Changing lanes

The wind whistled. The leaves fluttered. The sea surged smoothly. They all sang a song of tranquility.

The little town of Gaya had a peaceful environment, consisting of small, happy families with pets. They were prime examples of a happy community, where the citizens were never left unsatisfied or miserable. Gia was a seventeen-year-old girl, who had everything in the world. A happy family with understanding parents, an adorable young brother of four years, a Golden-retriever who she considered to be her best friend, and exceptional academic records in high school and college.

Everything, but her eyes.
The colourful world around her was quite useless to the rest of her senses, since her own world was jet-black. She could feel things, smell things and hear things, but never see them. She imagined her own colours and painted her own world. Her sky was translucent, like crystals; her trees were sculptures carved out of emeralds; her raindrops were God's tears. She was already in heaven. She was never made aware of her disability, because of the wonderful people around her, who filled her with nothing but love. She thought she was the happiest girl on God's earth, with nothing left to achieve. In the beginning, it was a little hard for her to get about, but with time the problem became quite negligible. Her life was set to a certain mode, until the day she met Omarion.

Omarion and his family moved into Gaya right after Gia's college admission. Very soon, the two became friends. Omarion, an eighteen-year-old, was an enthusiast in everything. He was the definition of life itself, but in a wild, feral way. He loved life, and intended on living it to the fullest. Omarion was a laid-back teenager, who was never out of words to speak about. When Gia was with him she felt like a different person, whose world had colours. She felt an essence of life in herself which was quite different from the one she was used to. She developed a new passion and eagerness towards things she never knew existed. She wanted to feel the sea water caressing her body, to dance in the rain, to climb up trees, and simply to scream. She was suddenly like everyone else. Omarion made her see the world. Then one day it was time for him to go.

"I'll come back," he told her. "I promise. It's just a matter of two months."

So, Omarion and his family went off to their village on a train. Gia was quite miserable without him and for the first time in her life she could tell the difference from her usual life and the life she had with Omarion. Her world was jet-black again. But still, she was not completely wretched, since she knew Omarion would be back. He had promised her. A small flame of hope and patience flickered in her desolate mind.

The next day, on a radio-broadcast it was being announced that the train leaving from Gaya had been derailed, and there were no survivors.

From that moment, Gia's world came crashing down, and suddenly she felt lifeless and vulnerable. She felt that there was no one left to support her and guide her towards light. For the first time in her life she felt blind. She suddenly missed the colours she had shared with Omarion. Their absence was intolerable and brought about an excruciating pain in her head. Suddenly her surroundings turned into a blur and before long she descended unconsciously to the floor……and outside, the wind still whistled, the leaves still fluttered, and the sea still surged smoothly. And together they all sang a song of tranquility.

By Zihan Hafiz

There Lisa lay contemplating, blacking out her family, her friends and her future. The only thing that swirled in her mind, were past memories of a love that seemed true and ever-lasting, but life was never fair and it shattered her illusions as fast it made them and brought her back to the ground. With mascara rolling down her cheek, along with her warm tears, she suddenly had an urge to end it all in an instant. In minutes she had thought up many ways to finish her miserable life. As she produced a razor sharp blade, inching it closer to her wrist, a sudden glint off the edge temporarily blinded her and dampened her death wish. For a few seconds, she watched the light reflect the blade and began pondering, how even the most dangerous things can shine at times. Upon looking out, she was greeted by a parade of stars and shining proudly, stood the moon. It manages to shine without its light, Lisa thought. To the casual observer, Lisa's thoughts would seem to have no particular direction and meaning, but to Lisa, it stood as a life altering idea.

Lisa slowly replaced the blade to its original position and covered her head with her hands. She did not cry, she did not curse life and most importantly, she did not feel weak or helpless. She looked out of the window and decided that from this day forth she would dedicate all her time and energy on deriving happiness from other people's joy. She shunned the selfish and uncaring world for her own belief. She was astounded when she realized how naive and shallow she had been before. Her discovery that even the worse things in life can reflect joy and that happiness and brightness doesn't have to be your own, but can also be shared with others, changed her perspective.

With a new purpose in life, Lisa religiously worked for the people who needed her and she devoted all her time to people and relationships that really mattered to her. She knew, that as she sailed along with the course of time, she would inevitably meet the person who would be perfect for her, and who knew where he was waiting. In every crowd she looked for him and she knew that he was looking for her, but in every crowd she also scoured for a trace of a smile, so that she could convert it into laughter and then she would also become a part of the happiness. Thus, she continued to seek her smell blessings and taught people all she knew, educating them about the importance to live and to make a difference in as many lives as possible.

Her ideologies led her to a path of righteousness and that is where she found her salvation. She proved how strong she was and she epitomized the strength of the women and all of the human race and till today she still seeks her own elusive happiness but once more as time passes she will realize that she has found her home in other people's happiness and that itself is a blessing that is rarely achieved… and to think it all started with a glint off the razor's edge.

By Osama Rahman