Ugly. Ugly. Ugly.
"No one wants to marry you. You are so ugly". The words of her dad kept ringing in her ears.
She looked in the mirror. She saw her fat body. Her round large face. Her thin hair. Her small eyes. Her large nose. Her thick lips. Her excuse of a neck.
She thought of her late mother.
A lone tear crept down her cheek.
The next morning, she was at school. Hellen Keller School for Visually Disabled Girls. Commonly called HK Blind School.
At school, she began her lessons with a song. A song that carried to the heavens. A voice that thrilled the nightingales. Her students sang with her. Happily.
She began telling them a story. Of a Prince who lived far away. A magician who spread his magic around the world to make people happy. Of Princesses who were braver than warriors. Of Warriors who sang sweeter than birds. Of Birds who were prettier than flowers. Of Flowers who were happy and made everyone happy. She described the flowers - their colors, their fragrance, their beauty. She told them that only one thing was more beautiful than these flowers - their mothers. She asked them to buy a flower for their mamma that day and give them a hug.
Lessons over, she came back home.
Her dad welcomed her with "4 boys have rejected you again. You are ugly. You are merely a teacher, not even a doctor or engineer, so boys will marry you for your job."
She walked to the bathroom to change. The windows, the door, the mirror all screamed in welcome to her - Ugly, Ugly, Ugly.
She thought of her late mother and steeled herself.
The sun rose the next morn. Wearing her fave pink kurti, the one she thought made her look sweet and happy, she left for school. She had dressed with care. She always did, especially when she was down and out.
She reached school and was greeted by one of her shy students - Mallika. The girl said "Ma'am, my father wants to meet you. Can I bring him?"
Her dad stepped forward.
Mallika said "Ma'am, I want to give you this flower, you are the most beautiful woman ever." She walked away.
Her dad said "I can see why Malli has been talking of you day and night. You ARE indeed beautiful. My wife passed away 3 years ago, a few months after Malli's birth. Malli was withdrawn until she joined this school. After joining this school, she has only been able to talk of her beautiful teacher who sings like a nightingale, who looks like an angel. I now know why she said that, you are an angel in every way, beautiful in AND out. Please don't mistake me, do you think we can meet for coffee after school?".
She agreed. They met for coffee. The rest as they say is history.
She married him a few months later. Was whisked away in a Merc. You see, Mallika's dad owned the country's largest vineyard AND largest shipping company.
He reminded her how lucky he was EVERYDAY and said "you are beautiful" everytime they spoke.
The day she left her home, her dad said "you are so lucky. How did he agree to marry an ugly woman I wonder?"
She walked into her bathroom. "Hello old friend, You look SO BEAUTIFUL", the mirror said to her. She only saw her beautiful luminous eyes, shining with hope for the future. Her face, round as the moon, her hair in a stylish new cut, her nose adorned with a pretty silver ring, her body encased in well-cut clothes, her smile lighting up the entire universe - a woman in love.
She thought of her late mother.
A lone tear crept down her cheek.
Ugliness is never skin deep. The ones who are truly ugly, are the ones with a black heart.
"No one wants to marry you. You are so ugly". The words of her dad kept ringing in her ears.
She looked in the mirror. She saw her fat body. Her round large face. Her thin hair. Her small eyes. Her large nose. Her thick lips. Her excuse of a neck.
She thought of her late mother.
A lone tear crept down her cheek.
The next morning, she was at school. Hellen Keller School for Visually Disabled Girls. Commonly called HK Blind School.
At school, she began her lessons with a song. A song that carried to the heavens. A voice that thrilled the nightingales. Her students sang with her. Happily.
She began telling them a story. Of a Prince who lived far away. A magician who spread his magic around the world to make people happy. Of Princesses who were braver than warriors. Of Warriors who sang sweeter than birds. Of Birds who were prettier than flowers. Of Flowers who were happy and made everyone happy. She described the flowers - their colors, their fragrance, their beauty. She told them that only one thing was more beautiful than these flowers - their mothers. She asked them to buy a flower for their mamma that day and give them a hug.
Lessons over, she came back home.
Her dad welcomed her with "4 boys have rejected you again. You are ugly. You are merely a teacher, not even a doctor or engineer, so boys will marry you for your job."
She walked to the bathroom to change. The windows, the door, the mirror all screamed in welcome to her - Ugly, Ugly, Ugly.
She thought of her late mother and steeled herself.
The sun rose the next morn. Wearing her fave pink kurti, the one she thought made her look sweet and happy, she left for school. She had dressed with care. She always did, especially when she was down and out.
She reached school and was greeted by one of her shy students - Mallika. The girl said "Ma'am, my father wants to meet you. Can I bring him?"
Her dad stepped forward.
Mallika said "Ma'am, I want to give you this flower, you are the most beautiful woman ever." She walked away.
Her dad said "I can see why Malli has been talking of you day and night. You ARE indeed beautiful. My wife passed away 3 years ago, a few months after Malli's birth. Malli was withdrawn until she joined this school. After joining this school, she has only been able to talk of her beautiful teacher who sings like a nightingale, who looks like an angel. I now know why she said that, you are an angel in every way, beautiful in AND out. Please don't mistake me, do you think we can meet for coffee after school?".
She agreed. They met for coffee. The rest as they say is history.
She married him a few months later. Was whisked away in a Merc. You see, Mallika's dad owned the country's largest vineyard AND largest shipping company.
He reminded her how lucky he was EVERYDAY and said "you are beautiful" everytime they spoke.
The day she left her home, her dad said "you are so lucky. How did he agree to marry an ugly woman I wonder?"
She walked into her bathroom. "Hello old friend, You look SO BEAUTIFUL", the mirror said to her. She only saw her beautiful luminous eyes, shining with hope for the future. Her face, round as the moon, her hair in a stylish new cut, her nose adorned with a pretty silver ring, her body encased in well-cut clothes, her smile lighting up the entire universe - a woman in love.
She thought of her late mother.
A lone tear crept down her cheek.
Ugliness is never skin deep. The ones who are truly ugly, are the ones with a black heart.
As they say, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have always been of a belief that , if you're beautiful inside, the outside radiates beauty too :)
what a profound message; beauty is indeed skin deep ! lovely
ReplyDeleteyes ... ugliness and beauty is inside .. never on the outside !
ReplyDeleteUgliness is a feeling inside
ReplyDeleteWhen all the warmth and goodness have died
It is out there lurking in our unconscious thought
Waiting for the right time to unravel its plot
Keep it at bay with all your strength
Otherwise it only increases in length
PhenoMenon
http://capturedalive.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/underneath-the-balmy-sky/
Liked the story
ReplyDeleteLove doesn't make just u but also the life beautiful
Loathe dads like the ones in this story !
When we learn to see ourselves as beautiful, we begin to look beautiful! Great story.
ReplyDeleteA lovely story with a profound message. Ugliness is when people cant see the beauty in other people!
ReplyDeleteBeauty is in the eye of the beholder and the one in love. Nice story. An eye opener.
ReplyDeleteUgly is the heart who sees and believes in ugly.Nice story Meera.
ReplyDeleteThis is a love story that I love!! So very touching!
ReplyDeleteLoved this. And it's true, beauty on the inside is so much more important.
ReplyDeleteCarol's Notebook