A Quiet Dissonance, page 28
Nonita’s work visit had coincided with the school Christmas break, and since Yolande had shooed everyone out of the studio telling them to enjoy the festive season at home, Anu had brought Nonita out for dinner at Hutong, leaving Ravi and Neha to vegetate in front of the television. Mama, she thought wistfully, would have enjoyed the food here.
“This is a treat, Anu! I’m so glad you persuaded me to come up here. I thought my vertigo would kick in, but nope, I feel fine. And it is a fabulous view!”
They both watched the orange glow cast upon the London landscape by the setting sun. Anu pointed out The London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, London Bridge and other landmarks to Nonita.
“For the number of years I’ve been coming here jaanu, I can’t say I’ve ever had a better view of London. What a magnificent city!”
As the lights of the capital city lit up one by one, Anu nodded happily in agreement.
“What better way to celebrate the end of the year than with you here, my darling Noni!”
“Hang on! We’re still a few days away from the 31st.”
“I know, but you’ll have left for Mumbai by then. So this is our advance New Year’s Eve celebration.”
Right on cue, the server arrived with two glasses of champagne.
“Anu, you are positively blooming. What’s the secret?”
“No secret. Just contentment, I guess.”
“You’re in a good place now?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I still have days when things go wrong, I feel upset or generally listless... ”
“We all have those... ”
“That’s the thing! It’s taken me all this time to recognise that I’m not alone in feeling blue occasionally. But you know what, that daily dose of Vitamin D supplements is also helping loads.” Anu laughed.
“What else?” Nonita’s eyes narrowed speculatively.
“What’s this, an interview?”
“No, I’m really curious. Over the past year I’d picked up on subtle little things on our phone calls, but now, seeing you this way, I want to know what brought about this change.”
“Gosh, you want me to break it down for you? I wouldn’t know where to begin... ”
“Okay, how about telling me how you went from being someone who wouldn’t say boo to a goose to this strong, assertive, happy woman.”
Anu thought back to the last few years of her life and smiled.
“I think it happened when I stopped looking for external validation. My problem, Noni, was that I always wanted other people’s approval. The day I stopped needing that, the day that I realised that the only person who could make me happy was me, everything changed. It was like a mental shift - a clarity of sorts. Suddenly things started falling into place, my life pivoted and I wasn’t lost anymore.”
The server came to take their order.
“You have to try the Peking duck here. It’s delicious!” Anu said.
“Go for it, sweetheart, you choose. I’m all yours this evening.”
After the server had left, Nonita moved the chopsticks to one side.
“Anu, you are my dearest friend, so don’t take this the wrong way. You’ve always been on a roller coaster of emotions. How do I know that this isn’t just one of your ‘happier’ phases? Please don’t be offended.”
“I’m not! You have every right to ask. For a while I wondered that too. But you know, unlike the previous occasions, this time the happiness isn’t illusory. It isn’t bound up with what’s happening around me, the people I’m surrounding myself with, or the activities I’m throwing myself into. It feels stronger, more grounded. This time it’s about me choosing what’s good and right for me - my family, my work and a few genuine friends. It’s a deeper happiness, something that’s springing up from inside of me. Something that cannot be corrupted from the outside.”
Nonita nodded thoughtfully.
“Then this may be the right time to tell you my news. I... I’m going to be a mother soon.”
“What?! You’re not pregnant, are you?” Anu eyed Nonita’s slender frame in disbelief.
“No, no, not pregnant at all.” She laughed. “Not even a steady beau in my life. I’m adopting a little girl from an orphanage in Mumbai, Anu. Something I’ve wanted to do for years, but haven’t had the courage until now.”
“Noni, really?”
“Yes. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that happiness has to come from within. Sure, I’ve led a glamorous life - partied, had fun, had... have a great career, but there’s always been something missing. Something solid, something more substantial, something that fulfilled me at a deeper level. Watching you make a change, I felt that I needed to think of something... someone... beyond myself. What could be more meaningful than being a mother?”
She looked at Anu, her lovely face filled with apprehension.
