One day I saw a girl

One day I saw a girl. She was standing alone, her face turned upwards towards the heavens, her arms open, outstretched. It was raining heavily and hard winds were ripping the earth through. She was drenched. Her thin dress was soaked. She did not seem to care. Her eyes were closed. She was smiling. She was alone.

 I walked towards her and asked her what she was doing outside, totally at the mercy of the elements of nature. She did not hear me. She was in a trance. I stood around, mystified.

I looked up to see an eagle flying towards me – his beak was hooked, and eyes are flashing. He was proud and gallant. He flapped his wet wings and perched on a branch of a nearby tree and beckoned me. He told me the story of this girl. He told me that she had been protected and sheltered in the most beautiful of palaces. She would hardly ever step out – she knew not any secrets of the universe. She lived in her bubble of comfort and beauty. She had never seen the rich color of thick blood which spills when one keeps a dainty foot on thorns. She thought she was happy, floating about in the baby blue soft simmering clouds - she knew not of the midnight blue night sky that beckons, only to drown you in its depths.

He told me of that fateful day - that one day, which she will always remember till her last breath. That day seemed like any other day in the beginning. Then without a warning, the roof of her palace suddenly flew away, and to her surprise and horror, the walls caved in. She barely survived – only to watch her beautiful palace crumble at her bloodied feet.

She stood there – confused and disoriented. She fell down to the ground, with a cry. She waited for help. No help came to her. She lied there in a faint for many, many hours. She managed to get up and walk after what seemed like an eternity. She walked. And so started a journey – she met many friends and foes - a squirrel, a butterfly, a wolf.. … and opportunists and saints and kings and queens and thieves and alchemists. She walked till her feet bled, she stopped to admire the red color of the blood. Her eyes shone. She walked till winds tore down her royal robes into tatters. She stopped to tear away the superfluous burden of clothes that was wearing her down. She felt lighter –she skipped and ran, unmindful of her hurting body.

She walked, hoping to see her destination at the next turn. The journey went on. The destination was nowhere in sight. It was pitch dark, she could hardly see what was in front of her. She stumbled and fell, yet she went on. It drizzled. She pulled her tattered dress close to her body. And then it rained. And then it poured. She looked for shelter – there was none. She walked on, drenched, wounded and hurt.

She started climbing dark, looming mountains in her path. Lightening and thunder and rain tore down at her. At the top of the mountain, she stepped up. She opened her arms and said ‘Here I am ! Take me – my destiny!’

She stood there, till she became one with the night. What else happened that night, no one knows. But now you see her - and she seems to be happy. She has followed the path of her soul - and finally become what she was destined to.

The eagle flew away. I looked at the girl. She had opened her eyes and was smiling – I saw the magical lights flickering in the depths of the eyes. I walked away, feeling like a stranger to myself.