“Anything else Sir?”, she asked looking up and pausing before hitting the “Place Order” button on the screen.

“No thanks”, replied the gentleman.

She heaved a long sigh, one that had escaped the formal decorum of the workplace, much to the surprise of the guest at the counter. She however was too lost to have noticed the puzzled look on his face.

It was just another busy day at the Café AllDay. Ramya had reported to duty on time. However, two of her colleagues for the first shift had not turned up till lunchtime. Manning the cash counter as well as the kitchen was keeping her on toes.

“Not at least today”, she thought to herself. The fast pace of the events in her life was exhaustive enough to drain her out.

“You are darn lucky”, many of her friends had opined when they saw a shiny yellow metal around her ring finger. And they were right as well. For Ramya was getting hitched. The groom was well educated and from a well to do family. Ramya would not have to slog to make ends meet was the main draw of this match! A queen-size life awaited her.

Ramya, on the contrary, was not sure. She wanted to clear the air, once and for all, for every concerned and connected with her life…most important, she herself. She had thought of taking a stand and saving her beleaguered tattered soul.

She turned from the order cum cash counter and paced towards the coffee machine, playing with the shiny engagement ring. She could feel a thousand bees swarming and buzzing in her head. Pushing the buttons on the machine, she stood gazing at the tiny, colorful, flashing lights. The dance of the lights had a therapeutic effect on her befuddled mind. Suddenly the gush of hot air escaped the nozzle of the coffee vending machine. It did trigger the ray of light that flashed across her mind!

“I must be honest with myself. If I don’t, I will spoil two lives. Amma and Abba would be devastated. If they don’t accept, the worst case would be they disowning me. I have enough strength to weather it, for its a question of life. Before its late, I must”, she crossed her heart. Sense of relief prevailed that reflected in shine returning back to her dull eyes.

“Your order, Sir”, said she while placing the lid on the tall glass of coffee.

Before she could change her mind, Ramya pulled her mobile and texted her fiancé as well as her parents. Once done she felt lighter, like the dandelions wafting in the air. She witnessed a rainbow, that the ray of light seeping through the water-filled bottles placed on the shelf at the entrance, has made.

“A rainbow, my true calling”, she pondered.

For she had made it clear by texting that she was bisexual and was out and proud to be what she was!


Photo by Марьян Блан | @marjanblan on Unsplash
Previous story from Stack of Stories
A for Alien
Categories: FictionShort Story

39 Comments

Mayuri6 · April 2, 2020 at 7:56 am

Glad Ramya was brave and honest enough to take this step. It will save a lot of heartbreak.

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 11:22 am

    Courage to cross over the threshold is rare and as you said Ramya had it.
    Thanks Mayuri. I always look forward to your comments. As always you keep on motivating me. Thanks a ton

Poorvi · April 2, 2020 at 7:56 am

Great story! And what an unexpected climax. Loved it!

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 11:20 am

    Glad that you liked it. Thanks Poorvi for visiting.

नंदू रानडे · April 2, 2020 at 10:16 am

नमस्कार,
आपण स्तंभ लेखन परत सुरू केलत, धन्यवाद.
मी आवर्जून आपले लेख वाचतो. मराठी भाषा ‘मायबोली’ असली तरी ईंग्रजीची खुमारी या लेखातुन जाणवते.
काऴजी😷घ्या व असचं लिखाण सुरू ठेवा! शुभेच्छा🌹
🙏जय🚩श्रीराम.

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 11:19 am

    Khup khup dhanyavaad Nandu. Thanks for the support.

Ravish Mani · April 2, 2020 at 10:36 am

Lovely story with a positive message, Anagha. Also like the metaphors used. Btw, do you pick the Title first & weave a story around it or weave a story first & pick the title with a tweak?

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 11:19 am

    Thanks Ravish. I write the story first and then decide the title most of the times. Sometimes the title makes it way to my mind sphere right when I am writing the
    Story and not yet finished it.
    How about you?

      Ravish Mani · April 3, 2020 at 1:09 am

      Well, in case of non-fiction, I’ve rough idea of the title, but in case of story, no clue.

Gleefulblogger · April 2, 2020 at 12:07 pm

Lovely story of strength and grit. Ramaya is a smart girl and she has done what’s right. This determination is hard to find.

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 3:25 pm

    Timing, as you said is also crucial in the matter that can make or mar the life. Thanks Dipika for visiting.

