A Peace loving girl's DREAMS Vs. REALITY

Naomi,the dreamer

It's a hilly area where I live,in a fairly large  house with my father.I  usually sit on the edge of  the hill on which our house stands,among several others.Ours was unmistakably bigger than the rest of the houses.The green blades of grass which seem to cover the whole land  my eyes could see,were glimmering  under  the  glare of the sun.The hill becomes steeper as it ends up as a valley.The grass looked like a carpet, with a cute design,because in some places the grass was yellow.Even the heart shaped leaves of a tree, which stood on the hill proudly,looked like they were dancing in a puppet show.I sat there,on the fine matting  and  I felt that the turf was also similar to a person's untrimmed,straight hair.  "What a wonderful cloud!"I squealed and sprang to my feet, gazing wide-eyed at a cloud that closely resembled a woman's face.I clapped and jumped till I suddenly remembered  my mother's face.Lovely it is, in the photograph under the pillow on my bed.An innocent,kind face.I don't remember seeing my mother probably after I was three or four years old.I vaguely recall how lovingly she used to look at me with her big,brown eyes.I ran into our house and brought out that photograph.I glanced at the photo first and then at the cloud,as it drifted  away .But nothing matched between the two. I was a little disappointed.

I heard a sharp call from my father,who was in our house's balcony then.It faces the hillside where I spend most of my time.I jerked  and almost dropped the photo from my hands.I stumbled,out of fear of my dad,deep in my heart. I don't quite know why."Yes,father!"I answered as I climbed the stairs inside,rapidly,to reach the first floor of the house.Because that's where dad's room is,along with the balcony.

I tiptoed into his room,which is always tidy and organised.Many charts,time-tables,a calendar,and an old,wooden feather,painted gold hung on the walls.An older pendulum clock,which was my paternal grandfather's prized possession also lay affixed,amidst all these things.A bed made out of a jackfruit tree wood lay in one corner,occupying a small space in the huge room.Truth be told,I felt very much sad when some bulky men cut that tree from a forest far behind the inhabited area. A window was made on the wall supporting the balcony,adjacent to the bed.

I once tried to decorate dad's room with my handicrafts,but that backfired even before I could begin.I still remember his face-as red as a tomato in our refrigerator,yelling at me,and giving me a lecture about my incapability of being sensible for my age.I couldn't help but call myself a silly girl and crying till he began to give another lecture on how it is risky to cry in front of others. All this was running through my mind throughout the journey I made from the door of father's room to the balcony.

Then I had to bounce back into this world.As I waited for father to tell me something,I saw that he was staring rather blankly at the wilderness beyond the valley.I hesitated to call him but blurted out.My squeaky voice made him turn abruptly towards me.I was very nervous,like he was my employer and I was being interviewed for a job for the first time."I don't understand why you are so slow at doing things.Why don't you give quick response?Don't take it personally,but I think this is a disrespectful  way......"I sighed,but I did not let him know that.I didn't want to get caught red-handed,showing my emotions.I wanted to go to my room and read a book or write a story or do something alone,left to myself for plenty of time."Naomi!"I heard father shout.I shuddered and gradually came back from my thoughts.So he realised I was not listening.Finally.To my horror,I noticed that the photo of my mother was on the floor,right near dad's feet! I scolded myself and muttered something that I don't remember now.He picked up the photo and asked"So,How did you get this ?This is supposed to be tucked away neatly in the album in my closet,isn't it?"I had no answer to this,of course.I was 'released' after an explanation from dad and the conclusion was "Try not be a dreamer.Don't have your head in the clouds.Keep your feet on the ground.Is that Understood?"I nodded yes.But I told myself,"No dad, I can't live without dreaming.It's my life.I am what I think I could be."