My Princess

by Pavithra Nair

Grade 8

The woodpeckers had started sharing a tree. And the monarch butterflies were nowhere to be seen. There was an early arrival of the Snowy owl. The ground was filled with acorns. Nature was ready to welcome winter.

Here I am standing in the balcony enjoying the beauty of nature, when the wall on my left caught my attention. There were many pictures. One with a little girl and a young woman sitting, another with a teenage gal proudly showing off her trophy and one with my beautiful angel in her white gown standing with the man of her life.

Seeing this, brought tears to my eyes. How fast my little princess had grown up. From the first time she called me ‘mom’.. when she won her first competition…the happiness in her doe eyes…when she cried for a phone on her thirteenth birthday….when she called me ‘liar’ for the first time when I couldn’t fulfill her wish...and finally her wedding.

She is my most precious and valuable trophy which I have always treasured in my heart.

‘Wow…. Time flies really fast doesn’t it?’ I asked to myself.

Many things changed once I grew old; I needed her assistance for everything.  I grew to be a hindrance to her. She never told me, but I felt it. So I moved out from their lives and now I am on a journey to complete mine.

I did everything I could do for her… for my angel.. I lived my life for her…without expecting anything in return. But today I expect something. Just one call from my angel, because it is my 77^th birthday. And I will continue to expect that one call till I am on my death bed.

A tear rolled down my wrinkled face. I walked slowly and sat on my rocking chair. My eyes slowly closed, my breathing slowed down. I whispered to myself ‘my little princess’.