Sharmila · April 2, 2020 at 12:31 pm

Agree with u anagha it requires great courage to break the ice .loved it

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 3:24 pm

    Thanks Shammi for resonating with my thoughts. Thanks for visiting.

soniadogra · April 2, 2020 at 1:12 pm

That moment just before you accept yourself and announce it to the world is the toughest. Glad Ramya could.

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 3:23 pm

    You are right. Not many can cross that chasm. Thanks Sonia for visiting and sharing your thoughts.

Vaishali Khot · April 2, 2020 at 2:13 pm

Being honest to oneself and the courage to accept the reality the way it is ,is a great quality shown by Ramya .Nice way of narrating

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 3:22 pm

    The young generation is more outgoing and courageous than our generation, I believe, especially the girls. Thanks Dr Vaishali for visiting and sharing your thoughts on it.

Tasha Duncan-Drake · April 2, 2020 at 2:30 pm

Go Ramya! Brave and proud. Love the narrative.
Tasha 💖
Virginia’s Parlour – The Manor (Adult concepts – nothing explicit in posts)
Tasha’s Thinkings – Vampire Drabbles

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 2:44 pm

    Likes of Ramya do need encouragement to cross over the threshold and live life happily. Thanks Tasha for visiting.

Swarnali Nath · April 2, 2020 at 2:35 pm

Nice story Anagha. I really enjoy your storytelling, it’s quite relatable. Waiting for more from you.

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 2:45 pm

    Thanks Swarnali for visiting and appreciating.

jaya1966 · April 2, 2020 at 4:23 pm

That was a lovely twist at the end. It takes a lot of courage to break the shackles but it is better to be our true selves than pretend.

    Anagha Yatin · April 2, 2020 at 4:49 pm

    You summed it up well Jay. Thanks for visiting.

Jyoti · April 2, 2020 at 5:19 pm

Lovely story with a twist. Accepting one is the courageous, glad Ramya had all the courage to say that before it was too late.

alpanadeo · April 2, 2020 at 5:34 pm

Proud of you Ramya for following your heart and proud of you Anagha for portraying the character so well. It was full of emotions. BTW loved the image.

Shreyas Joshi · April 2, 2020 at 6:23 pm

Ramya is the ray of hope in a sky of gloom and fear for all those like her. She was brave enough to take a stand for what is right and came out with it rather proud while doing so. A very intricately crafted story with a hint left here and there just to tingle speculations while taking a twist fr the better!! Awesome read, look forward to the rest of your posts!

jazzfeathers · April 2, 2020 at 6:26 pm

Another great story. I didn’t expect that final twist, but it was perfect. It made the story a lot more meaningful.

@JazzFeathers
The Old Shelter – Living the Twenties

Shilpa Garg · April 2, 2020 at 9:10 pm

Glad that she chose to be honest with herself and her family, before it was too late. Loved the story with unexpected twist! Great going, Anagha!!

Unishta · April 2, 2020 at 9:18 pm

Not quite what I expect but brave of your heroine to accept her sexuality and literally ruin the life of her ‘fiancé’ . Kudos to her .

CRD · April 3, 2020 at 12:14 am

What a twist. I didn’t see that one coming.

Pashmeena Chowdhary · April 3, 2020 at 1:26 am

You really know how to spin stories..A very nice one… A brave take..Will be back..

Ira Mishra · April 3, 2020 at 2:02 am

Great story… Ending really took me by surprise.. I was expecting somethinh else… Too good this one :)! And great to see the self acceptance!

TheDreamGirlWrites · April 3, 2020 at 2:07 am

This is beautiful!!!!
Happy Blogging 🙂
B is for Betrayal
https://thedreamgirlwrites.wordpress.com/2020/04/02/betrayal/

msjadeli · April 3, 2020 at 9:08 am

I’m glad she decided to be honest with herself and to take the big step and be honest with her parents and fiance. She made the right decision even though there will be some pain and heartbreak in the short term.

tinacharya · April 3, 2020 at 10:44 am

Fabulous. You write sooo beautifully. always a punch line awaited at the end…totally loved it 🙂

pythoroshan · April 3, 2020 at 10:53 am

I loved this ending… absolutely loved it.

Keith's Ramblings · April 3, 2020 at 3:20 pm

I was expecting a twist, but not that one! Excellent.

Sushma · April 3, 2020 at 5:37 pm

You have touched very sensitive subject N put it in beautiful way.

Shweta Suresh · April 3, 2020 at 8:20 pm

Great story. Ramya was very brave indeed and more importantly, she didn’t let herself be trapped in an unhappy marriage.

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