The tune

This one is a story. A story about a young girl, and like some stories the ending of this story depends on that young girl. You’ll be able to decide for yourself when you read on. It was a balmy afternoon. The sun drifted in and out of the clouds drying up the puddles of water-remains of the previous night’s downpour. She sat on a swing in the balcony, the sun shone on her delicate features and her deep eyes which were already in a land far away. Despite her age, her heart danced and sang with the innocence of a child. Like every other time, her mother often chided her for her innocence and day dreaming. Today was no exception-her mother gave a silent sigh when she realised that once again, her words had fallen on deaf ears, for the mother recognised the lost look on the young girl’s face. With a worried backward glance, the mother walked back into the house her thoughts turning fast and wild. She wondered whether her daughter would ever come to terms with the harsh realities of the world-for she knew that her child trusted far too quickly and opened up her heart far too easily. For the girl; negativity, time or indifference did not come in the picture. She welcomed all those who touched her life with open arms. Perhaps the girl’s heart and soul came from a different century altogether. In the age of technology, ulterior motives and the search for the quickest way to the top; she still enjoyed the smell of a new book, walking bare feet on the grass and believing in the purity of friendship and love for no reason other than the two words. One of her characteristics, which define this story, was her outlook on friendship. The girl believed in the ancient doctrines which governed the foundation of friendship. She believed that once made a friend was forever-no matter of time, distance or space could destroy it. She believed that you did not have to know a person for years to be a part of their “personal lives”. She did not understand the concept of social circles, cliques or the rule of the Queen Bee. And herein lay her folly. For you see, the young girl had come to speaking to a group of friends after the passage of many years. The members of the group were few but far more worldly wise than the young girl. They each had their skirmishes as young children, but as destiny plays its hand, she had drifted away from them carried forward on the tides of the present. The Queen Bee did not approve of the young girl and had spent many a year ensuring her alienation. Imagine the joy; the girl must have felt when she spoke to them again! With her trustworthy nature and childlike innocence, she rejoiced at the renewal of old friendships. But time makes a fool of the human race-for she lost touch with reality and the possibility of thoughts of a different nature flowing through another’s mind. She failed to realise that as people grow-there are many other factors that come into the bond of friendship. With each growing correspondence, her heart jumped and in that excitement she forgot the truth staring at her in the face- to these people time mattered, place mattered and distance mattered. Alas for our protagonist the truth has a knack of finding a way out, sometimes in the most unpleasant of ways. The communications started showing signs of constraint, taunts and towards the end-blatant insult. It was then that she understood that these were not the days of the old. The rules of the game had changed and she had not updated herself. She sat on the swing again, gently wiping the tears which cascaded down. Gazing around her, the setting was the same- the sun shone on her while the wind tousled her hair, it was she who had changed and she felt it. She felt sullied by the words and the insults. She wondered whether she should change the tune of the song she hummed or stop the song altogether. Her eyes fell on a magpie- the bird flew onto the edge of the branch and started humming its own little tune oblivious to the world around it and to the despair that emanated from her. Her eyes shone with unshed tears at the loss of trust and the longing for the hum through her being again. The gentle breeze calmed her-her eyes steadied and slowly allowed her thoughts the chance to wander listlessly from one subject to another. Whether the thoughts brought the music back or stopped the stopped the hum altogether – that is the only answer worth knowing.