By Pragya Khokhar
They forbid me,
To walk down that street.
They knew that it had traps for me to catch.
Asked me to follow,
Only their footsteps.
A little left or right,
Might call out the beasts,
Atrocious and horrific.
I thought they were lying,
Back when I was a kid.
But grown up, now I know,
They were right and protecting me.
From beasts, monsters and angel-faced demons,
Creeping in the dark to take me down,
To places they say, worse than hell.
Once I cross that road alone,
I may never find my way back home.
And might regret all my life,
That one act of disobedience.
Like Adam and Eve,
Cast out of the heaven.
But we need a life to regret,
And some might even lose that.
Lost in the world of adults is a scary thing, my parents said.
Being a girl is not a sin.
Still, sometimes, you get punished.
So don’t walk down that road alone.
To prevent any mishaps to befall on their own.
But tell me, O father and mother,
Is there a guarantee of my safety?
If I walk beside you, holding your hand,
Under your shadow, inside your cloak?
Or would you keep me hidden forever?
Behind the blinds,
like a prisoner of Blackwater?
It’s for my safety, I know.
But how can such a life,
Be any better than death itself?
And what if someday,
Those monsters evolve gradually,
And crawl out to the main streets,
Even in the bright light, fearing nobody?
What must you do then?
Die while saving me?
Or watch your worst nightmare,
Turn into a reality,
And debated in the news headlines, mercilessly?
Que sera, sera.
I heard my brother singing,
And found all my answers in that faint tune.
I’ll go the way I need to.
Even if it’s the dark alley,
You warned me about previously.
I’m now aware of the traps,
And know some ways to avoid them for long.
You taught me many strategies,
And gave me the courage to face that lurking evil.
And if I ever came across any of those monsters,
I’ll give them a death stare,
And stab the dagger in their chest
With all my might and courage I have.
I might return alive or dead,
Or might never make it out safe,
Forever lost and lamented.
But, rest assured,
I’ll give that monster,
A deadly blow,
or death itself.
So let me be free,
And break those shackles,
That weigh down your heart,
heavily.
Because all I believe in now is,
Myself and que sera, sera.