Missing Girl

Thirteen years old Holly was a petite and a charming girl with rich parents. She stayed in South Carolina for her schooling while her parents travelled around the world for business.

Holly’s parents had recently bought a villa and Holly was going to visit it for the first time in school summer holidays. Apparently, the villa was her birthday gift.

Holly packed her bags and waited for the chauffer to arrive. She heard her cell phone ring.

“Hello…” the sound said on the other side.

“O hi Mom...” Holly said, recognising her mother’s voice. “What? But you promised you would join me this time.”

“What will I do there alone?”

“They will be with me but you promised.”

Holly listened to her mother talk for 3 minutes.

“Fine. Bye…”

Mary, Holly’s maid came to the room.

“Miss, the car is ready to take us to the airport.”

“This time it’s gonna be just us Mary. Mom and dad are not joining us this time as well.”

Holly stood up and walked towards the door with heavy legs and frowned face. Mary didn’t say anything. She quietly picked up the bags and followed.

It was a long flight but Holly was very much used to it. It had been more than four months that see hadn’t seen her parents.

“They would make promises every time and turn back.” Holly thought.

As Holly reached the airport, all she wanted to do was get to her bed and sleep for long hours. Two guys were already standing at the entrance to greet Holly.

All of them got into the Mercedes and left. Holly had never been to this place before. She looked though the windows and she could see very few people. It was very green with a lot of trees and small lakes. She liked what she saw and opened up the windows.

“It is such a fresh smell.” Holly said.

“Yes Ma’am. This is one of the few places where the population is really less. Nature has not been much disturbed here. “One of the guys said.

“How far is the Villa from here?” Holly asked.

“We are about to reach Ma’am. It wouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.”

As the car reached near the Villa, the trees became denser. As Holly looked ahead, she saw a giant gate opening up for them and there were huge tress on both the sides.

The car kept moving until it reached the entrance of the Villa which took around ten minutes. Holly was lost in the view where she could only see trees, gardens and flowers. Then she heard a sound at a distance which she tried to locate.

“What is that sound?”

“That’s a peacock Ma‘am” The guy said.

“A peacock! I have never seen one in the city.” Holly exclaimed.

“This Villa is more than 500 years old. Very few people know about this place. “The guy informed.

“Who owned this Villa before?”

“A family stayed here around 10 years back. They stayed here for around a month and then moved to New York. The Villa was locked ever since.”

“Wow! This is antique.” Holly said.

“There are around 53 rooms in the villa. Not all are in use. There are so many stories and secrets this Villa holds. You will truly enjoy it here.”

They all entered the hall. There were six maids waiting to greet Holly. All bowed as they saw her enter.

“Ma‘am we shall leave now. You need rest. You can let any of the maids know if you need anything anytime. Sarla, the chief maid will take you to your room.”

“Ok...” Holly said as she looked around the giant walls and the historic work on the walls.

Holly was shown her room which looked very old and mystifying. Sarla, who led her to the room said, “This is the one of the best rooms in the Villa. It is said that when the Villa was constructed, this room was exclusively made for the owner’s daughter. The local people say that the daughter Suri was very beautiful but one day as she was roaming about in the Villa, she got lost and no one did ever find her ever. “

“What happened to her?” Holly asked.

“No one knows ma‘am.”

“That is sad.” Holly said.

“We don’t know if the story is true. But if you love stories and mysteries, you will have it all here. Please have some rest m ‘am. There is the switch. If you need something you can directly call us by pressing on to it. ”

“Thanks Sarla...”

Sarla closed the door as she left the room. Holly looked at the large room and couldn’t be more fascinated. She looked through the glass window and could see the splendid and beautiful grass garden with plants and trees. She could also see a small lake at a distance and some animals that she had never seen before drinking water of it.

“Wow! Everything is so massive and extraordinary. Seems like an illusion.”

Holly lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling which looked handcrafted. She lost herself in the details of the work and in few minutes, she was off to sleep.

