La La Land – Chapter 2

Hello Everyone,

Today on the blessed occasions of Suna Besha Darshan of Lord Jagannath and Eid Ul Adha, I present Chapter 2 on this double auspicious day.

Happy Reading!

……………………….

She was the elder of the 2 daughters of Sizzler Shikari. As far as Mafia Mona could remember, her father was the one person she was the closest to.

The reasons for this were many. Shikari had been more of a friend to her than a parent, more of a confidant and companion than a disciplinarian.

She was her papa’s daughter unlike her younger sister who was more inclined towards their mother.

However, what excited her more was that Shikari would invariably bring a gift for her from his jungle expeditions.

They could vary from the simple like wildflowers and mushrooms to the exotic like berries or a slab of wild honey from the beehive.

While paddling back in memory, she also recalled the way she got her moniker Mafia Mona.

As she was growing up, she realized she had many qualities of her father including his guts and fearlessness. Words like thieves, jail and Mafia were commonplace in her discussions with Shikari.

This created a fantasy world for her and she would roam around the village with an air of audacity around her.

*ମୋଁ ନା in English translates to ‘my name’

Somehow over the years those words condensed, and her name stuck, but in reverse order – Mafia Mona!

Though she was short in height, she more than made up for it by being high on confidence. She felt that she could beat the blues out of errant poachers and rogue tribesmen!

To prove her point she even rolled up her frock sleeves and with her teeth clenched, she punched both her arms in the air mocking a fight and repeating her name “Mafia Mona, Mafia Mona!”

Now, as she sat with her son hoping to catch fish for dinner, she knew her father was somewhere in the vicinity hunting and trying to arrange food for the village.

Just then she felt a tug at the bait on her fishing rod and also heard a gunshot in the far silent distance!

Did the alphabet carry a meaning? Were the birds trying to communicate something…Instinctively she knew both father and daughter had simultaneously ‘caught’ their prey.

While returning and unseen by her, Mafia’s 3-year-old son quickly dropped the still struggling fish back into the river.

Dear Reader,

It is good to have you back to read Chapter 2 of La La Land 😊

Hope you liked the character Mafia Mona! All Illustrations have been done by Kishor and you can follow his Instagram account kishormistry_ for more wonderful art.

I have also penned a few traits of Mafia's personality in a short verse below.

Do leave your thoughts and comments and as always I look forward to replying to them.

Impulsive and talkative, with a bit of ego in my core,
Nature and its beauty brings my best to the fore!

Not mere words, I believe in action..
Will speak my mind, regardless of your reaction!

Willing to take risks, I follow my gut feel,
Life's adversities bolsters my nerves of steel!

Undaunted, even by the mighty Corona..
I am feisty and my name is Mafia Mona!

Copyright © 2021 Wasim Jawaid

This work of fiction, written by Wasim Jawaid is the author’s sole intellectual property. All rights are reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including printing, photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author. For permission requests, send an email to the author wasim.jawaid@gmail.com

20 thoughts on “La La Land – Chapter 2”

  2. Mafia Mona!! Nice way of developing the plot. Looking forward to the following episodes. Nice illustrations by Kishor! Job well done! Loved the poem at the end! As usual nice flow and articulation! Keeping penning…. looking forward to the next chapter. Hope we don’t have to wait for too long.

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  5. I’m so impressed by how gracefully you’ve captured the imagination . It’s a mixture of suspense and thrill. Will continue to read your upcoming post.

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    1. Vivek thank you! Also appreciate your query on the link between this chapter and 1st part. Actually while Mafia is fishing she hears the rifle shot of Shikari in the far distance (pertaining to Ch1) and then hurries home.

      Once again thanks and happy that you liked the Illustrations 😄😄

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  8. The introduction of Mafia Mona is very interesting. The description of her jungle adventures and of course the colourful sketches add life to her story.Waiting impatiently for the next episode.

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  10. Nice way to introduce a new character of Mafia Mona. You have built in a lot of intrigue as Mona grows from a child to a mother with a child with in the span of this chapter but we don’t know anything about her mother or husband. We are also thinking how come a Police Inspector became transformed into Shikari himself… Lots of questions for our friendly writer babu 🙂🤗

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    1. Haha writer babu! 😄 Well yes in next chapters we will know more about Shikari and his family.

      Thank you for your time in reading this and for your suggestion as well on giving addnl info on the characters. Will incorporate!

      Love you.

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