The taleweaver- conclusion #shortstory #fiction

Continued from here.

Ammu had no expectations from her married life; just relieved that her parents
would be free from shouldering her responsibilities. However, marriage to Narayanswami was nothing like what she thought. A gentle and educated man with good upbringing, Narayanswami treated Ammu with the kind of love and respect Ammu was not used to hitherto. There was never a word of pity or disgrace for Ammu. He encouraged her to complete her education and also helped her with studies at home. Since, Ammu grew up in a village atmosphere, adjusting to the town life proved to be a task. Narayanswami would hold her hand as one would with a child and taught her to handle basic tasks like buying groceries, calculating the bill, counting change and verifying the balance that would be returned to her. He made her self-sufficient in handling finances by taking her along when he had to visit the bank. He’d also discuss office, work and current affairs with Ammu.

Slowly Ammu began to emerge out of her fantasy world and started to take interest in the worldly matters. She learnt all that her husband diligently and patiently taught her and also took initiative to read the local newspapers and small magazines to keep abreast of the current affairs. She continued to weave magic in her mind, graduating to stories about people she met and saw in her daily life. Human behaviour, in its various dimensions, fascinated her as much as nature. The anecdotes and stories that appeared in the weekly magazines enthralled her and she nursed a secret desire to write her own stories one day.

Since Ammu was not so fluent with her writing, she hesitantly approached Narayanswami for help. She had begun to grow fond of him despite a 10 year age difference; she had immense respect for the man who saw her beyond the superficial flaws and gave her wings. As expected, Narayanswami jumped at the opportunity and encouraged her to share her stories.

The dam was let loose. The stories were just waiting to be told and how! The imagination, depth and beauty of each tale left Narayanswami awed and wanting for more. His respect for Ammu grew manifold and thanked his stars and parents for having chosen such a sensitive and perceptive person as his partner. He subscribed to more weekly magazines to help Ammu broaden her horizons and sharpen her mind. Ammu got hooked on to the additions in her reading kitty and devoured each issue like a child would an ice-cream.

One day as Ammu flipped through the pages of her favourite magazine, a story caught her eye. Her eyes grew wide at the author name beside the title-by Ambujam Narayanswami. She looked up at her husband with surprise, confusion and happiness as he recounted how he caught hold of the editor of the magazine through a colleague at work and requested her to look at Ammu’s work.  

Overwhelmed, Ammu bent down to touch her husband’s feet out of gratitude and respect when
http://bit.ly/1mGrV3U
Nayaranswami held her back and handed her an envelope. Ammu opened it to find a letter from the same magazine asking her if she’d be a regular contributor to their weekly column. The cocoon in which Ammu kutty had lived broke finally and she had blossomed into the butterfly that was Ambujam. It was now a beginning of a new and exciting journey as the latter.





21 comments:

  1. LOVELY Uma! I am so happy I began my weekend reading with this piece. So uplifting and positive. You have done a great job with the story. Full of emotion and the power of truth. Touching piece! Bravo!

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    1. And, thank you so much for such a lovely, lovely compliment, Shailaja..you made my weekend :-)

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  2. I just love this story!! So positive and full of sunshine :)
    Such people do exist in the world and we would do well to spread the word about them.Most stories these days have sad and horrific tales to tell. As much as it is important to know the hard realities of some people's lives, it is also important to know that there is a good world out there.
    Great job Uma! You really lifted my spirits :)
    And the pictures you have chosen are so apt and lovely. Looking forward to more in the genre from you.

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    1. You've lifted my spirits with such a sunny comment. I so agree with you about the good people that make life worth living. Thank you for placing faith in me. I'll try my best to write better :-)
      And, thanks for noticing the pics..I took extra pains to Google the right kind of images! :-)

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  3. Lovely story, Uma! Superbly narrated, you wove a spell, and loved the pics. Great.

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    1. Thank you, thank you, Vibha..I'm so glad you liked it and yes the pics too..I really spent a while to gather them :-)

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  4. Nice. A positive start to the weekend :) and I loved the effort you put in finding the right pics.

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    1. Thank you, Jas! Glad to be the harbinger of positive feelings, through the story, of course :-)

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  5. Such a sweet story, Uma. just loved reading it. So positive and full of hope....keep them coming.I loved the images.

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    1. hey Latha, glad to have you here after long :-) Thanks so much for the appreciation!

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  6. Lovely heartwarming story about somebody who loves reading and writing stories :)

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    1. Thank you so much for the appreciation, Jairam!

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  7. Uma...it is amazing...you have a very good flair for writing stories..as i already told you ...keep it up! all the best...

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    1. Thank you, ma..hopefully I'll have enough inspiration and patience to write more fictions :-)

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  8. wow....very nice.....loved it....what made u write this?

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    1. thanks, Chitra..just like that. Trying my hand at fiction and different genres..:-)

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  9. Loved it :) Simple yet magical .....n romantic :)

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  10. Wow, what'd any woman wish for than such a enabling husband. The way you have woven the story is awesome :)

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    1. Indeed Keirthana! And, thank you so much for the appreciation..humbled :-)

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  11. Very very nice story Uma.... reading this gives me "feel good" kind of feelings :)

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