A thud at the window woke Holly. She opened her eyes and looked through the window. There was no one.

She drank some water from the table top glass and went for the switch. Then thought not to.

Holly walked towards the door and reached for the doorknob. The door was open and she looked to the doorway. She heard some sound coming off from the hall that was on the left she came from. When she looked into the other direction, it looked quiet and still. Holly decided to walk in to the darkness.

There were several doors on the left and the right that looked like ordinary rooms. Holly went ahead.

“I want to know where this pathway goes.” She thought.

As Holly walked for few more minutes, she heard a sound from one of the rooms. She turned and silently moved near the doors to identify the sound source.

She heard it again and she turned to the other room. Yes, this is it.

For a moment she thought of going back to her room but something told her to uncover the mystery.

Holly held the door knob.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Now...” She said and turned the knob to the right and it opened.

It was a small area which could hardly allow an adult to lie down straight and was covered with dirt and spider webs.

“I wonder what this room was used for. “

She heard the sound again. She turned to look in the direction but it was only a wall. Holly moved closer to the wall. It was brilliantly decorated with paintings and a large decorated mirror.

She touched the mirror and was taken aback.
Her fingers went through it.

Holly came close to the mirror once again and touch it. This time she put in her whole hand which sank into the mirror.

“This should take me somewhere.”

Holly, slowly put in only her head in to the mirror to check the other side. What she saw astounded her. It was a deep beautiful garden with flowers and dense trees, birds flying above, sound of the water flowing.

“This is beautiful.”

Without another thought, Holly went all the way through the mirror entirely.

“Wow”

Holly walked through the trees staring at the beautiful sky and the nature. Then suddenly she heard the same sound again. Only this time it was clearer.

"It sounds like a cry." Holly thought.

Holly looked around trying to find the source.

At a distance she saw a girl in a white dress sitting under a tree, her face covered in her laps.

Holly went near her.

"Hello..."

The girl continued crying.

"Why are you crying?"

The strange girl looked above. Holly was surprised to see the girl’s eyes all red. It seemed she had been crying for a long time.

"What happened?" Holly asked again.

"What are you doing here? Go away." the girl said "You shouldn't be here or they will cage you as well."

"What? What are you talking about?" Holly asked.

“The Dwarfs.” The girl said sobbing.

Holly sat beside the girl trying to calm her down.

"What happened? Why are you crying? What are these Dwarfs you are talking about?” Holly asked. “Come along. I can take you from here."

“You cannot. They won’t let you.”

“Can you be more elaborate?”

The girl cleared “I was the daughter of Samuel Richards who constructed this Villa.” The girl said.

“Oh! You are the girl who was missing and were never found!”

“Yes. One day as I was strolling in the garden, I somehow went little far to the dense forest area. I was about to return back when I saw a huge tree. It was too giant for a tree. I went near it and I saw a small door, around 2-3 foot in height. I was too excited and I opened the door. It was too dark inside but I wanted to know who stayed in there. I crawled through it to find myself in a room full of small and large mirrors. They looked beautiful. As I browsed through them, I found a small hand mirror with beautiful carved frames. I thought I could gift it to my mother on her birthday, the next day. I took it and left the tree. I came back to my room and wrapped it delightfully for the next day. “

The girl wiped off the tears from her face.

“That night when I was asleep, I heard some sound from the window. I went near it and there was no one to see. I opened the door and they pulled me...” The girl hid her face in her laps once again.

“Who were they?” Holly asked.

“They were the dwarfs who stayed in the tree. They made mirrors. I stole their mirror and they caged me here.” The girl wept as she said.

“Then why didn’t you give it back to them?”

“I couldn’t. They won’t listen. They were too angry to listen. “

“Where do they stay?”

“They stay in the huge tree in the dense forest. They make mirrors the whole day and leave at night to deliver it to their chief.”

“Ok. I’m gonna go talk to them today. I will take you out from here.”

The girl looked at Holly with snivelling eyes which showed some hope now.

