The time flew faster than Prabha had expected. In a blink of an eye, the day of her departure arrived.
Her eyes opened earlier that morning as if they were waiting for this moment for really long time. She was neither happy nor sad. But her heart was in still dilemma.
Even though she wanted to breakout from this cage, but those people around her weren't the ones she wanted to leave. She knew it would hurt but the relief of seeing them happy felt better than anything.
Her dresses were already packed and everything was ready. Her parents were really excited. They did everything on time.
When she took out her suitcase ready to bid this house good bye, tears fell. She looked around that house, remembering her first day.
She remembered, " Wow ! Mom ! Is this our house ? Can I get one swing there mom? Where is my room ? "
" Yes ! That small room near to the garden. Yes I want that room . I can see butterflies and birds. Thankyou Baba and mamu. " She was speaking so happily and excitedly.
At that moment,she never expected to feel such different emotions while leaving this house.
Her heart cried not with pain but with heart full of regrets of not having enough good memories to leave behind.
That little girl still lived inside her, still looking for butterflies. Her eyes looked back to that one tree for the one last time.
That was not just the tree but the one she planted on her first day of entering the house.
The one she planted with full of hopes , excitement,love and kindness wanting spend so many memories together with family. The one in which she wanted to swing with her little prince.
But now, the tree stood tall and silent - not with memories, but with the weight of what never came true.
Its branches reached out like arms, still waiting to be hugged.
The child inside her cried - not for the tree, but for all the moments it was supposed to hold.For the joy that never arrived.For the butterflies that never returned.
As they entered the taxi and went on, her mind was filled with so many thoughts like , " Is this really the freedom I wanted? Why doesn't this feels like happiness? Why does it feel like cage has disappeared without any reason? But it doesn't feels good or comfortable instead it feels strangely relieved. "
The moment she said good bye to her parents and boarded, her heart sank. She never wanted her freedom to be this way .
Even though she wanted good things but this felt heavy and difficult than she had expected.
As she sat on the flight, her memories resurfaced on how her parents were happy till last few years .
How their family was always good, understanding and kind as she wanted.
But after that, suddenly her parents changed without any specific reasons.
She felt as if that was the turning point not for good things but for the representation of her real emotions hidden from long time.
The plane had already taken off.
She sat quietly, hands clasped in her lap. That's when she noticed what she was wearing.
The dress - embroidered with blue floral flowers - the one that her mother gifted on her 16th birthday.
The white shoes - the one her father gifted on her 17th birthday.
He had said, "Wear them when you feel most proud of yourself."
The beautiful and shiny ring on her left hand - the one her little prince - her brother gifted on her 15th birthday.
He never said much, just slipped it into her notebook one day with a tiny note: "Shine bright, pretty moon."
She had kept all these gifts waiting for them to wear on a " special day" but she never thought that day would be today.
Somehow, wearing them now didn't feel wrong. It felt right.
Like a quiet way of saying, "I remember. And I still carry the love you gave me - even if it came in silence."
She was still remembering the night her brother called her for the first time. He said, " sister! Sister ! Sister ! "
She was so happy at that moment. She felt like she was blessed with cute little prince.
Those moments when they played together, smiled and laughed happily constantly replayed on her mind. Those were one of the happiest moments she had with her family.
Her eyes were watery remembering those happy moments but deep down she knew she had to let go of all those things to heal herself.
She knew holding onto those memories were like holding rose with its branches full of thorns - beautiful yet painful.
The air outside the airport smelled different - not like incense or dust , but something sterile, almost too clean. Prabha tightened her coat, unfamiliar with this kind of cold. It wasn't biting, but it crept under her sleeves.
She watched the people reuniting around her - parents lifting children, couples kissing quickly, friends laughing in accents she didn't recognize. No one was here for her. And that was okay. She didn't expect anyone to be.
Dragging her suitcase behind, she stepped forward into a city that didn't know her name, into streets where no one knew what she was running from.
She stretched out her arms and took a deep breathe . She whispered, " I finally made it . "
She took a long sigh as if burdens on her shoulder had vanished.
She didn't smile. But she didn't cry either. She just walked - one quiet step into a life waiting to be made from scratch.
She finally felt like freedom - not the one with happiness and healed emotions - the one with emptiness and strange comfort.
It wasn't that the storm had passed . But ,
it had only transformed into a heavy rain.
Difficult to walk through,
yet strangely easier than before.
She wasn't healed.
But the journey had already been initiated.