They say in life you grown, learn and experience a lot. I did too. Being from a small town my world was small and sweet. I knew everyone around and so did others. There was little to hide. Growing up I loved standing in front of the almara which we had. It had a huge mirror and I loved looking at myself. Anytime I needed to cheer myself up, or talk to myself, I would stand in front of it because it never lied. As time went by, I made a ton of friends. I played and enjoyed my childhood like any other kid. But we had to move to a new town eventually. My heart did sink in a bit, to be away from my friends. However, they are the type to stay in touch no matter what. We promised each other that we will always call each other and gossip our life for hours over the phone. We got help from our neighbors and friends as me and my parents packaged our luggage during our last day in town. The taxi came to pick us to the station and before boarded for it, everyone gave a big hug. I was moved as this is the first time I am leaving this town and that too for good. We boarded our train and we were to start off our new life in a new town.
Things were a bit off the moment we reached the final station. It was a crowded city and ever since we got down our train I felt the entire city started right at me. It was a bit uneasy at first, but I did not bother. We took a cab to our new place which already had our furniture dropped off. My parents and I took a while to settle things at their respective places. Nearly the entire day passed by and we were hungry. We decided to eat out and celebrate our new beginning. We freshened up and went to a near-by restaurant. The scene was the same, people stared at us. I know the people in the city are quite flashy with their dressing style but I knew I was not under dressed or out of style. I could hear people murmur and avoid eye contact when I looked at them. My parents told me not to be too concerned with what is happening and just asked me to enjoy the food and our time together. We reached home after a while and I stood in front of the mirror. “I don’t have anything on my dress nor does the dress look that bad.” I said to myself as I looked at my reflection as I questioned myself. In any case, I had to go see a school tomorrow which could be possibly where I would enroll myself. It had a good reputation and I wanted to go there. I changed into my PJ and went to bed so I can be ready for the big day.
With the alarm on my mobile going off, I finally woke up for the big day. It used to be sound of roosters which did it for me in my hometown but I guess in the city you adapt to alternate sources. With the appointment at 10am we all got ready by 8am. Before we left for the venue which could be possibly my new school, I stood in front my mirror. “You will do awesome here too!”, I said to myself as we headed outside. We reached the school in an hour’s time and the school was exactly how I imagined. I was excited to just be here. We went to meet the principal after waiting for a while. The principal looked stern and so was his tone of voice. He seemed to be reluctant to admit me into the school. I didn’t understand what his problem was but he insisted that I would not be able to handle this. I became furious when he uttered those words. “Is it because I’m a girl? Is it because I’m from a small town? Would it tarnish the school’s reputation if someone as small as I were to join such a large institute?” I wanted to voice my frustrations out however, my dad made sure my voices were heard in the right manner. He stopped me from verbally bombarding the principal and let principal say his side of the story. Once his side was done, my dad took him through his world, on how I am, on how things change one people know me, how I achieve the thing on my own. My dad has a way to pursue people in the right manner and he would make sure people see what he sees through his eyes. It did take a while, however my dad did convince the principal. I wondered if things would have worked out if I vented out my mind like I would do. I guess everything needs a special touch to work out. I was thrilled after our meet as I would be going to an awesome school in the city and I wonder what else in-store was for me in this city.
With my school clothes still yet to be made ready, I was allowed to join the school next day in my casual clothing. I was nervous, in schools we wear the same attire so we don’t stand out and here I am, the new kid on the block flashing out my presence bluntly to the entire school. I made sure I wore a simple dress for the big day and stood in front of the mirror for quite some time to get myself to focus. “It is fine. You look fine. You will make friends on at a time. People will like you for who you are. “, and may more. I winked at myself to finish my therapy session and headed with my dad to school. I decided to walk up to my class however, my dad insisted to accompany me. As I walked passed various classes people were looking right at me. Boy did I grab attention, I was flushed to silence. I knew that with my dad around people would notice us. I was just pacing to reach my class as quickly as possible. My dad decided to turn back half way through, I guess he realized that I was quite nervous with him around. I reached my class and stood in-front for the introduction while the entire class had their eyes set on me. My heart paced a lot to a point where I blabbered my name out. I did not needed anyone else to make me feel more embarrassed about myself as I was doing quite a good job myself. “Savitha is new to school so Tanu, please do take her around the campus to make her more comfortable with the place”, the teacher said. “Great now they are forcing someone to babysit me. I wanted to use that to break the ice and make friends. I am sure Tina would be reluctant to do so but she cannot overrule the teacher now. I guess I should say sorry to her up-front”, I thought. I sat next to her and to my surprise she was quite nice and friendly. She did not seem to mind the responsibility and we hit it off immediately. With the period coming to an end I could see more people approaching my desk. I guess people are the same everywhere. We start off with a clean slate so there is nothing to judge about unless you had your own story for them. I made quite a few friends but they were all girls though. The guys would prank around with other girls but it looked like they are caution with me. It may be because I am new and they don’t how I would react to. “That is fine”, I thought to myself. This is better than people murmuring on their own and giving me weird looks. The day ended with a couple of us girls and few guys walked throughout the school with me while we chitter-chattered girly stuff. The guys tried playing their ‘I’m too cool’ card when we walked to only be teased out by the girls. It was fun experience overall. I enjoyed this place and it was exactly as I imagined. Our walk ended at the school gate where my dad waited for me to take me home. During dinner I told my parents everything and they were happy that this place was comfortable for me. They asked me if I would like to invite my classmates over the weekend and I was thrilled to have my parents meet them. I called my town friends from the over the phone and we talked about my entire day’s story till late at night. It was very satisfying to have friends who know click with. Before I hit the bed I went to the mirror just to see my face and I loved the smile that ran across it.
Weekend had arrived and I had a quite a huge gang reach my place. I took them through the tour of our house and then to my bedroom where were gossiped a lot. I had a bad habit of looking at the mirror from time to time to see myself smile and my friend’s noticed this. “Hey, what’s with you and the mirror?”, they asked. I went ahead and told them my silly habit for which they laughed out of humor. Then one of the guys asked me something that was never directed to me in a long time. “Hey, how did you lose your arms?” “Stupid, how blunt can you be!!”, yelled Tanu. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to”, she added. I realized that people refrain from asking this for many reasons and since I was in my hometown for a long time, most people knew the story and didn’t bother much about it. It makes sense why he was curious, he was new after all. “Just some events lead to it, that’s all”, I replied with a smile. “Cause, I am not sure how you get things done on your own.”, he said. I am sure the rest were tensed with the way he spurred out his mind and how I might take it. “Well, I am not handicapped, I am just differently-abled.”, I added. “Cool! So pretty much you are a bad ass. Nice to know!”, he replied as he smirked. I was happy that to him it was just something ‘need to know’ question to him rather than fixate an idea or an image about me. I guess even they were happy with how the entire showdown went through. There was little to none sobbing or sympathetic response from my condition because they did not see any problem with me. It takes a lot for people to interact and when you look different, people tend to act differently. At least all my friends are the same. They see me just like I see myself in the mirror. People stand in front of the mirror and take many pictures. It is not because their reflection looks better on glass but rather because that is how they truly are. You are everything that you see and even more than that. Do what you do because it takes time for people to see the true you like the reflection in front of you.
FIN.