“I will see you later.” Said Holly and left.

That night, when all were asleep, Holly woke up and left the house through her window. She took a torch with her.

Cold breeze were blowing. Holly could see the tree tops where the branches danced along with the wind. The only source of light was the moon.

Holly gathered all of her strength and walked ahead. There were weird sounds that she could hear but she decided not to get distracted by them and focus ahead.

Holly entered the dense forest area. It was darker now with huge trees blocking the moon light. Holly turned her torch in all direction to find the tree that girl talked about. She walked for several minutes and she heard a voice.

Holly turned towards the direction of the voice and moved ahead. What she saw ahead was an enormous huge and massive tree. She could hear voices from within.

Holly swallowed her fear, took a deep breath. This time, she decided she would knock on the door.

Knock knock...

The voice that she could hear from inside suddenly subsided. She could now only hear the wind.

Holly knocked again. No sound.

She slowly opened the door and it was dark.

“Hello...”

No answer.

“I’m Holly. I came from the Villa. I want to talk to you about the girl you caged.”

Then she heard a thud in the darkness. Holly backed away 2-3 foots.

As she looked, she saw an ugly looking short guy walk out of the small hole of the tree. He looked angry.

Holly wanted to shout in fear but she stood stern.

“How do you know about that girl?”

“I met her and I know she stole your mirror but she is very sorry for that. I can give you a mirror... hmmm... may be more than one. “

“Why would you do that?”

“See. All I want is to save that girl. She has been crying for such a long time. Don’t you think she have been punished enough?”

The dwarf was now angry.

“You humans think we are weak and vulnerable. You will stole anything and we won’t fight. You are so wrong. That human took our mirror; the mirror we made. She had to be punished. ” The dwarf looked sideways. “And it’s important that it wasn’t only the mirror we lost that day. Because of that girl, we lost our brother!”

And he stopped.

Holly stayed there looking at the dwarf for a while.

“I’m so sorry for your loss. Both of us didn’t know that. But how can a mirror kill your brother? “Holly said.

“It’s none of your business. Just leave this place or else we’ll have to cage you too.” The dwarf said in anger.

Holly looked at the dwarf and she could see its eyes shining in the moonlight. He approached her for a step or two when she heard a voice.

“Stop Durmas.”

Holly looked behind and she saw another dwarf. It didn’t come out of the tree but from the darknes behind.

Holly heart was beating now since she was unsure whether she was safe anymore.

The dwarf turned around to look at the other dwarf and bowed. It seemed that it was someone important who joined in.

“Little girl. You are not supposed to be here at this time of the night. “He said.

“As you say that I’m as desperate to get to my place and get into my bed to safety. But that girl is dying there. I want someone to help her out. “Holly pleaded.

“She is suffering for the loss that she gave us. We work for our chief by delivering him mirrors. The mirror that she took was special. Our chief got angry when he found a mirror missing and immediately beheaded his brother who had been there to deliver the mirrors. She has to be punished. “He said.

“But it seems she has been punished more than she deserved. “ Holly said.

“What do you mean?”

“By being caged here for all these years, she has missed being with her family, her friends, life complete life. Even if you let her free, she has got nowhere to go with her whole family shattered after she went missing.”

The dwarfs were staring at Holly.

“You have taken everything from her right from her right to laughter to the right to being with her parents who loved her more than her life. All for a mistake she did that she never realised.”

“Let go of the girl.” The elder dwarf said. “She has had enough.”

Holly was surprised and happy at the same time.

“Thank you Sir.” Holy said.

The dwarf went to the girl with Holly and freed her. After a rigorous two nights, Holly came back to the house all tired while the girl was overwhelmed.

The girl whose name was Agatha, was made to go through several sessions with doctors and counsellors to make her herself. A week later Holly’s parents joined her and she told her the entire story. Though they didn’t believe her, they accepted that Agatha could stay with them and give Holly a company.
Holly found a new friend and a sister in Agatha who erased Holly’s loneliness. Both of them had a new task in hand - finding Agatha’s lost family.

