Abandoned!

No…no no no no no….Nooooooo!She can’t do that. How could she do that? She did that!No….Help! Help! Help!

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I’m drowning!No wait. I am not drowning, I am floating. But I’m floating away. Far far away. And …and I’m alone. Nooooo! Why couldn’t she have let both of us go. Why only me?

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I’ve never been alone.

Never. Ever.

We are made in pairs. Cut, shaped, assembled, designed. Sold. In pairs. We don’t have meaning alone. And now….now..

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There’s water everywhere. Everywhere. And it’s so strong. It’s carrying me away. Far far away. Oh noooooo!You tell me! Yes you. I can see you reading. You tell me. What crazy human wades into the sea with her chappals on? I mean, aren’t you humans supposed to have something called a brain? She did this. This is all her fault. I’m alone because of her. Asshole

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She knew she always lost her footwear to water. She used to joke about it. We used to feel bad every time we lost a friend pair. She even told stories of all the rivers and seas she “donated” her footwear too. Bitch.

Doesn’t she know that we have hearts and feelings too? That we don’t serve a purpose in the sea? That we are meant to be on feet, roaming, exploring, climbing, getting mud all over us, scraping off gravel, protecting feet. That is our purpose. Unlike her.

She didn’t have a purpose. Useless female. We are born with purpose. In pairs with a purpose. Not alone, floating on angry endless clueless waters.

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Apppa!!!! What do I do now. The sun. Ugh. The sun and water are killing me. See…see that patch. That patch wasn’t there when she let me go. I must have scraped myself on one of them rocks. Ouch. That burns. Let me see if I can flip.

Ahhhh…that feels better.

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What must be happening to my better half? Shouldn’t she have thrown him in too? What does a human do with one chappal.

And if she did throw him in why can’t I see him. We should have both floated in with the same currents.

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You know what. She’s a bitch. Heartless bitch.We were there when she met that first guy. He didn’t like us. No. He thought we were too “middle class” for her outfits. And that was a decade ago. A decade ….seems like a lifetime now. Her feet used to be fat then.

Brand new from factory and all we were. Shining. And still.

Because of him only we were shoved at the back of the cupboard. In darkness for all of two years.

We didn’t even get to see that city for more than a day.

I’m getting worried. Why can’t I see my better half? He should have floated in here only. Oh god…this heat.

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We were also there when he left her, the first guy. Crying and broken. It was then that we found a place at the front of the shelf.

By then she had already moved to a new city.We were there. Tirelessly protecting her feet as she went on those endless walks. Crying. Broken hearted.

We never once let her trip or fall. Cycling, trekking, beaches. We went everywhere with her. It was as if wearing us was her coping mechanism. For getting over him. She lost a lot of that extra weight then.

Can’t complain. Our jobs did get lighter. If you know what I mean.

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O my goodness. Whoosh. I’m all wet now. That was a huge wave. Pfff! Where is my better half? Can the sharks have gotten to him? Do sharks like rubber? 98 percent pure rubber with coating of polymer and reinforced fibre for strength. Yes yes. Fancy. I know. But do sharks like it? More importantly can they digest it? No no….no negativity. There are no sharks on the coast of Dwarka. It’s a holy place. Creatures like sharks don’t swim in holy seas. No no.

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You know what. Bitch! We were there even when she met the second guy. In fact, it was us who introduced them. One day outside the lab, we chappals were talking and we figured he was single, she was single, so we conspired to get them together. Both, my better half and one of the other pair, managed to get shoved deep beneath that old cabinet outside the lab.Sacrifice. Is what I’d call it. Immense sacrifice. These humans I tell you. No regard only.

Anyways. So my better half and one of the second guy’s chappal, managed to get shoved in the darkness beneath the cabinet. And the whole class left. But these two got stuck talking because they both were looking for their chappals. And then he found them for her. Tall as he was, he bent down and his looooooong hand pulled them both out.

And she thanked him and the flirt that she was, she offered to thank him with a coffee. And shy as he was, he said yes. And that is how their story began.

You see. My better half sacrificed a full two hours of light for her. And this is how she repays us. Throwing us into the deep sea. Separating us.

Bitch!

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Actually, we were also there when he left her. All of five years it took. Fun five years. His chappals and us, we had become family friends. He was a nice chap. Simple. Not like the first one. He liked us. He found a good shelf for us. He gave us respect.

Nice chap. The last I heard, he was getting married to someone. No…no not her. That’s why she wandered into the sea with us on.

He would never let her do that to us. He would have made sure she removed us before tugging us along in that yucky sticky sand.

He was a gentleman’s gentleman. He was.Like my better half. Who must be crying in pain inside a shark’s stomach by now. Chewed and broken.

Aaaargh….bitch.

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She had come to Dwarka. On scooter. Can you believe it? Driving a two wheeler on those roads. All the time, our heartbeats were on the edge. If you know what I mean. Terrible roads. Yes, I know she was hurting. But to take that kind of risk. She is not a good driver. I am telling you. Nuh..uh.

My better half stopped her from skidding so many times when she put her foot down to balance. Hero only he was. Poor guy.

Got scraped and scratched. But stood strong. Didn’t let her skid.

O how he must be lying, tied down in sea weed, at the bottom of some part of this God awful sea.

See, what the water and sun have done to me. See, all pink I was. Now all patches of white. And bite marks. Yes yes. I am thankful them fish don’t like 98 percent rubber with polymer coating and reinforced fibre. But I wish they could smell me before taking a bite. It hurts you know. Good quality rubber I am made of but it still hurts. Ugh!

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There. There. Do you see. That thing floating. That block of pink.

Is it him? Is it my better half? I wish the wave would crash faster.

I have been stuck in the sand of another shore….another country. I think.

I have been stuck here. With other dead fish and crabs and sea shells and plastic bottles. Lots of them. I survived. I don’t know how or why?

Maybe for him? He’s coming. The wave is about to crash. Yay…my heart beat. O my god….I haven’t felt this much joy in a decade. Not since the first time we were placed in the box in that factory.

And he’s here. O my god, he looks injured. Tired. Ofcourse he is injured and tired. God only knows how many days, weeks it has been.Wait…my better half wasn’t this shade of pink. No…no he was darker. Can the sea have changed his color. No right? I’m still my own pink.Oh no….oh no no no no.

This isn’t my better half. No.But is it wrong to want companionship?

How long does a stranded discarded chappal wait for her partner?I should check in on him. Ofcourse I know I don’t have feet and hands. But I can nudge around. Talk. He’s cute. Same brand. Slightly taller. I like them tall. Ofcourse nothing compared to my better half. You make me sound like a villain.No. it is my duty to help a fellow chappal. Hey….ssh…shhs..what’s your name? Are you alright?I’m Bata 420b 7A. I used to belong to this bitch called Natasha. I’ve been here for sometime now. I think we are in what the humans call Pakistan.Who was your human? Have you also floated in from what the humans call India? Love your shade of pink by the way

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