Cool Waters (Part 4)

The girl would wait all day, suffer the mundane routine of life, only so she could at nightfall escape to this other secret world where she would meet the woman she wanted to be. She began to wonder if this woman was a princess of some sort, for she wore such beautiful clothes. She knew there were no princesses; we lived in a democracy, didn’t we? Yet that feeling that all that was taken for fact in the real world did not make sense in the world that the Woman was a part of.

During the day, the girl would busy herself making little baubles she could take to the woman. She would cut up bits of coloured paper and make flowers out of them. She would stitch bits of cloth together to make bunting. She would think of clever things to say to her. None of these really pleased the woman, who remained aloof even while she was polite. The girl tried not to be dismayed. She told herself, it is understandable that this princess would not like my paper flowers for they give no fragrance. My bunting is untidy and the things I say are, after all, childish. I must not worry, for, with time I will speak like this lady does; with politeness and restrain.

Finally one night as the two of them stayed by the cool waters, the woman seemed lost in thoughts. The girl had never seen her pensive and she was amazed. So the princess was capable of worry as well! Who could have guessed! The moon rays fell on the water and the ripples looked like stringed pearls. The queen of pearls herself sat on the swing and stared at her own reflection. ‘What is the matter?’ the girl asked in a low, scared voice, ‘Is something bothering you?’ The woman looked up and looked straight into the little girl’s eyes. ‘I want to ask you something’, she said at length, ‘Why do come here little one? Why do come see me?’ The girl blushed. How was she to put into words the truth? How do you tell someone that you admire them more them anything else in this world? How do you tell someone you want to be them? What if you are too scared to speak? ‘I like you,’ the girl managed to lisp. The woman laughed. I will laugh like that someday, girl said to herself. ‘You like me?’ the woman echoed, ‘How wonderful!’ Why was she behaving like she did not know that. Had it not been obvious from the start? ‘How much do you like me, little one?’ The girl looked up and stopped blushing. How could she answer that? She loved her a lot, but how much was a lot. She remained silent. The woman spoke again, ‘Do you love me enough to do anything for me, little one?’ The girl wanted to nod. She wanted to say something in the affirmative. She wanted to assure the woman that she would even die for her? Would she? She remained silent. ‘Then listen to me,’ said the woman, ‘If you like me, bring me something dear to you. Bring me something you cannot do without. Not these bits of paper or these rags of cloth. Bring me… bring me your father.’ The girl shuddered inside. ‘Go then. Do as I say, if you like me.’

The girl got up and walked away. She walked in even, gradual steps. She did not run like she always did. She walked as if she were old. She did not turn back to look, not once. She went back home to her own bed. After that night, she never went back to see the woman. Every night she slept in her own bed, a dreamless sleep, peaceful and content. She did not think of the woman, not once.

Sometimes the girl would be very bored again. Then, she would play with other children or complain about how she did not like tennis or cricket. Sometimes she would read books, but only books without pictures. She was happy, at least as happy as most of us. Sometimes she was sad, but no matter how sad she was, she never went back to the cool waters, not once.
***

Cool Waters (Part 3)

‘The girl stayed by the cool waters all night. At daybreak, she hurried home, for she did not want anyone to panic on not finding her. She did not want them to know her secret. She pretended all was as usual. She pretended she was still bored but every thought in her head throughout the day focused on that beautiful sight. She wanted to be that woman. She was determined about it now. She wanted to call that woman her sister, her elder sister, to pretend they were born of the same womb, to pretend they were related. That would have made it so much easier to grow up to be like her. But she dared not call her that. She might upset her. She could not risk that.

‘The next night, she waited till all the world was in bed. She crept out of her home while the crickets prayed. She ran all the way to the cool waters, her instincts guiding her along the way, to the dream where the breeze was gentle and the sky silver. The woman would be there, with the dazzling eyes and the smile that never reached her eyes.