No School, No Work!

Brian was a sloppy and a lazy boy of nine years. He wouldn’t listen to his parents or teachers, wouldn’t do his homework and his parents would be upset with his regular complaints from School.

One Sunday,

“Brian, can you take the thrash out?” Brian’s mother called from the kitchen while Brian was still lying on his bed with his comic book.

With no reply from Brian, his mother came over to check on him.

“Brian! Didn’t you hear me?” His mother asked in anger.

“Mom... I don’t want to.”Brian said and turned over to the other side.

“So you did hear me. How can you be so lazy and careless Brian? Your exams are coming in 3 weeks and you are reading
comic? What are you going to go with your life?” His mother reproached.

Brian turned to look at his mother.

“Okay okay... I will take the trash can out.”Brian said getting up sluggishly.

Brian’s mother could only get angry on his reaction and went back to the kitchen.

That night, Brian’s mother didn’t have dinner.

“What happened, dear?” Brian’s father asked.

“I am very concerned with Brian’s behavior. His activities are deteriorating every day. He talks with no respect, nor does he care for anyone.”Brian’s mother said, worried. “He doesn’t help in the house, nor is he interested in his studies. What are we going to do?”

Brian’s father thought for a while and then said, “He needs to be given his own dose of actions. I have given him enough advices and warnings but it seems he will learn the hard way only.” His father said thoughtfully.

“What are you thinking?”Brian’s mother asked looking at his father.

His father looked back with a smirk on his face.

The next day,

Brian woke up when the sunlight touched his face through the window. He stretched himself and looked outside. He could see high traffic on the road and children playing in the garden.

“What time is it?” Brian thought and took his watch from the table to check the time.

“Oh! I’m late!”Brian shouted.

“Mom, I’m late for school... They are not going to let me in today. Where are you?” Brian yelled looking for his towel around.

When Brian got no response, he went into the bathroom.

This was the first time that Brian had prepared himself for School without any help. When Brian was dressed in his school uniform, he came to the kitchen looking for his mother.

“Mom! Where are you? Mom!”Brian called but when he got no response, he got nervous and started looking for his mother all around the house.

Finally when Brian came to the drawing room, he saw both of his parents sitting on the couch watching movie.
“Is it Sunday? “Brian asked surprised.

“Hi Sweetie... Come over and join us. It’s a good movie.”Brian’s mother said.

“What are you guys doing? I’m supposed to be in school right now. Where’s my breakfast?” Brian asked.

“Take it easy son. We discussed and we found that you were right for everything. We have decided to be just like you. We are leaving all our responsibilities and duties behind.”Brian’s father replied.

“So you won’t go to work today?”Brian asked disturbed.

“Today? I’m not going ever!”

“And I’m off my duties as well. You won’t be pressurized to go to school, or to sleep on time, or to eat your vegetables, NOTHING! Be your own boss.” Brian’s mother said popping up popcorn into her mouth.

“But... But...” Brian tried to question but then thought not to and went back to his room.

He was amazed at his parent’s behavior but on the other side was tempted by the days without rules. He could do anything he wanted to; without anyone to scold or punish him.

That complete day Brian spent playing video games and reading comic books.

A day passed by and there was no change at his parent’s end.

The next day, Alen, Brian’s school friends called him on phone.

“Hey Brian, when are you joining school? “Alen asked.

“Well... I’m on a break right now. I’m planning next month.”Brian informed.

“Well, Ms. Rachel informed us in the class that if you don’t join School back tomorrow, your name would be removed from the school. And you know what? They are taking us all to the amusement park next week. You will be missing that. “Alen informed.

Brian was quiet for a while.

“I want to go to the amusement park.” He thought.

“I will be joining you guys to the park.” Brian said on phone.

He went to the living room where his mother was reading a magazine.

