Once Upon A Karma (Karmic Krystal Book 1) Read Online Free

we have finished eating, Krystal!  How many times do I have to tell you that?” she says, frowning. 
    “But Mummy, he is hungry!” I pout and cross my arms while glaring at her.  “Making the birds watch us while we eat delicious food, especially when they are so hungry, is not fair to the birds.”
    When I turn around to look at the poor hungry seagull, I am shocked to find what seems like hundreds of birds standing in its place.  Dad looks up and says a few choice swear words under his breath while shaking his head.  I quickly cover my ears, pretending I didn’t hear what he said.  He looks over at the birds, still muttering under his breath.  As soon as Dad stands up to shoo them away, they all flap their wings at once but instead of flying away, they all quickly make a synchronised bee-line for our table, fighting over the hot chips on the paper, all-the-while crapping on everything beneath their butts.  My sisters and mother all quickly start waving their hands around in the air, trying to shoo them away from our food, but their efforts are in vain. 
    “Okay, now I get it,” I whisper to my mother as I feel her eyes glaring at me.  Both of my parents quickly give up attempting to rescue what is left of the hot chips as there looks to be more poo than chips on the paper.  As a huge dollop of seagull poop lands on Dad’s head, our eyes widen with both shock and amusement.  I cover my mouth, stifling a giggle before looking at the food and almost puking at what is left.  One glimpse of our lunch – or rather, the poopy remnants left behind – convinces my parents to make the wise choice of buying a new loaf of bread, another parcel of fish and chips (definitely hold the mayo after the wing-flapping poop-fest) and pay a visit to Grandpa’s house instead. 
    My mum’s father always seems to remind me of Santa when I look at him.  Every time we see him, he has a smile and a twinkle in his eye.  That twinkle, coupled with his big white bushy beard, make me wonder if they are one in the same.  Grandpa also keeps a stash of candy in the cupboard for us to nibble on while Mum, Dad and Grandpa smoke their cigarettes and drink their tea, coffee and beer.  This time, however, Grandpa gets some plates out of the cupboard and puts some chips and bread onto each, along with sauce and butter.  As he opens the fridge to pull out some mayonnaise, my mother reaches over and takes it out of his hand, placing it back inside the fridge.
    “Thanks, Dad, but no thanks,” Mum says immediately.  When I look up, I notice that she still looks green around the gills at what we had left behind on the table at the beach.  Taken aback by my mother’s instant refusal, our grandfather eventually nods and gets a bottle of red cordial from the cupboard.  After pouring a cup of cordial for Leena, Tania and me, Grandpa pulls three beers from the bottom shelf of the fridge and slides them into drink coolers before passing them and the bottle-opener to Mum and Dad. Finally, lunch is served and we all devour our luke-warm chips with sauce while putting the seaside mishap out of our thoughts completely.
    Grandpa always tells me that I am his favourite when I visit his house.  Since he is my only grandfather, I guess he is my favourite too.  My dad’s father died just before Dad was born.  He is a war hero.  I wish I had met him.  He was handsome too, just like my dad.  His pictures hang on a wall at home.  Each photo is black and white, displayed inside a large, old wooden frame.  Sometimes I catch my dad looking at the pictures with a sad and solemn look, but when he sees me watching him look at the photographic memories of his youth, he lifts me up and points to each one, waiting for me to say their name out loud.  He has taught me who they are since I was a baby and never wants me to forget who they are.
    Interrupting my thoughts, Mum and Dad ask if I would like to stay for the whole weekend with Grandpa as a