There once was a girl so pretty and confident that whenever she’d enter a room, she caught everyone’s attention. She was always friendly to everyone. But she’d always be ready to show her harsh side if someone bothered her in any way.
Then there was a beautiful but not very confident girl. She was the easiest person to be around, if only everything had happened according to her wishes. And if someone dared to do anything against her, then she could be worse than your enemies.
There was another girl, and she was too shy and reserved. She was a kind and nice person with good looks. She was terrified to even talk about her own needs most of the time. She was the smartest of all but could be easily undermined. That was the reason the former two girls were perfect friends. She was always ready to speak up for herself and guided her through everything.
These three girls had been friends for a significant time. They had seen each other grow up into those three different personalities, through all the highs and lows of life.
It was the first girl’s birthday, and they were all very excited to celebrate it together. They waited until the school ended and had planned the whole thing out for the rest of the day. They wore matching dresses with funny birthday caps, and they had a well-decorated tea party followed by cake cutting. When the bell rang, they jumped out of their seats and lunged towards the school exit. Shouting, “It’s celebration time!”
They were standing on the bus stand, waiting for the bus. The second girl whispered something in the first girl’s ear. After some eyeing between both, the second girl managed to say, “I think I have forgotten the birthday caps in my locker.” The first girl gasped, like something unthinkable had happened. She turned towards the third girl and begged, “I really wanted birthday caps for my birthday.” Since she was a pushover, the third girl agreed to go get them. She ran back towards the school gate.
When she reached the locker room, she couldn’t find the caps. She panicked, imagining the disappointment on her friends’ faces or failing the task assigned to her. She was also afraid to miss her bus, so she rushed out of the school as fast as she could. By the time she returned to the bus stand, empty-handed and eager to tell them that there was nothing there. The bus was gone, and so were her friends. She stood there out of breath, confused, with questions wandering through her mind.
She returned home and emptied her eyes of tears. She tried to believe that her friends would never do that to her on purpose. There must’ve been some kind of misunderstanding, and they would soon come by her house to get her and carry out the rest of the day as planned. But no one came. She waited the whole day and then slept, having given up and being tired.
The next morning, she went to school and was ready to hear her friends’ explanation for the incident. They came into the classroom and sat beside her like nothing had happened in the past twenty-four hours. They acted normally, as they would come to school every other day. They totally ignored the fact that they had lied to her friend and then abandoned her for the whole well-planned celebration day.
She was too uncomfortable and scared to ask them any questions herself, so she waited the whole day for an answer, explanation, or at least an apology from them. But nothing came to her that would have eased her mind.
She came home and cried for hours again. But this time she dozed off. When she woke up, her eyes were wet with tears. She checked the time and date, and she realized it was the morning of her friend’s birthday. She took her dream for granted and wiped her eyes.
She went to school with the same positive energy, and the whole day passed with making plans. Then at the bus stand, her heart broke when her friends performed the same act, about forgetting the birthday caps and telling her to run back to school. She remembered her dream: the confusion, fear, pain, and suffering she felt in it. And the real tears in her eyes when she woke up that morning.
She didn’t move or say anything to her friends. This time, her friends were the confused ones. She rode the bus quietly all the way to her stop. When her stop arrived, she gave a gentle smile to her friends and said, “Goodbye.”
She came home that day and didn’t cry at all. For by now, she knew she had done the right thing by herself. She was hurt but satisfied. Her dream opened her eyes and helped her find a better place for herself, apart from people’s control and dependency.
All that comes our way easily and with comfort is not necessarily the best for us. Everyone has their own unique mark and purpose in this world. Depending on or hiding under someone else’s shadow does not define an individual. That was the lesson her dream taught her, and it changed her life.
Storyteller: Alishbah Yaser