Brian stood there for sometime unspoken and then went back to his room. The new rule less life was getting tough on him. No school was fun in the beginning but with that he was missing all the fun and friends. He wasn’t enjoying staying the room, and was bored of having to make his food. Brian wished that he gets his old life back but was guilty since he had now realized what important role his parents had in his life.

The next morning when Brian’s parents woke up to check on Brian, he wasn’t in his room.

“I guess the plan worked. “Brian’s father said in excitement. “But we’ll have to wait another two days. I will call his teacher to ask if he’s in school. “

Brian had left for school on time without waking anyone. He had made his breakfast.

When Brian came back from school, he went to his room, changed, made sandwiches for lunch and did his homework before leaving to play.

A week later,
“Brian, we have something to tell you. “Brian’s father said.

“What dad?” Brian asked.

“You will not be going to school from next month.”He said.

“Why?”Brian asked worried.

“Because your father isn’t working anymore and doesn’t make money to pay your fees.”Brian’s mother informed.

Brian’s eyes were all teary.

“What happened? Isn’t that you wished for? No school, no homework! “Brian’s father said.

“Please don’t do that. I know I have been a bad boy. But I have changed. I got an ‘A’ for my English test yesterday and they all applauded in the class. I don’t want to leave school.” Brian said sobbing.

“How long Brian? In a week, you will get back to being your original self.”His mother said. “Your shoes will be all over the place, your toys will be everywhere, no responsibilities, no studies, complains from school, the embarrassing parents’ teachers meeting...”

“That won’t happen again. I promise Mom...”Brian said “Dad, please go back to work. I would be responsible.”

“Do you swear to it Brian?”Brian’s father asked.

“I promise dad.” Brian replied still tearful.

Brian’s parents looked back at each other and nodded.

“Okay Brian. It will all get back to normal again but this would be your one last chance. “Brian’s father said.
When Brian left, his parents gave out a relieving breath.

“I need to meet his teacher. She has helped us a lot in tracking Brian’s progress in school.”He said.

That day onwards, there was no scolding or shouting on Brian. He acted as a responsible boy who studied well and managed his part of the work at house. It all made life easy for his parents and Brian. The only regret Brian had been that he hadn’t helped himself sooner.

The Woodcutter

Once upon a time, in a small village, lived a woodcutter named Salim. He was very poor and stayed in a little hut with his wife.

The money he made by selling woods was hardly enough for their daily living.

The usual schedule of Salim included him reaching the forest early in the morning so he could select and cut enough trees before it was hot.

He would then come back to his hut and rest for a while before he could go to the market with the woods to sell them off. Most of the money made by him after selling the woods was spent in buying provisions for dinner.

One day, Salim left his hut as usual. He cut down a tree which took twice the time he takes.

“This is a unfortunate day! I selected the wrong and hard tree which took most of my time.“

Salim stacked the woods he had cut and moved ahead with his axe in hand.

“Just one more tree and I’m good to go. It’s already late and I need to hurry back. “ Salim thought.

After some searching Salim went near a tall glorious tree.

“This looks perfect and won’t take much time.”

With that, Salim put up his axe and hit hard on the trunk of the tree. When he pulled his axe back to hit it again, he heard a voice.

“Please don’t cut down this tree!“

Salim looked above to find a bird sitting on one of the branches of the tree.

“Don’t disturb me foolish bird. I’m trying to make my living. “ Salim said.

“By cutting off this tree, you will be destroying my abode. Please do not do that. “ The bird said.

“You will have to find another residence bird. Right now, I’m not in a position to stop my work. I’m already late and you are disturbing me. “

“I see you disturbed with your living and I can help you with that. “

Salim looked at the bird curious and asked, “How?”

“I’m a magical bird. I come here in the woods once a year to revive my powers through this tree. If you promise to now cut this down, I will make you rich so you will never have to work again. “ The bird explained.

Salim thought for a while and then said, “I will listen to you but if you don’t succeed in that, I will surely cut this tree down.”