‘‘May I plait your hair?’ the girl would ask and the woman would smile politely, ‘Of course.’ The girl would need all the strength in her tender arms to gather that thick long hair. She would use all her ideas to make order in that mass of silk, but she would fail miserably. The hair was too heavy, too thick and too strong for her little arms. The woman would laugh pleasantly. ‘Let me show you how,’ she would say patiently, and with one movement of her long arms she would gather up all of the hair in her hands and twist it into a long snake like plait. ‘Fetch me some flowers’, she whispered to the girl who was more than excited to be of some use. The girl ran around looking for the prettiest, most delicate of flowers and brought them to the woman. The woman would put each flower to her nose before she decided if they were worthy of her hair. Many were rejected and put aside. Some were lucky enough to get wound into her dark hair. They glittered like the stars in a dark night sky. The best pick of them all was a full- blossomed rose, blood red and with a velvety texture. This the girl cradled in the palm of her hand with utmost care while she presented it to the woman. Surely she would receive a glance of admiration from the lady for having picked a flower as rare as that. But the lady picked up the flower with callousness, crumpled its petals and blew them into the cool waters. The little girl gasped in disappointment but the woman only laughed her eyes still on those red petals that floated on the water.

Cool Waters (part 2)

‘And on that heavenly swing sat the most beautiful creature the girl had ever seen. She might have called it a fairy or a goddess even… but she did not believe in the existence of these. So she had to settle for calling her a woman, but mere woman are never as beautiful as that!

She was shapely and he skin looks as smooth as butter. She had very long hair that hung along her back like a curtain of silk. The girl was spell- bound. She watched this apparition swing calmly, back and forth; back and forth… the only sound was of her feet gently touching the cool waters each time. The word beautiful fell short of describing the sight. The girl could have stood there, gazing, for the rest of her life, had she not noticed the woman had turned and was now looking at her. Their eyes met and the girl turned her eyes away. She was afraid.
‘Who are you?’ the woman asked. Her voice was like a wind- chime in a far away temple. The girl swallowed. ‘I, er, am, er, I am a girl who lives close by… or far away, where these woods end, or start even. I just wandered in for water, no, I wasn’t looking for water. I am not thirsty. Actually I am.’

The woman laughed, a clear laugh, from her throat and not her belly. She smiled but it never reached her eyes. Her eyes shone like jewels. ‘You are funny’, she said to the girl. The girl blushed. That was a good thing, was it not? To be funny was good. ‘But don’t worry,’ said the woman, ‘You are young now, but you will grow up some day. Then you will be a pretty girl, like me.’

The little girl felt a sharp pain in her stomach. That was it! She knew it right then. The woman had said the very thing she had been thinking. She wanted to be like this woman. In fact, that was all she wanted. This lady had it all. She was beautiful, calm, wise and well- spoken. That was what everyone wanted to be. That was what she wanted to be. To realize this gave the little girl immense courage. She spoke up, ‘May I stay here with you for a while?’ ‘Of course you may’, said the woman politely, ‘You can stay as long as you want.’ Just the right thing to say, the girl observed, just the right way to say it too. This woman was perfect…

Cool Waters (part 1)

Then one night, it was too warm to go to bed, so Amuma and I sat in the veranda. I was fanning her as she began to tell me this story.
‘Once upon a time, there was a little girl just like you. She was your age and your height as well. She was prone to getting bored all the time. Her parents would buy her books but she only wanted ones with pictures in them. They would buy her clothes but she only wanted ones with frills in them. They would buy her tennis rackets and cricket bats but she disliked them. They found her hard to please and unhappy. No one could entertain her for very long. So they all gave up.
‘So there she sat, bored and neglected. She knew she would have to entertain herself as all else had failed. So one evening, about this time of the night, she began to walk around her garden. Before she knew it she had walked a distance and into unknown woods. Now she was unafraid. So she walked on till she came to a clearing where there was a cool pool of water. The night was warm, like this night is. The air was light and a slight breeze flowed. The sight of water made her thirsty and she stooped for a drink.
‘The woods are a dangerous place, little one. Even as unafraid as you are, some fears are defenses. But the little one knew no fears. Blessed are the fearless, yet I would not want to be them. So she stooped for a drink and she felt a ripple in the water even before she had touched it. She saw feet, one pair touching the surface of the water, and another, it’s reflection in the water. She saw a swing, made of rope and wood, tied to the branch of a tree that passed over the waters. The rope on both sides of the swing was covered in flowers, elaborately and artistically…