Standing in front of the mirror, her hair brush in one hand, and a black hair band in the other, she let her beautiful eyes rove over the reflection of her face, the glance portraying a glimmer of apprehension and yet an enduring hope for the future. A nagging curiosity tugged at her heartstrings, willing her to go on with the appraisal and notice the subtle changes which had arisen in her self and her life, even after she had convinced herself to do otherwise.
She was beginning to appreciate the fact that nobody would force her to put on a particular dress every morning as she geared up to face yet another day in school, or to plait her hair in two. She thought of the new-found sense of freedom that awaited her, the fresh responsibilities, the novel challenges and the subsequent lessons. She smiled, in anticipation of the sounds and sights of the city she had heard so much about and of its alluring crowd, of which she was herself going to be so much a part of in the coming years.
Yet all at once her mind drifted to the past which still held on to her with an unyielding grip, as if unwilling to let go of her completely…her four closest friends, kindred spirits, with scrapes, they got into school - passing notes in class, gossiping about every possible thing, quarreling sometimes because of the most trivial reasons and making up even more readily to make the bond even stronger. Now two of them continued staying in their hometown while the other three, including her, were moving away to different cities. She thought a bit longingly of her school teachers who had the time and the patience to take a personal interest in every problem she faced, her parents who were and will probably always remain so patient with all of her faults, her siblings who had made her life so much more interesting with their antics and their unconditional love. Her gaze moved to the reflection of the cupboard behind her, which held her (at once disliked but respected) school books, the crayons and water colours she had used so regularly until a few years ago, and the slam book and diaries in which she had made an attempt to capture her life. Now she was leaving them all behind, in an attempt to begin a new future. That was perhaps the reason she felt no regret for her decision to leave for Delhi, accepting as a necessary evil the fact that she would have to let go of a few of her beloved things, in order to fulfill the bigger picture, some pieces of which were still missing though she was sure that as of now she was on the right path towards completing that puzzle.
She could hear her father calling out her name from downstairs, his voice snapping her out of her reverie. She gave one final glance to her cupboard, her desk and the walls and then giving a final twist to her hair, she took a firm hold of her suitcase and briskly marched towards the gate.
She was beginning to appreciate the fact that nobody would force her to put on a particular dress every morning as she geared up to face yet another day in school, or to plait her hair in two. She thought of the new-found sense of freedom that awaited her, the fresh responsibilities, the novel challenges and the subsequent lessons. She smiled, in anticipation of the sounds and sights of the city she had heard so much about and of its alluring crowd, of which she was herself going to be so much a part of in the coming years.
Yet all at once her mind drifted to the past which still held on to her with an unyielding grip, as if unwilling to let go of her completely…her four closest friends, kindred spirits, with scrapes, they got into school - passing notes in class, gossiping about every possible thing, quarreling sometimes because of the most trivial reasons and making up even more readily to make the bond even stronger. Now two of them continued staying in their hometown while the other three, including her, were moving away to different cities. She thought a bit longingly of her school teachers who had the time and the patience to take a personal interest in every problem she faced, her parents who were and will probably always remain so patient with all of her faults, her siblings who had made her life so much more interesting with their antics and their unconditional love. Her gaze moved to the reflection of the cupboard behind her, which held her (at once disliked but respected) school books, the crayons and water colours she had used so regularly until a few years ago, and the slam book and diaries in which she had made an attempt to capture her life. Now she was leaving them all behind, in an attempt to begin a new future. That was perhaps the reason she felt no regret for her decision to leave for Delhi, accepting as a necessary evil the fact that she would have to let go of a few of her beloved things, in order to fulfill the bigger picture, some pieces of which were still missing though she was sure that as of now she was on the right path towards completing that puzzle.
She could hear her father calling out her name from downstairs, his voice snapping her out of her reverie. She gave one final glance to her cupboard, her desk and the walls and then giving a final twist to her hair, she took a firm hold of her suitcase and briskly marched towards the gate.
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KNOW YOUR FRIEND FROM DU
Jayshrita Bhagabati is a second year, Economics (Hone) student of Shri Ram College of Commerce. She is an imaginative young girl who prefers to have her head in the clouds most of the time. She shares an equally strong fascination for horror movies, travelling and reading all sorts of novels (assuming that they are not too philosophical!).
