him? Here, he has power, he has purpose, he has a shield."

A beat passed.

"So you speak" her teeth ground against themselves, " but who put him on the streets?"

Neither did he have an answer for that, nor did she want to hear one.

She turned around and left.

~

Vignesh didn't like days like these. His house was filled with chaos, but it had order.

Today there was no order.

There was just pain.