FROM ASHES TO DREAMS

By Rashmi Trivedi

SYNOPSIS

 

What if we lived everyday as if it were the last? Easier said than done?

 

Sometimes life brings you at a crossroad where you have no option but to do that.

Naina was an orphan girl who had not much to look forward to in life, until she fell in love. Love gave her wings and she started to fly, only to come crashing down when the wind beneath her wings turned into a storm. She tried putting an end to her life but life had some other plans.

Though her attempt at suicide failed, she comes to know that she has limited time. Any day could be her last day on earth. This is when she starts experiencing life, she starts "living" everyday instead of mere surviving! She lives every moment, not worrying about the future which she does not have, and not regretting about the past that can't be changed.

 

In the process, she falls in love again! With life! The only thing which is in short supply for her. Will this time again she will be unlucky in love? Is it enough for her to spend limited time full of "life" or does she hanker after the life she had herself said goodbye to?

 

There is more to life than what meets the eye. There is more to this book than can be put on the back cover.

 

Come ride the roller coaster with her to know what is in store for her .This is a new "funinspirational " book by the author of the amazon bestseller 'Woman, everything will be fine!"

 

A non –preachy, inspirational, fun read which will tell you what you need to be happy and how to add more "life" to your life!

 

SYNOPSIS

 

What if we lived everyday as if it were the last? Easier said than done?

 

Sometimes life brings you at a crossroad where you have no option but to do that.

Naina was an orphan girl who had not much to look forward to in life, until she fell in love. Love gave her wings and she started to fly, only to come crashing down when the wind beneath her wings turned into a storm. She tried putting an end to her life but life had some other plans.

Though her attempt at suicide failed, she comes to know that she has limited time. Any day could be her last day on earth. This is when she starts experiencing life, she starts "living" everyday instead of mere surviving! She lives every moment, not worrying about the future which she does not have, and not regretting about the past that can't be changed.

 

In the process, she falls in love again! With life! The only thing which is in short supply for her. Will this time again she will be unlucky in love? Is it enough for her to spend limited time full of "life" or does she hanker after the life she had herself said goodbye to?

 

There is more to life than what meets the eye. There is more to this book than can be put on the back cover.

 

Come ride the roller coaster with her to know what is in store for her .This is a new "funinspirational " book by the author of the amazon bestseller 'Woman, everything will be fine!"

 

A non –preachy, inspirational, fun read which will tell you what you need to be happy and how to add more "life" to your life!

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rashmi Trivedi
• Release date: May 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393607069

Book preview

THE PAST

THE ARRIVAL

A car screeches to halt a little far from an old house with an iron gate. A woman dressed in black alights from the car. She moves under the shadows, walking in haste, impatient to reach her destination. The dark saree that she has draped on her body merges in the dark of the night to make her invisible. She has tried to cover her face too but between the jet-black hair and the black saree, the pearly white skin is visible. She has something in her arms that looks like a small bundle of clothes which she is holding tight, giving an impression that it contains something fragile which might break if it falls down.

With quick and sure steps, she reaches her destination. It is an old run down house. The white paint has come off from the walls. It is very obvious that the building has seen better days. There is a small garden in front of the house. There are no flowering plants in the garden, only vegetables are being grown.

The woman very quietly opens the iron gate of the house taking care not to make the slightest noise. At the same time, she hugs her bundle to the chest as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

She walks on the brick pathway which lies in the middle of the garden, from the gate towards the house. The pathway ends in the veranda, in the middle of which lies an old wooden cradle. There is a mattress on the cradle and a small bell hangs from the main frame.

The woman lifts the bundle to her face and kisses it hurriedly, quickly putting it in the cradle. Then she pulls the rope hanging from the bell. She rings the bell for a few seconds and then turns back and hurries out of the gate, almost running. She sits in the car and it speeds away into the night.

SHANTI

Inside the house, the sound of the bell woke up Shanti. She was always a light sleeper and would wake up at the slightest noise. Fully alert now she could hear the wail of a crying baby.

She felt the same tug at her heart that she always felt when the bell rang; some poor soul has come in this world—unloved and unwanted. An unwanted fruit of passion, a handicap, or simply a girl. There weren't too many reasons behind the unknown visitors visiting in the middle of the night, but every time it happened, Shanti felt as if she herself died a little.

There must be a mother somewhere who at this moment would be giving a silent farewell to a part of her flesh. Who knows what her compulsions to give away her baby were? She never judged, but felt pity for both the mother and the baby.

Even though the weather was warm and the veranda was covered, she did not want the baby to be in the open for long. Still she waited for some more time. She always wanted to give them some time for contemplation. A person who had to come in the middle of the night, in the garb of obscurity would not like to be seen. She also secretly wished them to return and take their kid back. This never happened.

Lata too was on her way to welcome the third visitor of the month. Before Shanti could even call her name, she was all set for the first bath.

Shanti reached for the wooden cradle which was still in motion. Maybe the last push from the mother, she thought. With her first look at the baby, she could make out that this was some rich girl's folly. She lifted the baby from the cradle and took a closer look. Yes, no doubt about this one. The pretty baby face glowed in the dark night like the moon. Those eyes! They invoked a memory in her which made her flinch. Then she composed herself.