The bird continued, “Go back to your hut and look in to the fireplace. Remove all the waste and down you will find a pot. Open it up and you will find treasure which will make you rich. “

Salim was exited and as was about to turn back, the bird said,” Wait. Before you do that, you will have to promise me a thing.”

“What is that glorious bird?”Salim asked.

“You will have to promise that you will come back to meet me this day of every year. “

“I have spent most of my time in this forest dear bird. I will surely come back to see you and thank you for what you did for me. “ Said he and left.

Salim was almost running on his way to home. When his wife saw Salim so tired and sweaty she got worried.

“What happened to you?”She asked. “Where are the woods?”

“We won’t need them. Come help me with a task. “ Salim said and reached the fireplace.

He removed all the ashes while his wife kept staring surprisingly.

“What are you doing?”She asked.

Salim said nothing and continued with his work. And finally after removing all the ashes, he could see a brass pot there.
It took all his strength to get the pot out. When he finally did, his wife was surprised and Salim was laughing with happiness.

Salim opened up the pot and both of them were astounded to see what it was filled with. It contained silver, gold and diamond jewellery and utensils.

“How did it get there Salim?”Salim’s wife asked and he narrated the complete story with her.

By the end both were speechless and kept staring at the jewellery.
In few days, Salim and his wife were living in a big and beautiful house with house maids and mens to help with.
They were now one of the riches people in the village.

Salim was thankful for what they got that the following day he visited the tree to thank the bird but it was no longer there.

“I will make sure that I come back here next year to thank the bird. “ And Salim left.

An year passed and this time Salim entered the forest on the carriage followed by six workers. As they neared the tree, Salim asked the carriage to stop as he didn’t want others to know their secrets.
He walked the distance to the tree and called the bird.

The bird came out of its need and sat on a branch.

“I see that you are a happier man now. “The bird said.

“It’s all because of you dear bird. I’m not sure how to thank you for all this. “ Salim said.

“You don’t need to kind man. Just make sure that you come and meet me every year. That would stand for your thankfulness. “The bird said.

The bird wished good luck to Salim and flew back while Salim returned to his house on the carriage; this time with no sweat or tiredness.
He remembered the days when he worked in the sun to get some woods. The days when no one would buy his wood and they had to sleep hungry.

Four years passed and with money and luxury came pride and arrogance. Salim would sit around the house all day and only instruct his workers to do his tasks.

The hardworking Salim was changed to a high profile bug tummy man.

One day, as Salim and his wife were having lavish dinner, his wife said, “You are to visit the woods tomorrow to meet the bird. “

“The bird, right. I think I won’t be go this time. “ Salim said.

“Why not?”Asked his wife.

“Tomorrow I’m visiting a land that I’m planning to buy. “ Salim said.

Few days passed and soon the family started to lose the money. The land that they were planning to buy was bought by someone else at a higher price.
The food stored were all spoiled and rotten. Somehow the money kept being spent on unknown items. To pay for the workers, Salim had to take debts. Soon all of them left.

Eventually, they had to sell the house to pay all the debts. And in the end they came back to the hut where they stayed previously.

Salim regretted and his wife blamed him for all the loss. Salim, once again became wood cutter and waited for the day that he could see the bird again.
Salim couldn’t sleep the night before he was to meet the bird.

He got up early and reached the woods. He had even forgotten to get his axe this time.
As he reached the tree, Salim shouted, “Bird, O Bird where are you! I had been waiting only for you. “

As soon as he said that, the bird flew again to sit on a branch of the tree.

“It is so comforting and peaceful to see you once again dear bird.”Salim said.

“I do not think you thought that way last year. “ The bird replied.

“Dear bird, please forgive me. I was taken aback by my pride and ego. Now I have learnt the lesson. Please help me. I cannot live like this forever. ”

“You learnt the lesson after you lost everything. The reason I asked you to meet me every year was, by coming to these trees, you will remember your roots and the luxury won’t take over you. There is nothing I can do for you. You should leave. “ The bird said.

