I’m elated today. I feel like the clouds dotting the sky like cotton balls in the sky. Ready to fly away with joy. Trevor is coming home. Just to celebrate our special day.
Trevor’s like that. Thoughtful. Who else would sneak away from a business conference, just to celebrate his anniversary? Especially when his manager has been breathing down his neck for like forever?!!
He can stay for a couple of hours only as he is sneaking away during a break. No one can know he was here. But he is coming. That’s what matters.
When we got together, everyone tried their best to warn me against him.
He doesn’t love you.
He is just after your money.
The marriage won’t even last for six weeks.
I put my foot down and told everyone he was the ONE. Nothing anyone said would change my mind.
That made them shut up. Of course, once the marriage was solemnised, the same people spouting all the nonsense about him earlier, were eating out of his hands. Trevor can charm the tail off the Devil.
To be frank, I too was surprised at his attention. It felt like I had fallen in a dream. The magic has lasted these two years. Two years! Take that, you interfering, insensitive people who were convinced my marriage wouldn’t last for six weeks.
Surprised, you ask? I’m aware of my simple looks. No one ever let go of the opportunity to remind me. They would call me Plain Jane, fake regret lacing their words. Then they would tell me with a gleeful malice that what I lacked in looks would be compensated for by my father’s riches.
Would you weave dreams of a future if you knew all your achievements would be stained with ugly whispers that labelled them as compromised?
When I scored the highest in my Senior year, classmates whispered that it was because Dad was on the education board. When I got into the University, it was the donation that supposedly paved my way. Even my first kiss was a stepping stone for someone who harboured ambitions of helming my father’s empire one day. Life didn’t give me lemons to make lemonade. It gave me champagne, but with the spark all fizzled. Trevor brought back that spark.
Trevor loves me for myself. For him beauty comes from within. Even though he is as handsome as Brad Pitt, he isn’t a slave to vanity. He knows that marriage requires two people compatible in their thoughts, not their looks.
Love, care, understanding, respect and of course good sex are what makes a marriage strong. And he delivers. Who wouldn’t melt by compliments whispered in their ears while their lover’s fingers do some deliciously unmentionable things on their naked skin?
He doesn’t give two cents for my father’s money. He could have joined the family business but he values his independence far too much. But the only downside are his long absences. I miss him so much. I might just be a little bit lonely.
There is something that bothers me just a little bit. In spite of his good looks and hardworking nature, he loses jobs frequently. I’m sure his managers all feel threatened by his accomplishments. He has changed five jobs at least in the last twenty four months.
Sometimes, when he is between jobs, the money situation gets tense. I can get the money but he has forbidden me to ask for anything from my parents. In fact, I hardly talk to them. Trevor never says so, but I can infer he doesn’t like me being in touch with them. Who would, when you are constantly being judged and expected to fail. I miss Mom and Dad sometimes. I really wanted to call them up when I fell down the stairs.
It was nothing. I don’t know how I slipped. Usually I’m not clumsy. I was in the hospital for a few days. A fracture in the ribs and a two in the ankle. I was back on my feet in a few weeks. Poor Trevor, he didn’t leave my side at all during that time. Of course, he had to resign from his job to take care of me. I felt so bad for him.
He lost his first job too because of me. Poor dear was so miserable. Devastated, thinking it was all his fault. He made a sandwich for me with peanut butter. He didn’t know, all right. I thought I had told him about my allergies. Maybe I forgot. Might have slipped my mind. And then we couldn’t find my EpiPen. I must confess I was a little scared there.
We found the pen eventually and I did not need to go to the hospital. Trevor insisted, but he was near to palpitations himself. We ordered takeaway and had a quiet night. Talking of EpiPens, mine needs to be replaced. I was going to order, but Trevor has assured me he would bring me one.
We hardly ever go out to celebrate. I never know when an insect would land on me, sending me into convulsions.
The doorbell rings. I fly to the door and there he stands. He has a bouquet of white flowers in his hand. I step back, a little wary.
“Happy Cotton Anniversary.” He thrusts the bouquet in my hands. Relief floods through me. I am holding a bouquet of artificial cotton flowers, white, fluffy with brown undersides. Didn’t I tell you, he is thoughtful. Little things like these make life beautiful, don’t they?
