Let me tell you a story...

Let me tell you the story of a young starry-eyed girl, a very special starry-eyed girl. In fact, she was so special that she was just like all the other starry-eyed special girls! She dreamt of travelling to far off lands. Her heart resided in tiny little remote villages, sweaty train journeys and rickety bus rides. Sometimes, while she was lost in a world of never ending thoughts, she would hear the sound of train tracks, and she knew it was time to set out again! But not everyone could deal with her sprightly nature… There were those who cringed every time her eyes glittered with the thought of some unchartered territory and new adventure!

She had many friends, but of all of them, she truly loved only a few. There were a few others, like those migratory birds, for whom she cared. Some stayed for long, some only for short periods of time. But like I said, they were migratory. There was one thing that distinguished the perennial and the ephemeral in her life – the love for her. The ones she truly loved loved her back despite her many flaws. Oh yes, she had many flaws! More than other starry-eyed special girls! Those who knew her saw past those flaws, the pureness that lay hidden beneath the layers. The others were baffled by her sometimes capricious behaviour. What they didn’t realise was what lay behind the surface, the sensitive little child who internalized every experience she had. So as more people flitted in and out of her life, she withdrew deeper and deeper into her cocoon. With every passing individual, memory and experience, the shell just got thicker. Till one day... All that was left was a thick shell, the starry-eyed girl crushed under its weight – the cumulative weight of all the conversations she dreamt of having with someone, anyone...

 If I was ever to write the story of my life, I doubt it would be a fantasy fairy tale about a starry-eyed girl. It’s more likely to be – The World Under Prerna’s Dictatorship! But for some reason, I can picture an animated storyteller with a long white beard telling children the story of this young girl… Taking them through every adventure of her life, gripping them at every turn, making them a part of her hopes and dreams and everything else that is life. It is strangely apt, for a child like me trapped in an adult’s body.