As Time flies still
16 January 2016

She shrieked. Her mother ran in from the other room, wondering if she hurt herself. She was standing there, trembling, her face contorted with fear as she gazed at the middle-aged woman in front of her. Look she screeched at her mom, who is that fat woman? It is you, answered her mother, tears running down her face.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Time had passed faster than she imagined. Ten years! She could not believe that this had happened. The words of her mother explaining everything drowned into the distance and she only picked up bits and pieces so akin to the bits and pieces of herself that she was now picking up, recollecting her past as she examined that unknown paunchy dull woman. …Catatonia… you were… depressed… never reacting… I took care of you despite …fed you… combed your hair… bathed you…
The grandfather clock seemed to pound the seconds synchronised with the beating of her heart as she reached out to the image of herself and the vision of her hand with its strange reflection, chubby with the nails crooked and bitten off was another shock. Ticks and tocks, how many more shocks, her mind whispered. She still could not believe so much time had passed without her even living those moments truly. Of essential time she had not felt the chime, she told herself. It was as if someone had stolen those years, hidden them away from her. Oh but to find the key to the treasure chest and wind back those memories to contemplate!
She looked back to her image, the weary tired eyes with the crow lines extending towards the cheeks. Those cheeks once so rosy and spruced how they were all faded now sad and grey. That sagging tired jawline could sink the spirits lower than wine she thought to herself as her finger traced them slowly towards her temples. Her head was aching now and she pressed her temples hard wincing under the pain but glad to be feeling again something at least. All those years gone by that she would never be able to witness like grains of sand they had seeped through her fingers and would never come back. What had happened to him she wondered. Tempus fugit… a cackling voice repeated over and over in her mind as she sunk to her knees.

Written in the context of FRIDAY FICTION with RONOVAN WRITES Prompt Challenge #9
Ping back and rules here
Miles Davis – Tempus Fugit
SPECTRE Soundtrack – 19. Tempus Fugit by Thomas Newman
Sam Smith – Writing’s On The Wall
Los Muertos Vivos Estan (Movie Version) (“Spectre” soundtrack)
[…] As Time flies still. Geetha Balvannanathan (Geetha Balvannanthan’s Blog) Wondering where she came up with this one. Very interesting story. Might make a good starting point to something more. 396 Words, 6.1 GL, and 0% Passive Sentences. @geethap2007 […]
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This is wonderful. I look forward to a novel by you.
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Lovely and haunting…as is a little Miles Davis on the horn and a little crooning from Sam Smith.
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Great writing, Geetha. I love the description and tone of the piece. Time has a habit of doing this, slipping by unnoticed. Great images and I am sure all the music is aptly chosen – I wish I had time to listen to it all 🙂 Great work, my friend!
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I hope you have the time to listen to at least the three first ones. The spectre music is by Thomas Newman and he really produced some epic pieces and the third one is a very beautiful song, not the type you would expect of a James Bond movie. The last song was taken more for the image than the actual music itself 🙂 Thanks as always for your comments and encouragements my friend 🙂
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It’s one of the drawbacks of following so many great writers, my friend and sometimes I don’t even get to read all I would like to. Perhaps when I am finished my current contract I will have more time to dedicate to the music as well. Of course, it’s always my pleasure to read and respond to your work 😀
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To not notice, how every second builds into minutes and hours into days and years, is quite a tragedy, especially when it hits you all together. This was deep…
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Thank you Swetha. That is very true! I have had incidents of lost time in my lif, of course nothing so significant, only a few hours but have tried to use that experience of frustration to write this piece.
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And that is what makes this piece so beautifully riveting. It comes from within. Nothing can compare to work that means something to the author.
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Very true. We write from our own experiences usually and the more intense they are, the stronger the feeling in the writing. Thank you for your lovely comments 🙂
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Thank you for sharing…
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Thank you for liking and commenting 🙂
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You’re like a magician of words 🙂 Loved it…
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Thank you Sanghamitra, what a lovely compliment !
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How little we pay attention to the realities of life and time while we are rushing headlong to get through them ! This is a slap in the face reminder ! : )
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Very true 🙂
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You are so very welcome. For some reason WP is not sending me notifications regarding your comments. Almost missed this one!