Anu observed the elegant woman across from her, the pixie cut, the shift dress, the nude heels. She remembered them growing up together, doing each other’s homework, lending each other romance books, talking about their first crushes, sneaking their first drinks, heading off to separate universities, falling in and out of their friendship but never letting go. Nearly thirty years of watching each other grow and transform from silly young girls to the mature women they were today. She held out her hands and Nonita took them.
“My darling Noni, I couldn’t be happier for you! You are going to be an amazing mother.”
“You think so? I’ve had so many moments of doubt, so many sleepless nights, but something within me tells me this is the right thing to do.”
“Then you must absolutely do it!”
“If I need advice... ”
“I’m here. I’ll always be here, just as you’ve always been there for me.”
They smiled into each other’s eyes. The server came over and refilled their glasses.
Nonita raised hers and looked at Anu.
“Cheers! Here’s to you, here’s to us, and here’s to the future!”
They clinked glasses, but before they took a sip, Anu raised her glass once more. Nonita’s eyebrows rose questioningly. Anu took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She looked at her friend, looked around the busy restaurant, looked out at the lights of her adoptive city twinkling below and smiled with the pure joy that flooded her.
Then she said, “Here’s to life!”
THE END
* * *
What next?
A new novel about love, loss, and the deeply complex nature of female friendship:
Intersections - A Novel
AFTERWORD
Word-of-mouth is crucial for any author to succeed and if you found this book interesting please do leave a review on your preferred retailer. Even if it’s just a star rating or a sentence or two, it would make all the difference and would be very much appreciated!!
If you enjoyed this book, you can sign up to hear more about my new releases and any special offers!
Do visit www.poornimamanco.com to keep abreast of all my news.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Chapter 1
1 Grandmother from the mother’s side
2 Brother or brother-in-law
3 Sister-in-law
4 Aunt, typically father’s sister
Chapter 2
1 Lentil curry
2 Small bowl
3 Indian dish of rice cooked in stock with spices, typically having vegetables.
4 An Indian side dish of yogurt containing chopped cucumber or other vegetables, and spices.
5 A pancake made from rice flour and ground pulses, typically served with a spiced vegetable filling.
6 A village, typically in rural Punjab
7 Sikh temple
8 A Sikh place of worship
9 Lentils
Chapter 3
1 An expression of mild annoyance or mild impatience
2 Grandmother-Grandfather (from the mother’s side)
3 A mixture of ground spices used in Indian cooking
4 Small cup-shaped oil lamps made of baked clay
5 A Hindu religious ceremony that is considered as the main festive day of Diwali
6 A full ankle-length skirt worn by Indian women, usually on formal or ceremonial occasions.
7 Devotional songs
8 Vegetable fritters
Chapter 4
1 A respectful greeting
2 A term of endearment
Chapter 5
1 An ornament made of bells worn around the ankle
2 “That’s it! Finished.”
Chapter 6
1 A roadside food stall
2 Indian breakfast/snack made out of flattened rice, vegetables and potatoes
3 Fashionable
Chapter 7
1 A rustic or unsophisticated Indian
2 The tenth and final day of the Hindu festival of Navaratri, usually in October
3 Lord Krishna’s childhood town
4 Indian flatbread
5 Carrot pudding
Chapter 8
1 Aunt (mother’s sister). In this instance used to denote closeness, even though there is no blood relation
Chapter 9
1 Lentil curry
2 A suffix to denote respect
3 Uncle (typically mother’s brother)
Chapter 10
1 A triangular savoury pastry fried in ghee or oil, containing spiced vegetables or meat
2 A piece of vegetable or meat, coated in seasoned batter and deep-fried
Chapter 12
1 The origin of Kanjeevaram sarees is from Kanchipuram village in Tamil Nadu
2 Elder sister
Chapter 13
1 Father’s sister (or, in this case, father-in-law’s sister for Anu)
2 Child
3 Prayer
4 Utensil
5 Temple
6 Slipper
7 Contractor
8 Loose shirt and trousers
9 Elder sister
10 Brothers
11 Homespun cotton shirt
12 Chicken drumstick
13 Custom/Tradition
14 Fatso
15 An abusive and extremely offensive term
Chapter 14
1 Grandmother (mother’s mother)
2 Kohl
Chapter 15
1 Aunt
2 Slang for brother-in-law
Chapter 16
1 A savoury snack that originated in India, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts
2 A round, hollow puri, fried crisp and filled with a mixture of flavored water (pani), tamarind chutney, chili, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
If it wasn’t for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November, I may not have had the courage to attempt writing a novel. Breaking the goal of 50,000 words into bite-size chunks of writing, I soon surpassed the word count, surprising myself by settling comfortably around the 80,000 mark. The result was a novel that I had long wished to write, but never known quite how to.
