Mothers’ Day

 She finished her call with her mother, a daily ritual made special today because of mothers’ day. She asked him if he had called his mom yet.  

“I have called three of them so far. I’m yet to call a couple more”. 

“What madness is that? How many mothers could possibly one have?” She thought he was pulling her leg, for believing in all these special days. He was serious though. 

“Hon, there are some more women in life who have been as good as mothers to me, at different points in time”. 

“But they still aren’t your biological mothers or even stepmoms, right?”

He sat her down and let her get a peek into his past - his growing up years, away from home. His maternal aunt taking care of him for years in his formative years, before her own wedding, another friend’s mom who would feed him on all those days when he had nothing to eat, another cousin’s mother who let him stay at their home, when he had no shelter in a strange new place, and yet another lady - his mother’s friend - who tended to his mother while she wasn’t well in his absence. 

“My mom is special, and so are all these other moms too. I have been influenced by all of them”. 

“Gawd! So many mothers-in-law to deal with once we are married!”, she showed mock exasperation. Inside, she was bursting with pride. 

#mothersday

#tinytales

#veryshortstories

Opinion. Poll.

 It was her wont to draw the drivers of the cabs she would take into conversation. She felt it was a safety feature too. Engage them in a chat and let them know she was alert. 

Since it was election season, she invariably talked politics with them. “Where is your vote at?”, “Who do you think is winning this time round?”, and “Do you think there is any wave this time?”, were here usual questions. She remembered well that previously too the answers provided by the drivers had made her understand the mood of the electorate at large. And, the drivers were never wrong. They seemed to have their ears to the ground and knew what and who the voters wanted. Their answers had correctly predicted the results of the last four elections, both at the state and the centre. 

As a neutral person, it didn’t matter to her who won - she knew it didn’t make a difference to her at the end of the day. Yet, she did feel a thrill when she heard the responses this time.  She promptly crossed her fingers as she heard the same prediction from the driver while reaching home safely, through the dust storm and sudden torrential rain. 

#shortstories

#veryshortstories

#tinytales