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A beautifully written piece, Geetha. Very captivated by the imagery. I find I am able to see the scene very clearly. Hear the ticking of the clock and feel the regret.
Wonderful write. ♡
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Wonderful praise Eric, thank you so much. What every writer yearns to convey is those minutes of still life like reality. I am glad you say you felt it all. Thank you so much my friend 🙂
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Beautiful story and brilliant writing. And the title – so apt! Sometimes time really does fly and one wonders whatever happened to their life!
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Very true, thank you for your lovely compliment 🙂
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Adding my voice to the choir…truly brilliant & beautifully penned 🙂
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Thank you so much Mark 🙂 This is quite an elating choir and it is good that my head does not inflate; I just feel all of your love and support and am grateful and happy to be a part of such a kind blogging family 🙂
For some reason I am not getting most of the notifications so only chance upon some comments that I have not seen or answered. Thanks again and be well 🙂
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AmAzing. Well written and vivid. I didn’t know you had this in your repertoire. Have you considered or done longer works? This was so good.
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Thank you. I have written several chapters of “The Spirit Lovers” which is intended to be a Novel once I have more time for it. I also have several collected stories in different series. One is called Doll Tales and puts together various recounts with modified names and slightly changed circumstances of abused women who visited a shelter where I was a volunteer a long time ago (I wrote 5 chapters of that) and the other called “Tales of the Wretched” follows a young boy called Ashok in between flashbacks regarding his childhood and includes short stories related to people he crossed paths with. I also have two other novels that I have started a few chapters of, one is a sci-fi novel depicting a fierce battle between women and men in a post-apocalyptic world where normal birth does not exist anymore and the other is a murder comitted against a young woman in China written in flashbacks.
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I had no idea. Since, I love sci-fi that battle of the sexes really intrigues me. The murder n China as well. I had no idea you wrote longer pieces. And you write so well. Are you writing these for your own enjoyment or with the purpose of publication?
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Thanks.
The sci-fi is here
https://geethaprodhom.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/naques-tears/
https://geethaprodhom.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/kaylas-loneliness/
The murder in China is here
https://geethaprodhom.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/the-passage/
https://geethaprodhom.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/ming-hoas-oration/
https://geethaprodhom.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/ju-longs-anger-and-eu-mehs-disarray/
I hope you like them. I had initially started out the Doll Tales for myself and then someone told me that I should have them published and they would help me so I actually liked the idea but then that person went on with her life and forgot all about helping me publish so I stopped the writing. The Tales of the wretched follows up on a short story I had written and published in Tunisia a long time ago in a magazine. I don’t have enough time to write a full novel out of any of them as I also need to expunge what flows within me in terms of poems but one day with enough time I will write them all and see if they can be published.
Do give me your honest opinion if you are able to read them 🙂
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I will read and comment. Don’t worry about that. I hope someday you do find to write novels. I am certain you can do it well. I will buy your novels. So. you know you already sold one.
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Hurray for the chimp! I would have at least sold one 😀 Thanks a lot Andrew. I feel that someday I will be able to somehow.
I sold a few copies of my French poetry book but was too busy fighting to get back custody of my children back in 2011 when it was published so never marketed it. Since then life has just moved on and it has become just a quaint memory.
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Sorry to hear that. I hope everything turned out well. Well, you sold some books of poetry, that is still an accomplishment. How many people (such as myself) never sold anything. Be proud. I am sure it is excellent.
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Thank you Andrew, that did make me feel good 🙂 The poetry there was mainly what I wrote in strong anger after I lost my kids (until mid 2011 only) and my poetry has evolved since then so I think I would like to publish something better but I guess this time around would be less easy as the first did not sell much. Thanks for your kind words though 🙂
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Smiling. Well, you have a different message now. When I read your current work, I never would think you wrote in anger. That is part of our evolution.
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Very true. We either literally evolve or experience our future evolved selves 🙂
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Exactly
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brilliant piece! I love the title!
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Thank you Amit. I initially thought of it As Time flies but then added still as an afterthought while I was writing. I am glad I made that small change when writing down my thoughts 🙂
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yes of course, that one word kind of added a whole new dimension to the title… so now it carries two meaning and one of them is very potent where instead of standing time is flying still…
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Very true, thanks my friend 🙂
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you are welcome!
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