“Please help me dear bird. I cannot live as a wood cutter forever. “ Salim said with teary eyes.

“Okay. But you will have to make the same promise once again to meet me on this day every year. “The bird said.

“I will do that. I will do that birdie. “ Salim replied.

“Then go home and search through your cupboard, you will find something there that will help you save your life. “ Said the bird and it flew away.

Salim walked back home smiling and informed his wife of his meet with the bird. Both of them searched the cupboard and in one of the corners behind the clothes, they found two gold necklaces.

Salim and his wife were taken aback when they saw how little they had this time. But instead of pointing out, they decided to make a living with the jewellery.
Salim sold off the jewellery and bought a grocery shop with the amount of money he got from them.
Though this time they weren’t living luxurious, but the grocery shop gave enough money to make a decent life that Salim wanted.

Also Salim made it a point that he visited the woods to meet the bird and sometimes with his wife.

The Change

“Michelle, Don’t go too far dear.” Jessica called to her eight years old daughter who ran out of the house.

Jessica and Mark Young, both worked for an NGO who were dedicated to protecting the nature.
They lived in a beautiful house that looked more like a greenhouse with plants in and out of the house, at a distance from the city.

Living in the greens was not new to Michelle who had actually grown up with animals and plants.
On vacations when her friends visited amusement parks, Michelle was taken to the zoo or a wild life safari.

Michelle ran all the way from between the trail that divided the garden area in various parts to the large banyan tree she loved to visit mostly because she could use the falling strings as swings.

“Hello tree.” Michelle called to the giant banyan tree which offered several hands to hang on.

“Yesterday while I told dad about you, he said your seeds are not sown. Did you know that? Birds might have dropped you from above on another tree or plants through which you grow up. Isn’t that amazing?” Michelle informed as she walked around the tree touching each of the vines.

Suddenly Michelle’s attention was grabbed by something unusual. She moved closer to a small plant that stood in between many others below the giant tree.

Michelle touched a leaf of the plant to look at its underside. There she saw a green oval shaped object that had glued itself to the leaf.

As had her parents told her, nature gives you surprises and when you see anything peculiar, you should never disturb it or you could be disturbing nature.

Michelle slowly let off the leaf and it gained its normal position. Michelle looked at the leaf for a while to check if anything moved at all.

Astonished Michelle, from that day on, she would visit the plant every day to water it.
Her main intention was that whatever was happening to the plant should be protected. She would sit down and talk to the plant and the banyan tree.

On a particular afternoon, she came with the watering can to the plant and after watering the roots, she sat down right beside it.

“You know what happened Pupa?” Pupa was the name given to the hanging on the plant.

Michelle continued, “Dad and Mum were saying that we shall be moving to another city this weekend. Their organisation has started a new office there and they want them to look after it. They say it’s good since it will help me with my studies with better schools there. “

Michelle’s face was now sunken in sadness,” This means I won’t be able to see you guys after that. I asked dad if we could visit you but they say this land will be given to some other people who would take care of you better.”

After that day, Michelle made a point to visit the plant and the banyan tree as often as she could.

On the morning of their departure, Michelle arrived at the place early to spend more of the time with her friends. She hung on the banyan tree veins and sang the songs she thought made the tree happy. After an hour or so she sat near the plant to talk to Pupa.

“Common Michelle, Its time we leave.” Jessica called.

“Coming mom...” Michelle answered.

Then turning back to Pupa, Michelle said,” I’m gonna miss you too Pupa. Don’t worry you will be fine. I have asked the tree to look after you when it rains and even when the wind blows. Both of you stay happy and don’t forget me okay? “

Michelle bid her final good bye to the plants and trees around and ran back to her house.

As she went away, Pupa moved itself and two large colourful wings opened up.

The little held up Pupa was now a new transformed Butterfly. It dashed its new pair of wings few times before it finally few up to sit on the leaf of the banyan tree.

Moral: Nothing is constant other than change.

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