7th july 2017, Meera 21 yrs old

It was getting late enough to be worried . I once again stepped into balcony and looked down. Except for a drenched street dog that was lying down miserably near the gate , there was not a soul to be seen anywhere. Rain water had puddled under the lamp post. A breeze ruffled the mango tree in the courtyard and a few twigs fell down and broke. Thunder rumbled in the distance . Did I hear a soft knock at the door? I turned back to receive the intruder of my train of thoughts. A thunder roared in the sky, while another one traveled through my body. My mind racing with the possibility of him being at the door , my heart hoping it was him. My shaking legs started towards the door on their own accord and with my heart in my throat I opened the door. And There he was. Drenched from head to toe. Shivering with cold, but not without that broad smile on his face that could charm ladies in a snap, the smile that had ruined me for any other man a long time ago, the smile that I regretted falling for ever since the first time I saw it .I still remember those day vividly...........

21st June , 2009, Meera 13 yrs old

It was the first day of the school. A new school, a new class, and new classmates. My dad had a transferable job . Hence we had to move to Gujarat and I had to transfer to a new school. I was nervous . In my previous school I was just one in the crowd. Looking back at it , I now understand that the teachers were biased , that they had been dimming my brightness all along, that they had always underestimated my potential. I had never believed in my capabilities before, and the years of inferiority complex now weighed heavily on my self-confidence. I was extremely introverted and the only thought that traveled in my mind as I stepped in my new classroom was mixing in the crowd, to the level of invisibility . I didn't want to stand out like a sore thumb , I didn't want to be noticed, I just wanted to blend in . I don't know why but I expected a warm welcome and people wanting to befriend me, stranger wanting to accept a new girl, girls wanting to form a new ally . but I was highly disappointed . Not only my new classmates bereft me of a welcome, they outright ignored my presence . Not even a greeting. I felt like an unwanted intrusion . still, I maintained my composure with what little self confidence I had in me and began a new journey , took a step forward in unknown territory, braved myself on an uncharted path. The teacher told me to share the bench with a boy, as it was the only one left. I felt really reluctant but complied. I sat my bag on the floor and straightened to find the boy sitting next to me staring at me. I stared back, confused and somewhat scared. But then he did the most unexpected thing. He gave me a broad smile, a smile that made the world around me fade away, that felt like a ray of acceptance amidst the dark clouds of rejection, that made me feel that everything is going to be fine somehow, that I have someone there for me . Boy, was I wrong. It wasn't much later that I realized that he was mocking me .