It’s a cloudy afternoon and it’s going to rain at any moment. Rima, a homemaker, comes to the roof to collect the dried clothes so that they don’t get drenched in the rain.
Her eyes looked at the cloudy sky and see the hide & seek between the white and black clouds. Rima’s mind rewinds back and starts resonating her life with the hide & seek game.
She thinks about her past life, during her school days. Rima used to love dancing and her parents also supported her by going against all odds – especially the relatives. When Rima’s dad enrolled her to the dance school most of the relatives said, what will she do with dancing? If she studies well and scores good marks it will be easy to find a good match for her marriage. But her parents ignored those words and let Rima follow her heart.
But as the days passed and Rima started to progress in her studies her parents also asked her to concentrate more on studies. She then asked herself – why did they went against all odds earlier when they also want her to concentrate on studies and not dancing? Her parents cited that career in dancing is highly difficult compared to studies. Rima thinks it was like those black clouds overlaying the white clouds in the sky – her dreams of becoming a dancer was then overpowered by the studies.
Rima took her studies seriously and completed her college with very good percentage. Her parents were happy and she too. Rima expressed her desire for higher studies and become a Professor. Initially, her parents agreed to her thought but they took a U-turn when they found a nice match for Rima. Again her dreams are on the verge of shattering. Her would-be in-laws informed that the marriage needs to be done as soon as possible since the groom is going for an overseas project for 3 years. And she got married. She thought when marriage was the only destiny for her then why her parents pressurized her for studies and not dancing? It would have been the same either ways – Rima had to leave her dreams and live her life on others’ terms.
Rima is still standing on the roof looking upwards seeing the hide & seek game of the clouds. Tears roll down her cheeks and at the same time it starts to rain as well – it hides Rima’s tears for the moment. She feels so emotional and engrossed in her thoughts that she forgets about the dried clothes she is holding. She thinks this is what was destined for her and looks down.
Her feelings changed in just a moment when she sees her 5-year old daughter playing and dancing in the rain. She feels joyous and happy seeing her daughter. She sees herself in her daughter and a smile appears on her lips. The dark clouds start to fade out and bright white clouds are peeking from the corner. Rima resonates it with her desire to fulfill her unfinished dreams through her daughter…
Shilpa Gupte
That’s the saddest thing to do–put aside your dreams and aspirations for those of the parents. SO many people have to suffer seeing their dreams die an early death. I wish Rima had stood her ground and followed her heart rather than bow down to her parent’s wishes.
Sham
I agree to your comment Shilpa. There are many people who suffer to see their dreams shatter and die.
Thank you for reading my post and sharing a thoughtful comment on this.
Nihar Pradhan
This is such a poignant piece of writing.
The analogy is beautifully crafted and the contrast between the reality and dream set is so well. Yes we all go through this phenomena of hide and seek in our life and this is a game that keeps playing in our life. We all harbor such lovely dreams as we grow up but it get shattered when we face the harsh reality and perhaps where we need to hard at us and hold on to the thing we love to do and there are dark clouds that keep testing our focus and determination, we need to be steadfast. And there is always this clear sky on the other side, it is only a matter of time. The comparison of drying of clothes and the raining, with the tears washing with the fall of rain, and the joy of suddenly seeing the little one cherishing the dance in the rain takes the cake away.
Beautifully written, it was touching.
😀
#MyFriendAlexa, #MakeupReads
Sham
Thank you so much Nihar for such a comment. I appreciate your time to read this post and moreover writing such a thoughtful comment to add more to my post.
Leha
We should never give up on our dreams!
#MyFriendAlexa #literarylehareads
Sham
Yes true that. If you have focus and dedication you would surely achieve your dream.
Neha
The pain of your unfulfilled dreams is real, I just hope Reema realizes that and does not pressurize her daughter to fulfill her dreams
Sham
I agree with you. Dreams remain dreams and because of the circumstances and family/social pressure we tend to deviate from our dreams and do something else.
vidhya29
Beautifully written article! I do relate to this post! #Viddhreads #Myfriendalexa
Sham
Thanks Vidhya for reading and sharing your thought on this post.
Varsha aka Yogita
This was a beautiful piece! I’m sure many of us has gone through the black and white clouds in our lives, but we all stand strong in our respective fields. It is making us even stronger than before!
I somewhere knew there would be a kid in this story in the end 🙂
#MyFriendAlexa #vigorousreads
Sham
Yes, we parent try to fulfill our dreams through our kids. It feels like our dream came true. Thanks for reading the post and sharing your thoughts.