Gratification

Once upon a time there lived a little girl. This little girl lived on a land far away. A land full of wisdom and truth and happiness and misery.
But you know what was truly remarkable about this little girl?
She did not notice much of it.
She skipped around her life thinking her thoughts, and a few extra ones on some days.
One day she entered an enchanted jungle.
She did not know that. She just thought it was yet another jungle.
This jungle held her and played with her. Till one day something went wrong in this little girl's life.
She turned for answers to the only true nourisher, the giver of comfort and warmth.
The jungle. Her jungle.
The jungle listened to her patiently. Then it blew a cool breeze on her cheek. Her tears dried and she calmed down.
It held her and whispered in her ear. Oh so softly.

Life repeats its lessons till you learn it.

She repeated. So she'd remember.
The jungle and her became thick friends and they went about their routine business of amusing each other.
They would go for walks on some magical evenings and sit by the banks of a river chuckling in glee at what some animal did. And the girl told the forest the most wonderful stories. *
" Once upon a time there was a banana and it grew. It grew until it was large, firm, yellow and fragrant. Then it fell on the ground and someone came upon it and ate it".
Then one day the girl found a piece of coloured glass. It was the most wonderful piece of glass ever which had all these beautiful colours she always dreamt about. She would hold it up to the sun and just squint in glee at the display.
She sometimes even cut short her visits to the jungle just to play with her new friend.
Her fingers slipped.
The glass did not break.
It slit her hands.
She just lost a piece of her.
The forest pulled her close and repeated what she forgot to remember.

My sweet child. Life repeats its lessons over and over. Till you learn it.


* Extract from Yann Martel's The life of Pi.