As an Indian living abroad, I was keen to explore the dichotomy of straddling two cultures and environments. Not everyone’s experience is the same, but maybe, somewhere in this story, certain elements resonated with you too. If they did, I’d love to hear about it. Email me with your thoughts at:
poornima@poornimamanco.com
My acknowledgements wouldn’t be complete without expressing my heartfelt gratitude to my ART team. Without their feedback, picking up of errors in the initial drafts, and also being frank about what wasn’t working, this book wouldn’t be what it is.
A shoutout to my lovely friend, artist Patricia Maneim, for talking to me about her journey in the art world, and allowing me to take inspiration from her life. You can follow her on Facebook , Instagram and her website is: patriciamaneim.wordpress.com
Thank you for reading this book and being a part of my journey. As a writer, there is no better reward than knowing that someone gave your book the time of the day.
Many thanks and happy reading!
Editor : charu.dpp@gmail.com
* * *
Book cover design: team@miblart.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With a voracious appetite for reading and an unbridled imagination, Poornima started writing stories at age eight. Newspaper in Education, The Times of India supplement, published several of her winning entries. Over the years, family and career took over and writing took a back seat.
* * *
In 2009, when a short story of hers placed in an online competition run by The Guardian newspaper, she once again found her writing voice. Subsequently, she started an online blog where she continued to write articles and stories. Nine years later these stories appeared in two separate books as a part of the India trilogy. Since then, she has published the third book in the trilogy, a novella and another book of short stories, and is working on her first novel.
* * *
Born and raised in New Delhi, India, Poornima graduated from Delhi University with a degree in English Literature. She lives in the United Kingdom with her husband and two daughters, and remains an avid reader. She also loves travelling, baking decadent cakes, celebrity fashion faux pas that make her laugh, old black and white movies, all kinds of art and music, and Nature walks with her family.
Don't miss out!
Click the button below and you can sign up to receive emails whenever Poornima Manco publishes a new book. There's no charge and no obligation.
https://books2read.com/r/B-P-PHAN-FIBNB
https://books2read.com/r/B-P-PHAN-FIBNB
Connecting independent readers to independent writers.
Did you love A Quiet Dissonance? Then you should read Intersections: A Novel by Poornima Manco!
Four friends. Four decades. One devastating betrayal.
Twenty years ago, a stunning deception forced the lives of four young girls to spiral in different directions. Four girls who had taken their friendship and their place in the world for granted.
Pari, who longed to fit in; Samira, who craved a mother's love; Roma, who pined for one boy; and Madhu, who strove to overcome her circumstances. Four friends who were inseparable, their lives enmeshed, their fates intertwined. Until a series of cataclysmic events tore them apart.
Two decades later, they are face to face again. Can they forgive and move on? Or will one person's secret vendetta destroy them all?
Emotionally layered and richly imagined, Intersections raises profound questions about love, loss, forgiveness, and the deeply complex nature of female friendships.
Also by Poornima Manco
Around the World Collection
Six - Strange Stories of Love
Twelve - Stories From Around The World
Eight - Fantastical Tales from Here, There & Everywhere
India Books
Damage & Other Stories
Holi Moly! & Other Stories
Parvathy's Well & Other Stories
The Friendship Collection
Our Liminal Spaces
The Intimacy of Loss: A Novella
A Quiet Dissonance
Intersections: A Novel
Standalone
Parvathy's Well & Other Stories: The India Collection
A Price To Pay
Around the World in Twenty-Seven Tales
Poornima Manco, A Quiet Dissonance
