Two French Braids to bob 🪂

I have credence in what I’m saying, Reading about Italy-Mystery electrifies your living cells to open adages and prehistoric entities. Hence, here I stand, factually sit, but whatsoever.

A juncture on a junction with paradoxical junkies in a junk box to abscond for the jinxes.

The only period when I get to chomp dozens of Lays while gawking at the uncos who are too busy to look at an uncool girl staring at them with her dainty mouth full of spicy chips, with two french braids.

The only period when Impassive Adult gets to burst our eardrums with his zillion ‘specific’ Spotify playlist.

The only period when Doyenne gets to drink her treasured Fanta and Flavoured milk while twigging how to prevent Google from landing us into an undeveloped remote village, just for ‘shortcut’.

The only period when Oke gets to ram his foot on the accelerator for hours and cram his hand on the horn to blare out people with useless eyeballs.

THE ONLY TIME WHEN WE GET TO INHERE IN THE GREY CAR. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you with The Vacation.

Alligators?

I was sticking on a wooden, umm boat? Basically, a plank of wooden barks attached together. Crossing a river with Umm Boat with no secure edges or boundaries was new to Two French Braids, who gulped her vacant mind. I stared at the water. Were there any crocodiles?

The Rapunzel Backpack and doll orange T-shirt wasn’t helping any, thus I questioned Oke for my sanity.

“What if we fall into the water?”

Oke grinned as he heard my 8-year-old stupidity, “It’s not like this is going to unbalance.”

“What if it unbalances?”

Oke smiled and mouthed a “no”.

“Are there any alligators in there?”

Oof. That was a question strictly raised by eyeing the green water in a Jungle. Impassive Adult was hearing all of Two French Braids. He squinted his eyes under his spectacles, “Dude...like Kuch Bhi.”

Like “Have fun”

This wasn’t ‘Home Alone, this was ‘Hotel Alone’. Argh, with Impassive Adult.

Both of the icons were gone out for Doyenne’s art Exhibition. In Mumbai. What is a 9-year-old Two French Braids supposed to do when she is in a room through which she can gawk at people tanning by the pool? Specifically, with an Impassive Adult (who was none of an adult at that time).

“Soooooooo...what shall I do?”

Impassive Adult was get-set-go for his usual rituals, “Nothing. Like watch TV, eat whatever you like, chill in bed, and play video games on the Ipad. HAVE FUN!”

“Well-”

Only if I could complete it. Impassive Adult grasped the landline, “Hello, Room Service?”

Soar for Dummies, Sour for Dummies

The unexpurgated time till we reached the place where we could finally unite our shoelaces and unpack suitcases, I was a bustling girl with two french braids blabbering how it would be so cool to bob from the cliff and how my parachute will be my wings. This is what happens when you make your eyes hard-pressed in front of the TV only to watch ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’. Gazing at people fluttering in the sky after jumping from a plane at a height you can certainly die without parachutes, made me feel like I was F-E-A-R-L-E-S-S. Not much till it came to the crucial decision (actual life-and-death decision).

When the Two French Braids came to know how she had to bob out in the sky with a stranger (aka instructor), she was horror-stricken. Doyenne was interrogating us,

“Will you paraglide?” Of course, that guy will. Impassive Adult just wanted to bob out in the sky and shove all this adventure at his ‘mates’ at school. Oke was down too. Of course, he will. I had chaffed him with my adores about how he would ‘duh’ quit when it came to facing gravity with parachutes.

Speaking of quitting, I shrugged my head. No no NO.

“If you aren’t doing that then I won’t too because someone will need to stay with you on the ground.” Nice move Doyenne. Well played. The ‘I won’t too’ card was played and I was down now.

“ONE, TWO, AND THREE! CHALO CHALO!”

Could’ve been a better countdown. So that at least I could brace the elastic of my ponytail. However, I was basically racing towards a cliff with an instructor, a camera, and two parachutes. They didn’t even give me any ticks of the timepiece to ponder upon, I bobbed.

I was the first to flutter with parachutes in the sky.

THE UTTER MINUTES OF EVERY hour, what was I doing? Talking about the ranches I could see from my own Manhattan view. Talking to my instructor who probably had a migraine after we landed because Two French Braids had interrogated him on every piece of livelihood she could glance at, from the top.

“Keep your legs up from the ground. We’ll slowly go down and you have to put them on the ground when we are almost at it.”

That is just what I did. Up. Stretch. Land. My feet touched the mustard ground and I rose-stood up.

I took certain minutes to feel giddy and yank up my ponytail again. I operated my head to turn around, somehow, with a hefty helmet. Whoa.

In the first five minutes I saw Doyenne thump into the ground, then Impassive Adult thumph into the ground, and well what should I even utter about Oke. He was slinking just above the grey roads and THUMP THUMP THUMPP THUMPH THUM THUPH THUM into the ground.

I sauntered towards them. Doyenne was showing off her white teeth with a grin. Impassive Adult was ranting at Doyenne how his camera didn’t work “up there”, and Oke was imparting his horrible experience. I looked at poor fellows and murmured to myself, That is the advantage when you are a 10-year-old soul and others are reaching the time when they start feeling old.

Cheers to the Two French Braids.

*Gratis Talks: Dear Amigo: Did you feel afraid? Jumping from heights.

Me: Ha, why would I?

My wrinkled forehead: Liar.

*Gratis Talks #2:

Old Friend: What did you do the whole time in the Hotel?

Me: It was SO fun. Like had fun.

My wrinkled forehead: Liar

*Gratis Talks #3:

Old Friend: How did they allow you to go in the Jungle Ride which was only for adults? Me: Dude, I am eight! Plus I am brave enough, like what will scare me in the jungle? Ha.

My wrinkled forehead: Liar.

*Gratis Talks #4:

Dear Amigo: How was your trip?

Me: Ahh. Great. I paraglided and Doyenne thought I was scared, like LOL. I am never scared.

My wrinkled forehead: Liar.