Casting away the ugliness..

   She placed a red bindi on her forehead and looked into the mirror.Intricately designed,the mirror had cracks spanning in various directions.It was smudged with persistent spot-like marks which more or less covered the mirror half way.She chose it because it was that way. As it was a mirror in which she could see only half her face. The half she liked looking at.

  A woman in her 30's.Long,dark,wavy hair flowed from her mane and reached her waist slightly brushing against it while she moved about doing her daily chores. She liked the feel. Because there was hardly anything except her own feel she had ever experienced in her lifetime.Her mother weaved her a long braid when she was young and told her beautiful tales as she went about the task. However her memories faded with time.What doesn't? Everything is meant to be volatile. Love.Family.Trust.Life..

 She was a playful child. Like all girls her age,she dreamt of a prince who would fall in love with her,talk through the gazing eyes and look for her amongst the stars in the night sky.Thus she had dreams. Dreams big and small.However nothing makes the dreams shatter like a resounding laugh of mockery of the fellow mates when they know your innermost desires. She was laughed at. For dreaming so.How can she? they asked unbelievably.She had a face which was wrinkled into innumerable folds due to a corrective surgery after she was victimized in a fire when she was a toddler. Which common man let alone a prince would want to gaze into her eyes however soulful they were?

  So she lived casted away in a room of loneliness with dreams.Dreams were shattered but not quite gone.No man ever teased her or playfully pulled her long braid. No man ever thought about her the way every girl dreams for.No man took any interest in the twinkle of her trinket or looked into her gazing eyes lined with kohl.Other women cried about broken relationships,some cried about how disgusting men are but she cried for the presence of a soul to not look at her face and turn away.She wanted someone to look at her beyond the ugly folds of destiny of which she was unfortunately made part of. There came days when she gave in to the nights of loneliness and wept out her heart's desire to find some solace from her ill fate.

 Others never understand you.Only you can understand what your heart desires.She gave away social life and started living her life her way.She began to cherish the other half of her face she liked looking at.She looks beautiful everyday.In the mirror.In her mind.She realised no man will ever see the beauty of the other side of her face..as they are all stuck up on the wrong side.

 Slowly rising from the dressing table she put aside the mirror. She was beautiful today. The half mirror reflected her radiant face.She found the half damaged mirror beautiful. Only she can understand the pain of what it means to be halfway where you dreamed to be.Her hair brushing against her waist and giving her the pleasure of being touched.Touched and loved.By herself.


xxx