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“Oh my god….not again!” Swara looked up at the mango tree in her garden with no sign of all the fruits that it was heavily laden with till the day before. She quickly turned her gaze at the mango tree in her neighbor Suchi’s garden. It was covered with bunches of luscious green mangoes waiting to fall off the tree. “Has she now started stealing my mangoes too? How cheap, is that?” But hell, she did not want to quarrel with that petty thief again.
Suchi and Swara were thick pals till recently when both of them had a tiff regarding a misunderstanding, which was planted maliciously by someone in their neighborhood who was jealous of their camaraderie. Apparently, Swara’s precious recipe for her trademark mango pickle had been leaked and everybody in the neighborhood now knew the secret ingredients to her much in demand pickle. Swara discovered this when she happened to taste it at the pot-luck hosted by the ladies in the vicinity recently. No one knew who was the culprit. But Swara had suspected Suchi’s hand in it, since she was the only frequent visitor to her house. On confronting her, Suchi was hurt beyond words and had lost her cool. A session of flinging accusations and abuses at each other followed. Now, they resented the sight of each other and generally kept a safe distance from each other.
The next day when Suchi stepped out to pluck a few fruits from her mango tree, she was aghast to find her tree swept clean of all the fruits. Instinctively she glared at Swara’s house. “Is that how she wants to get back at me? Bird brained that she is. I’m not going to spare her this time!” she muttered under her breath as she stepped into her veranda and started calling out in a high pitch for Swara, demanding an explanation for the theft. Swara reacted with her usual rage and turned the pointed finger back at Suchi.
Over the din of choicest abuses and blame games, Ayesha smiled slyly standing in her porch, hiding the catapult under her dupatta. Time to start preparing for the delicious pickle. Of course, the recipe would be Swara’s, the one that Ayesha with her conniving mind could smartly glean out of their neighborhood grocer who delivered the ingredients to Swara for her pickle. This year’s mango pickle was going to be the fieriest, considering that the mangoes had come from such hot-headed people’s gardens.
~Lao-Tzu
This is so close to reality. I see good friends breaking up over social media quarrels and misunderstandings. Sigh. Well written.
Thanks, Shailaja. You're right, these kind of wars happen more often on social media these days.
well written, and so true!
Thank you Archana 🙂
Oh, that Ayesha — wish there were less of her kind in the world… And that the two friends had more trust and guts to ask eachother. Sad to see good friendships go. Super good read- enjoyed it:-)
Thank you Eli! Did I ever tell you that I look forward to your comments on my blog? Love your reactions to my stories 🙂
Aah! This story has a slice of reality! Best of relationships turn sour because of misunderstandings and petty issues! A wonderfully narrated story, Vinodini 🙂
Thank you Shilpa. Misunderstandings do take a toll on relationships especially if we do not believe in one another.
Sad that neither could trust the other. Obviously not a very strong friendship if a petty understanding could drive them so apart.
Well, sometimes anger just blocks out all the rational thinking, and thats when even the best of friends cant think straight.
Ah I can so picture this happening in reality. Misunderstandings need to be sorted out with conversations not accusations.
I loved your tale here 🙂
Absolutely Soumya, its always best to sit and sort out things than fling accusations. Thank you 🙂
Lovely post! Beautiful tale!
Thank you Shalz 🙂
People do this so much, seeding misunderstandings between dear friends and breaking them apart!
Quiet Angels
Well Swathi, karma takes care of such people in the long run.
When two cats fight, the monkey steals the show…
Great post Vinodini!
Yeah, that's the most appropriate example for this post. Thanks Parul 🙂
It's sad to see great friends become enemies over such petty matters. Too bad they weren't able to resolve it! Hopefully they will come to learn each other isn't at fault! 😉 <3