Page 124 - You Only Live Once [BooksLD]

Parvathi asks with excitement, ‘How did the session go? I’m hopeful that
you must have enjoyed interacting with the kids here.’

‘These kids are bright indeed. They have a lot of potential. They will
reach for the stars.’
‘This is my mom, Lakshmi. She is really glad to meet you guys.’

‘Hello, aunty. Happy to meet you as well.’

‘Parvathi keeps telling me about you guys every day. Although I am
meeting you for the first time it feels as if I have known you for a very long
time,’ she says as she walks closer to me. Her eyes fill up with tears and she
gently pats my cheeks.
‘That’s true, we have become such good friends in such a short span of

time. That is pretty unbelievable.’
‘Is he also a good friend?’

‘Yes, meet Aarav. He is another good friend I have made in Goa.’
‘Alara, I have something with me that I have to share with you,’ she says
in a low tone and silently walks to an old cupboard that occupies one corner
of the room. She takes out an envelope from which she skillfully extracts a

piece of old paper, which has gone yellow and is torn at the sides. She
hands it over to me.
‘Would you mind if I asked you to excuse us for a while?’ Lakshmi asks

Aarav, indicating him to leave the room.
‘Absolutely not. Alara, I am taking a walk around. See you.’ He shuts the
door close.

I start to read it aloud in my mind:
Dear Alara,

Have you ever seen a bird cage stuffed with Christmas lights used for
decoration? If I have to sketch my soul on paper, give it a shape, that’s
exactly how it looks. My freedom has been curbed like a bird in a cage but
my spirit shines endlessly like the lights. The beauty of light is that a
miniscule part of it will penetrate any wall. My soul is trapped but it will

continue to shine and light a million other lives till I take my last breath,
and even after. When a soul has a reason to live, no matter how many times
it has been trapped, it eventually sets itself and a million others free.
Since getting married to your dad, I have been running from life.

Sometimes for you, sometimes from him, sometimes with me. But I don’t