The Fulfillment of Dreams in Real Life - Essay Example

The apparition floated on thin air right before my very eyes. Was that a trickle of blood coming out of her mouth or was that my own over active imagination, I wondered. I was transfixed by this vision that was visible through the mirror. I could feel her hot breath blowing the hair at my nape. She smiled at me; a large, garish smile - half horrific, half mocking. The black sinister glimmer in her eyes seemed to cut right through my being. It seemed to enter my soul and read all that was written there, all that was hidden and buried from other prying eyes. Seeing that I had noticed her presence, there appeared a strange shine in the depth of the blackness of her eyes. "Do you know who I am" I sat there mutely surveying her. It was strange how I did not feel much fear at her presence, only a slight eeriness. I was overpowered by the urge to shout, not out of fear, but simply because there was something about her that sent a numbing chillness coursing through my veins. "So you still have not recognized me Look closely Shoba. Look really carefully." Seeing its reflection, standing right behind my back, it suddenly dawned on me what it was that she was trying to say. There was an eerie resemblance between her and me! It would have been grossly incorrect to say that she was my mirror image or my twin but the fact that there existed a resemblance could not be denied. "See what you will look like after decades of torture, self-denial. See what you will become once you are chained, once you barter your freedom at the hands of centuries of mindless conventions and traditions." "You lie!" I half-hissed, too weak to even shake my head with any vehemence. She made a small guttural noise, which I suspected to be a chuckle. "Think Shoba, even if my words do lie, can your eyes lie too Can what you see before yourself be denied You know deep down, this is what life will bring you. You know deep down that it will bring exactly what it brought your mother and to all those before her." I reeled from the onslaught of her words, knowing full well that my denial, no matter how forceful will not be able to erase the truth of her words. Being unable to bear it any longer I turned back, hoping against hope that it will disappear. God, it seemed, was not listening to my prayers that day, as she stood there facing me. "What did you think would happen to you" she asked, her tone turning harsher. "You thought you could buy yourself a newer and a better life without any reason or rhyme You though you were entitled to more Life is not a generous goddess Shoba. It takes away much more than it gives. It has just received another sacrificial lamb at her altar. You have just become another Unspoken." She said retreating slowly, the sinister smile, never for one moment leaving her lips. I saw her dissolving into the wall like a delicate tendril of smoke. In a moment, the room was as silent as it was before. Only the sound of my heavy breathing punctured the heavy fog of silence. I limped, broken and dejected, to my bed, resting my head on the mattress, gazing absently at the bedstead whose floral patterns blurred into shapes of huge serpents right before my eyes. The silence only served to aggravate the hysteria mounting inside me till it became a huge ball, growing in the pit of my stomach, ready to burst out any moment. My life raced in front of my eyes like a motion picture. My school, my friends, all my precious hopes and dreams, all my intricate daydreams that I had kept hidden in some corner of my heart. What will I be now A faceless entity Existing only for the pleasure and convenience of my lord and master, who might or might not reciprocate my feelings of love and respect. My sole purpose in life is to be a good and dutiful wife - it was taught to me long ago. Is it possible that centuries of wisdom could be so wrong Or is it just my own mind, my own soul rebelling Suddenly I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Were those the footsteps of the man in whose hands my life and my destiny will be till the time of my death The door opened and I raised my terrified eyes to behold my mother standing in the doorway staring fixedly at me, as if trying to understand the panic in my eyes. Her face was of a deathly pallor, paler I believe, than mine. She smiled a slow half-nervous, half-sad smile. "She came to you too, didn't she" she asked. "Oh she does visit, all like us- this demon of ours. Showing us the image of the years to come, trying her utmost to terrify us. You should not worry. She is only a vision. What can a fleeting vision do She cannot be more powerful than the reality that we are to live everyday." I looked at her with resentment in my eyes. She should have supported me, held my hand and saved me from this fate. She however, chose to be a silent spectator. "I can see it in your eyes Shoba. Yours never lied even when you were a baby. Please do not hate me for your lost dreams. I was like you too. The only difference is that I did not even get the chance to be educated. You were luckier than I am. Your daughter would be luckier still. Times change, fates change, the circle of life never stays the same and you should wait for the day when your daughter comes back with a degree in her hand. That would be the fulfillment of your dream Shoba. You will find it in your daughter as I found it in you. You must wait and let the tide of time slowly wash away centuries of rusted traditions. Remember my words for the rest of your life - there is fulfillment for every dream, if not today then tomorrow, if not for you then for some other Shoba. Imran wants to come in now. Greet him with a smile as he is your new life." She quietly slipped out of the room and after a few moments I heard heavy, masculine footsteps approaching the room. He opened the door and quietly entered in. After him, I heard the door bang shut like the entrance closing upon a canary in a cage, but now I was ready for life, ready to wait for the fulfillment of dreams that I knew would come for me, or my daughter in the years to come. Soon women will be given wings, and they will learn to fly. It might take a few years but I could wait for those years with a smile. Read More