Firdaus Parvez

First Cry

We walked in silence, he fidgeting with his tie, clearing his throat every now and then, wanting to say something perhaps, I trying to keep up with his stride, swallowing down disappointment, the distance between the clinic and us increasing, knowing it was our last chance. 

dismantling
the wooden crib
piece by piece
I try to glue together
my broken heart

Years later, the jigsaw puzzle is missing a piece. I’m sprawled on the living room carpet searching for it. His presence fills the doorway, the white crescent of his smile lighting up the room. Our eyes meet and I just know.

a guava tree
lit up with jasmine blossoms
fragrant dawn
as I hold another’s baby close
its breath mingling with mine

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About the Author

Firdaus Parvez lives in Aligarh, a town close to New Delhi, India. She writes short stories, flash fiction, and poems about love and loss, family and relationships, stumbling across them in the folds of ordinary lives. She has a few published works both online and in print.