State of the Heart

By Nelton D'Souza

#1 Best Seller in Short Stories on Amazon (February 2014).

Some of the stories will drive you to tears! The writing does justice to the little things in life that add to its beauty and mystery – Goodreads, Average Rating: 4.

Many of the stories are heart touching which the state of every heart can relate to. An enjoyable read – Flipkart, Average Rating: 5.

Must Read! Keeps one on the edge of their seat wanting to read more and more... – Amazon.

Relationships, love and life are like the three legs of a tripod. Without any one, there is no balance. The same hold true for every human being. State of the Heart, through its collection of short stories on these key aspects, cuts across the social spectrum to present to you the lives of people whom you didn't think could be so interesting, but actually are. In short, it could be a story about you or someone like you.

Every chapter of this book reveals a different facet of human relationship. The importance of trust, the value of friendship, the perception of addiction, the various dimensions of love, the need for understanding in a bad relationship are all brought out like never before. While some of the stories are very touching, some are very humorously portrayed, some throw up a surprise at the very end while some of the stories even have a hidden social message. This book is recommended for everyone who love a light read. They are sure to have a smile on their face when they reach the last page.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nelton D'Souza
• Release date: Apr 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311523815

Nelton D'Souza

Nelton D'Souza is a Consultant at Capgemini and into Data Extraction and Analytics. Apart from his day job, he is the editor of the Employee Journalist Community at his organization. He describes himself as a 24x7 writer who writes SQL queries in office and stories on his blog 'Just A Minute'. Even though he is unmarried and the world's most eligible bachelor according to his mother, he pens articles on parenting on Parentous. When not doing anything else he cooks - either stories in his head or Maggi noodles in the kitchen or both.After having spent his formative years in Bombay (Mumbai), India his family shifted to his native place of Goa where he completed his education. He has won numerous prizes for his creative style of writing and views on topics of interest; which he largely thanks his habit of observing people and always seeing the bigger picture.

Book preview

Addiction

The dark desire

I really don’t quite remember when and where it all started. I must have been around nine or ten. Initially, it was all new and tough to take in but as the days progressed, I found my feet and got into the groove. It was my classmates in school who introduced me to this world. I would call them friends as they showed me the way to lifelong happiness and contentment. My friends were the outcasts of the school; always left alone and neglected by all, except by the group to which they belonged. This group was always known to bunk classes and supposedly hole up in their secret hideouts doing things they were known for - lost in a world of their own and having lost consciousness of everything and everyone around them.

As luck may have it, curious and intrigued by their way of life, I befriended them and entered their world. I realized they were a happy lot and nothing in the world could make them sad. I hoped to make just a quick entry and exit, but life had other plans. It was as if I was engulfed by this world. One went to two; two became four and the series continued. The more I tried to pull out, the more I got pulled in. Constant fighting at home and bad academic grades made my new found world attractive. In this world, there were no compulsions and no obligations. I was always the super-hero slaying beasts, demons and villains alike. Here, everything was perfect and reality was left far behind.

Soon, my association with the ‘cult’ group was known to all. Stories of my borrowing, begging and at times even stealing money to satisfy my addiction started doing the rounds. Summons were issued to my parents. Constant scolding from teachers and parents became the order of the day. My classmates maintained an arm’s length distance from me adding pain to my misery. But I couldn’t do anything. I just couldn’t resist the temptation. The intoxication was heavy and the addiction strong.

Time passed by and I finally graduated from school and college. As far as my grades were concerned, I had maintained the fantastic ‘just passed’, border-line passing percentage; a feat in its own right. The addiction was so heavy and prolonged that it took its toll on my health. At times, I would cry; at times jump around happily with a new sense of vigour; at times I would be dead silent and blank-faced. Total neglect of my food and health made matters worse. I had no social life and locked myself up paying no heed to the constant pleading of my near and dear ones. Relatives and family friends blamed my addiction for my condition and convinced my parents to get me married to bring me on the right track. Proposals though few, started coming in. A girl was soon chosen and a date decided.

The girl, beautiful and although modern, was the homely type. She always kept my parents happy which helped to reinforce their faith in her. I must confess that she was up to her task of changing me right away. She would cook my favourite dishes, spend quality time with me and make sure that I was always comfortable. I am not sure whether she did this out of love or out of obligation but she did it well and that too without anything in return. Over the years, despite her repeated attempts, nothing changed. I was still the same. She, probably out of frustration and despair gave up on the idea of changing me. There was dead silence between us. Once my parents left for their heavenly abode and with no one else to speak to, she made frequent visits to her parents place. Her visits, which were only for a few days initially, went on for months together as the years passed. However, in spite of her absence, she made sure I was well maintained. One day, she gave me the news that I was to be a father. Though happy, I was honestly least expecting it. Fatherhood meant having to sacrifice more things than one. Money had increased in value. My wife begged me to give up my addiction and welcome the new born. All these years I have never asked for anything but this. I guess I was obligated to grant her wish as I had promised my parents that I would always keep her happy and would fulfil her every desire.

I slowly and steadily gave up my addiction and got whole-heartedly involved in the upbringing of my child. I locked up all the things that had kept me company for all these years; guess I could never let them go forever. Before I could realize, my child had grown into a handsome school going boy scoring good grades and often reminding me of my younger days. However, he had one quality I wish he never had – the same old curiosity. In my absence, he entered the room that was forbidden and unlocked the chest he should never have. From there on, just like me, he too was lost forever in that ever so-beautiful world where there’s nothing that’s impossible and life is all so perfect; in that magnificent world of reading books.

A

Second Chance

Desired by many but given only to a few

Too much, just too much to do exclaimed Chitra. How the hell are we even going to make it? The wedding is barely a month away.

Relax, we will. There’s no need to boil down the ocean. We’ll create an execution plan and work to that. Everything shall be taken care of. First go and get a notebook and a pen. Arun watched Chitra as she moved from a tensed and tied up position on her favourite chair to some physical activity. He simply loved the sway she had in her movement. It was actually this and a host of small things about her that made him so madly and deeply in love with her.

Well here you go Mr.Organizer! Chitra said on return. Organizing had always been Arun’s forte. Right from college till now it seemed like the organizer in him never let go. However, organizing a wedding would definitely be a first, and that too your own; never heard of. Given the choice, Arun would have a very small ceremony, only with near and dear ones invited; just the way the engagement was done. But a deal’s a deal after all. He had his way at the engagement and Chitra would have her’s at the wedding – a grand one, a lifelong memory. Though he always showed repugnance on his face, deep down inside he did want to have a big and grand celebration just because she wanted it. He took the paper and pen in his hand and started jotting the things they would need to give emphasis to. He gave her a glance and on seeing that she was too stressed out to come up with anything, he gave her a smile and proceeded all by himself. She smiled a bit in return and looked on. Soon she was back in time.

Arun and Chitra never set out to be a couple in the first place. Working in the same organization made them friends; grappling with work pressure and their individual on-the-rocks relationship brought them closer and made them good friends; finding comfort and understanding in each other’s company made them best friends. From there, everything just fell in place, and the two decided to exchange rings instead of flowers and gifts. Though Chitra was very vocal of her feelings, Arun never replied. But Chitra never minded that because she knew that he loved her much more than anything. Their relationship had reached a point where all these things were never said; they were simply understood.

I think I have jotted all what we need, Arun said, interrupting Chitra’s thoughts. We could drive down to the mall and get most of the things done on the way. What say? Chitra still lost in her world agreed and moved in to dress up. She was out soon and standing in front of him said Let’s go

He looked at her dressed in her best. Pausing for a moment, he said