I raise them instinctively for a sniff. That’s when the angry buzzing reaches my ears. The irate bee, vexed at its confinement within the cotton wool heads straight at me.
Did you know a bee dies once it stings? Today its little sting spells not one death but two.
***
The story was predictable but the narration made this one unputdownable and gripping. I felt sorry seeing the protagonist’s naïveté. The plot was taut and cleverly narrated.
8/10
Brilliant narration. The plight of the protagonist made me really sad. The ending was so subtle and poignant.
My rating 9/10
Her naivety was pitiful and a little difficult to understand considering she topped her university. Gripping, of course. But no mention of how he intended to achieve his motive of laying hands on her father’s money.
The protagonist seems too naive. Why was Trevor changing jobs?
After having her out of his life path how did he plan to lay his hands on her father’s property. Come on he didn’t marry a simple looking woman just like that without any vested interest.
Poignant tale. 6/10
Woah, the story had an eerie undertone throughout. Loved the narration. Can totally understand her eventual ‘conditioning’. No, she aint naive, she was conditioned by her ‘abuser’.
Rating 9.5/10
(O.5 less coz…m petty nd my english teacher said u dont get full marks in languages)
This was a pretty sad story… the girl was too naive… she survived in a make believe world of herself… the outcome was predictable but narration was very good… my rating 7/10
My heart went out to the protagonist. Poor girl, always weighed down with the snide comments regarding her looks and the all her hard work dismissed. No wonder she made herself believe so hard in Trevor.
The plot was predictable but the narration was quite engaging. Tge prompt adherence was spot on.
Rating : 8/10
I liked both the story and the style of naration. A lot was implied or suggested, which heightened the reading experience.
My heart went out to the protagonist. We do find such characters in real life, too – desperately seeking love n validation in the face of all odds. There was a hint of evil and an eerie undertone through out, which kept me hooked till the end.
Very nice! Rating – 9 on 10
It was such a poignant tale. I felt sorry for the Protagonist and her ignorance. Also beautiful narration. My rating 8/10.
In awe with the narration. There was something eerie about T which ran through the story perfectly. It became clear at the mention of change of jobs. And then allergies. Although I could really understand the insect part. Do you mean the protag is allergic to insects?
The end was a bang. Subtle yet screaming.
Brilliant.
Also, the usage of ‘two cents’ – you may want to change it as ‘two hoots’
My rating 8.5
An interesting tale. That Trevor is not a nice guy became obvious quite early on. It is a nice tale and the girl’s innocence is disarming, though the naivete is disturbing. The language flowed smoothly and nothing to fault there. Trevor’s intent behind marrying her is not clear, unless he is a sadist or a psychopath. The tale is narrated almost as a recollection – reading the tale I wished this was told in real time. This is a dark tale, that makes for deep seated emotions; wish there were more action beats and dialogue. Good take on the prompt. Rate this 6.5/10.
A sad story about unhappy matrimony. I loved the beginning. It got me excited to read on. The narration was gripping. The ending was expected and the story lead to the outcome. I felt in some places especially after the middle, I missed parts of what happened – peanut allergy. My overall rating 7/10.
Enjoyed this story. Blind in love or probably not so blind but still convincing herself…
Some unanswered questions:
Why would the bee sting kill her?
If he kept her away from her family, how was he going to inherit her wealth after her death?
My rating 6.5/10
There was a dark side and underlying hints of eeriness to the story. The narration was good. Some dots need to be connected. 8
‘Little Things’ takes the reader on a ride that is level and smooth for the initial part and then starts rising, but not in a hurry. Just as the ‘plain looks’ and ‘moneyed father’ bits are becoming repetitive, in come the accidental incidents and the story takes on an entirely new hue. Smooth reading and an ending that can only be conjectured about after the first half of the story. And the ride ends on the top of a rise with the writer suddenly dying on you! Good surprise ending! 8/10
Hi,
That was such an interesting story! I was hooked right from the beginning. Trevor did seem too good to be true. But I had imagined a different ending in mind. I did not see any cons per se, except for this line, “When we got together, everyone tried their best to warn me against him.” I think ‘tried’ can be dropped from this line. They did warn her eventually. So everyone warned her would have sounded good enough. It was a great read! My rating 7/10