It would have rained heavily with thunders and lightning if this were to happen in the movies. Instead, it was all filled with just the sound of crickets blending with the cries of the newborn.

"Didi, this is the third baby in this month and such a beauty," said Lata as she looked at the baby.

Yes, this is why I am scared for her. Being an orphan girl in this world of wolves is bad enough, and being a beautiful orphan girl would be like a gazelle caged with hungry lions. I fear for this girl, Lata, Shanti said.

They took the baby inside the house. In the warmth of the house and the snugness of Shanti's ample bosom, the baby stopped crying. They changed the clothes as was the practice and all the belongings which came with the child were kept aside in a safe locker. In this case, it was a gold chain and a handful of notes. Shanti counted the notes and found that the baby came with ten thousand rupees. There was a look on Lata's face which hinted that she would not mind keeping some of it, but she knew Shanti well enough not to utter a word. Shanti was very clear in her mind—whatever came with the babies was their property and it was to be returned to them when they came of age.

There was also a note kept hidden in the baby's clothes which simply said—Please forgive me, though who was asking for forgiveness and from whom was not clear. The person who was wronged in the entire episode was that tiny tot who was busy sucking her thumb.

THIRTEEN YEARS AFTER THE ARRIVAL

THE CHILDHOOD

NAINA

After ample twisting and turning in the bed, Naina opened her eyes to the dark room. The window had some moonlight streaming in, and her ears were fed up with the soft snores of Kusum who was lying next to her. The excitement of her birthday made her smile. Turning thirteen along with Kusum and Raghav seemed like a mission accomplished. With the guile of an expert thief, she stretched her legs over Kusum to land with cat feet on the floor.

She stood on the cold floor and looked at Kusum's partially moonlit face and wondered, how could this girl even sleep?

She wanted to go to the hall and have just one more look at the yellow airplane which she would get as a birthday gift. She didn't mind the left wing tip being broken as she also had plans to mend it with some glue.

Going by the trend of Shanti Amma's partial behavior, she was sure that she would be given the first chance to choose from the birthday box. The birthday box, as it was called, was actually a big showcase which had a glass door. All the good toys were kept inside it. It was a practice in the orphanage to celebrate the birthdays of children together each month and the children who had their birthdays in the month would get a toy from it. So all three of them will get to choose a toy today. The doll, with her golden hair and blue eyes, didn't entice her. The remote car also was too annoying. Other soft toys were meant for little kids. She wasn't little anymore. The yellow plane seemed to be the manifestation of her dream. A dream, which was just hours away from fulfillment.

Even if by chance Kusum was asked to choose before her, she would go for the doll. Kusum had told her that before. Raghav was no threat as boys got to choose after the girls.

So Naina could not wait for the sun to rise. She tiptoed her way to the window. The window was open and she drew the curtain to look outside. In the moonlight, she could see the gate. She sometimes used to do this, hoping that she would catch sight of the person who came to leave a baby. But this never happened on her watch.

Yes, she knew that people came and left babies they did not want at Shanti's orphanage. They were all told that they were gifts from God and because they were special, they came to live in Shanti Amma's orphanage. But last year she had overheard Lata Amma telling the maid that if she could find out who had dumped Raghav at the orphanage, she would like to go and personally strangle the person. This conversation had taken place after Raghav had put a live toad in Lata Amma's bed while she was sleeping. The toad had jumped from her bosom to her nose and Lata Amma had screamed her lungs out when she saw the two bulging eyes looking at her from the top of her nose. It sure was very funny to see Lata Amma dancing around with the toad on her nose and screaming at the top of her voice. The children who were hiding behind the door had burst out laughing.

Thinking about the incident brought a smile to Naina's face. She looked at the gate again hoping someone would come through it with a baby and ring the bell. No one did! She wondered why people dumped babies in the orphanage. She tried to think of a reason but she couldn't. Surely babies could not have done anything wrong, could they?

When she compared the other normal children and herself, she did not see any difference, except for the clothes that she wore, which were hand-me-downs from those ‘normal’ children. This was a mystery she intended to solve. She knew she would, she just needed some more time.

Thinking of the time, she looked at the small alarm clock in the room. It was past midnight, which meant it was her birthday. She felt a sense of elation that she always felt on her birthdays. She was thirteen-years-old now. She was in a hurry to grow up, and she was waiting for the day when she would be eighteen and be allowed to go out into the ‘normal’ world.

Like every year, she again wondered who her mother was, and what crime of hers had led her mother to forsake her? Will she ever meet her biological mother in her lifetime? Will she be like her? How will her mother know her name? And the most important of all the questions, would she have forgiven her for whatever crime she had committed? She prayed to God for forgiveness and asked him to make her mother forgive her. Brooding, praying and worrying, the just turned thirteen-year-old Naina passed into a fretful sleep.

KUSUM

Kusum opened her eyes and it took her some time to adjust to the darkness.

