Never a fairytale.

Once upon a time, there was a woman who was a little crazy in her head. Or so they said. Wait, this is how you begin stories that people listen to,right? Okay, let's continue. She found a liking to my mother because my mother was a gem when it came to conversations. She usually exhausted her evenings by talking to the old men who exchanged words only to buy more time to stare at her breasts. But since she found a liking to my mother, she'd wait around and accompany her in her evening walks. There's someone who's excited to meet you, my mother would say and I would be excited too. 

One day, I finally met her. She is the type of person you'd find a immediate liking to. She talked with so much love and joy in her eyes. She was also funny, well funny in a way that might scare the society. Let me explain. While we were walking,this middle-aged man passed us by and said to my mother "Oh! You have got the best walking companion.",looked over to the woman and said "It's so hard to see you now-a-days. So long!" with a smile. "This is the arsehole that spreads rumours about me." she said and laughed as if he was just an apparition from her story so that she could explain her life better to us. But he was there,both in flesh and blood. I held in my laughter till my chest hurt and passed him by as fast as I could. 

People say she lost it when her husband died. He was an alcoholic who beat her. But she loved him nonetheless. I remember how she told us that she was so tired of getting beaten that one day she beat him back and had to take him to the hospital. I laughed. She looked at me and said "The doctor asked whether I felt guilty and I said no." I gave her a huge smile and she smiled back. When we parted after our walk, she said to my mother she liked me and should bring me by more often. I just listened, laughed and smiled the whole time and I couldn't understand how she could like me just like that. Maybe that is all she wanted. To be listened to, to laugh and smile with everyone, if not at least someone and not be judged.

Isn't that what we all want? I can't remember the last time I said something with the clarity I felt in my heart. If I could do it one day, would they listen? Would each and every one of them listen? If I could tell you how some of the talks I overhear make me sick in the stomach, will you hold up my hair while I retch the whole sickness out? If I could tell you that some comments make me uncomfortable, will you be considerate enough to avoid using them with everyone? If I could tell you how silhouettes of men at night and small boys in bicycles still makes my body shiver, will you hold my hand? If I could tell them how words hurt, will they stop?

The yous' would all listen. Then when all the words and their echoes settle down on the floor of your minds, you'd nod and head towards the door. As soon as the fresh air hits your face, you'd all say "She's definitely a little crazy in the head." And I'd call out "Arseholes" with a little smile on my face as I step out into the sun. Definitely shouldn't have started this with 'Once upon a time'. My bad.