Jungtina Jamir
Let me tell you a simple story about a little girl whom everyone forgot about. Meet ‘Hope’. Not her real name though. But let’s just call her ‘Hope’ as we walk through her story. You see, Hope seemed like any other ordinary little girl. She had a home; she had toys, and all other things a little girl would want. But there was one thing missing. Mommy and Daddy were always busy with work, with people and with life. Most of all, Hope did not have any friends. Hope was lonely. Very lonely.
Hope wanted a friend, someone she could talk to and share her toys with.
Hope tried being really good. No one cared. Hope even tried being bad. Still,..no one cared. Hope was sad. Very, very sad.
Hope always waited for the night because she loved to watch the moon and the stars that twinkled on the vast velvety sky above her head. Hope would open wide the window at night and let the moonlight through; she would tell the stars of the uneventful life she had. One fateful night, as Hope looked out from her window she saw a big, big bright star. It was the biggest star Hope ever saw. It was one special star among the millions sprinkled upon the velvety space. Hope closed her eyes, opened her heart and wished…….Hope fell asleep.
Now, we all know, wishing upon a star is but a fairy tale. But this was one little girl’s wish, so special; I bet even the stars thought, ‘why not’!
(What did Hope wish for? Even I don’t know. But yes, one thing I do believe in my heart is that, Hope must have wished to be cared, to feel she exists and most of all, for a friend. Just!)
Hope was walking in a beautiful playground. She saw other children laughing and playing. Hope couldn’t help but smile as she felt the warmth of the circumstance. Hope kept walking forward. Suddenly, the world seemed black. Hope looked back!! The children she just saw a moment ago were still there; happy and running around. Hope wondered why the darkness then! A little up ahead, Hope saw a lone little girl sitting on a swing. That little girl had tears in her eye. Hope knew that the little girl was in pain. The heart hurt. Hope knew, because she felt that often. Hope paced towards the little girl cautiously and knelt beside her. The little girl told Hope that no one would play with her and that no one would talk to her. Hope thought, “Hey, she is just like me!, Is she me all along?”. Hope looked at the little girl again. Indeed, it was her. Hope opened her eyes; the night had passed away and morning was there. It was only a dream.
In our minds, the dream Hope had is just a dream’s dream. Yes, just like yours they won’t mean that much to you. They don’t mean that much to me either. Then why do I even bother to write?? Perhaps there is a reason why I am writing all this. Please don’t read me wrong. I ain’t no saint, I ain’t no preacher, I ain’t nobody to tell you what’s right and what’s wrong. I am just the girl next door trying to figure out the questions in my mind that life brings. Writing somehow helps to put forward my reasons and in the process, helps to at least, find a source of redemption. In other words, I guess I’m helping myself. But also with the feeling of sanity, that I may actually put some motivation in your heart too.
Anyway, let me continue telling how Hope’s story ends. You see, after the ‘wish’ night and the dream she had, Hope lived for just another day. Hope rested in peace. It hurts me a lot to think of Hope as a little girl whom everybody forgot about. Why did Hope have to die? So soon? What did she wish for really?....I don’t know. But I want to look at it in a way, that Mr. God had a beautiful sketch for Hope. To be all that she was. Mr. God really loved Hope, as much as He loves you and me. A little girl, Hope, gives us another day, another chance to live and to let live, to love, to care, to help, to share, to take the flight……
I know Hope’s story doesn’t have an ending or the point you were expecting. Maybe you are thinking about what happened to her mommy and daddy, or the wish she made, or the dream she had.
Believe me when I say that Hope’s story is about you and me. You are like Hope to someone, and someone is like Hope to you. You get me, don’t you? (Read that again and again until you understand). And if you think I haven’t made any sense up to now, then here is one final try with words: “Look at hope’s story a little left off the center......It is by which we become wiser than we know, better than we feel, nobler than we think we are: by which we can see Life as a whole.” Really!!!