She could vaguely make out a small figure huddled near the window. Naina was at it again. She had seen Naina gazing out from the window many times in the middle of the night. When asked, Naina had said that she wanted to see the person who would come to leave a baby and wanted to ask them why they did not want the baby.

Kusum remembered the day when they had learnt that they were unwanted babies. They really could not believe it, and they had discussed this till very late at night. What they could not understand was why their real parents did not want them! Perhaps, they wanted a boy. But Raghav was a boy.

They tried to ask Lata Amma but were rebuffed. No one dared ask Shanti Amma, for she always said that all were her children. No one wanted to annoy her; they were all in awe of her. They all loved her and she loved them back. She always said that she loved them all equally but that was not true. Anyone could see that she loved Naina the most. She always got the easiest assignment and also the best dress whenever new dresses would be donated to the orphanage.

She had once overheard Shanti Amma tell Lata Amma that Naina was too beautiful for her own good. She actually did not understand what her worry was but what she didn't like was the fact that Shanti Amma called Naina beautiful. How could she be beautiful? She had such big eyes! They looked so funny. Raghav also always hovered around her, bringing her the best roses from the garden when the mali was not looking. She didn't like the fact that Raghav brought the roses for Naina and not for her.

She always wanted to have whatever Naina had or wanted. She knew that Naina was eyeing that plane as a birthday gift. She pretended that she wanted the blue-eyed doll but in reality, she was waiting for the opportunity to take the plane Naina was eyeing. She hoped to get the chance to choose the gift first.

Naina was coming towards their bed. Kusum closed her eyes tight. Naina came near the bed and arranged the comforter, which was half lying on the floor, properly on her, thinking that she was asleep. This was another thing Kusum did not like about Naina. She pretended to be very good, a pious soul and a helpful creature whereas the truth was known to her. This was an act to make everyone like her and also to project Kusum in a bad light.

Well, I am turning thirteen tomorrow, a teenager and five years short of freedom, she thought. Freedom from the rules and regulations of this prison, freedom from Shanti Amma's continuous moral lecturing, freedom from being in the shadows of the ever so pious Naina, freedom to choose, freedom to live and freedom to explore the world on my own.

Thinking about freedom brought a smile on Kusum's face, and with these thoughts she drifted off into her dreamland.

RAGHAV

Tomorrow was their birthday, the last Sunday of September. He knew Naina would be wide awake. She was like that, always so excited on their birthday. He also knew that she would be near the window looking at the main gate hoping for someone to arrive with a baby and would be disappointed when no one came. Lately, the babies came very rarely. Perhaps, they stopped not wanting the children. Good for us, he thought. Lesser number of orphans would mean more food and comfort for us.

Thinking about Naina brought a frown on his face. She always looked so forlorn and sad—as if the weight of all the tensions and troubles of the world rested on her fragile shoulder. Though she was the same age as he and Kusum, people would think that she was much older than the other two. When the three of them were around together, people would mistake Naina to be the eldest.

Her physical appearance was contrary to her mental makeup, and she still remained a child. Even though they entered their teens, he sometimes felt that Naina had never grown up.

True, the three of them hung together—same school, same class, and same orphanage. The orphanage wing was different for the boys though, after they turned ten. That was why Naina had become very attached to Kusum and drifted apart from him. This made Raghav a little sad for he used to be the closest to her, and being close to her, it was easy for him to take care of her.

He remembered the incident when on the way to school they had met a stray puppy which looked as if it had not eaten for days. Naina was the first to open her lunch box and give her roti to the puppy. He also started doing the same when Kusum stopped him saying that if they gave their lunch, they would have to go hungry.

She was ever-so sensitive, his Naina. She always used to say that, but for Shanti Amma, they would all have been on the streets. She thought of herself as one with the street children, only lucky to be in the orphanage. She simply adored Shanti Amma, hanging on to her every word. She would follow her like a shadow when she was a kid. Sometimes, at night, she would sneak into her room and sleep by her side. Even though it was not allowed, Shanti Amma never said a word to Naina.

Even a blind person could see that Shanti Amma doted on Naina. This made Kusum very angry, though, she tried not to show her anger. However, Raghav saw through her. How could he not, when they had practically grown-up together. Kusum was not a bad soul. She was, in fact, very loving and helpful. She, at times, behaved like a mother-hen to Raghav. She was very caring about Naina too, but she also thought of her as competition. Everyone had a soft corner for Naina which Kusum could never understand. She could not have understood that Naina had the look of a lost puppy on her face, and everyone just wanted to hug her and protect her.

Well, well, I will be turning thirteen tomorrow, he thought. All three of us, actually. They were known as the Three Musketeers in the orphanage—inseparable and always up to some mischief. Well, Naina was the only sane one, who had to be literally coaxed into cooperating.

He liked this orphanage. This was home. It was like staying in the hostel with your parents. Well, not both parents, but only the mother. Yes, Shanti Amma is like a mother to all of us, he thought. In school, he had many friends who were from normal homes and not from any orphanage. They had a boring life, he always felt, having only one or two siblings to play with