Gone with the wind...

Once upon a time...there was a little girl....skeptical, shy, timid, unaware of the harsh realities in life....She lived in far away country, amidst the beauty of nature....where men wore hats...and women adorned skirts...a place that was free from the shackles of the cruel, ruthless and competitive world. She used to live with her grandmother in a small cottage, isolated from the rest of the town. Her grandmother was her only family. She had never seen her parents....all she knew was they were up there in the starry sky twinkling as stars...looking down upon their little darling. The girl was content in her small world. Her only best friend was this mango tree. Lovingly she would call it "Momo"...Larger part of the afternoons...she would spend with momo...amidst its branches..in its lap, talking to it..and when no one was looking she would dance holding the branches. There was something about the tree that made her feel so secure and comfortable. When her grandmother would not give her 2 cents to have icecream, she would run to Momo..and hug it and share her grief! Surprisingly, when she would look down..there would be a 2 cent coin lying!

Then finally the day came when she had to go to school. She had cried a lot that day. She couldn't wait to get back home and run to Momo. Slowly she got used to the "regular" life. Her visits to Momo lessened . She could only visit the tree in weekends, as homework took most of her time. Hence, she eagerly waited for holidays to come....

On Christmas eve, her grandmother presented her with a very pretty frock...the one which she read in the story" Cinderella"...excited she ran to show Momo..her present!!! She wore it...dance around the its branches like a dainty little angel...spoke her heart out and finally when the sun set...she ran home. On her way back, she met her friend Christopher, who invited her to the christmas party. He also said she was allowed to bring a "date". Not knowing what date was...she asked her grandmother, over dinner. Her grandmother explained that a "date" was a friend whom she liked and who liked her aswell and with whom she could share anything. Then her grandmother explained how she was her grandfather's date and how her mother was her father's date. After dinner, she lay on her little bed thinking who could be her date! and then her eyes feel on something outside the window and she had an answer!

The following evening, she dressed up in the Cinderella frock and went to Momo. Then very politely she asked it, if it would come to party as her "date"!! A faint breeze was blowing that shook the branches of the tree! The girl waited there for the tree to move...and finally realising it will not, she broke a twig and took it with her to the party as her date!

Years passed by, the little girl grew up to be a beautiful and charming woman. Her bond with Momo also strengthened! Momo was one thing in her life that was always there and accessible to her!

One fine morning, the girl dressed in a white dress and a wale approached the tree. The moment she was near it, this familiar breeze began to blow again...the same happiness...the same comfort the same security! Today was a special day. She was getting married! Her groom to be was the same Christopher!

As she stood there talking to it and caressing its branches, she recalled what all things she had shared with Momo over the past years...her first meeting with Christopher in school and what a "jerk" he became in college...their friendship, their fights...the first time they went to the ball, the homecoming dance, the first drive together, the first rose which Christopher gave her, coincidentally he had found the rose beneath this tree only! their first kiss, their first valentine's day, the day he proposed! As she reminisced , tears filled her eyes but there was this shy smile on her lips! and suddenly it occured to her that she wont be able to meet Momo every weekend now! Christopher and his family had moved to the other part of the town and the drive was a long one! There was this "bittersweet symphony" playing in her heart! She din't wanna go. She stayed there hugging its branches! As she heard the town clock strike 1...she knew she had to go. Christopher was waiting in the church... Before leaving she broke a twig and kissed the branch. As she turned to go the church, the branches of the tree, began to shake, but there was no breeze! It was something unfamiliar..as if the tree was calling her back! She stood there, waiting for sometime and then she left!

Marital life came as a bliss to her. She was happy with Christopher and her new family. Life was never so romantic! She hadn't completely forgotten Momo...whenever she would speak to her grandmother over the phone, she would ask about her mango tree! Occasionally she would look at the twig which she brought with her. She would speak to it, when sad or She would blush and share her romantic adventures with Christopher !

Oneday, the news of her ailing grandmother reached her and she rushed to see her! The doctor said the grandmother had to be immediately shifted to the "big city hospital"! Christopher made arrangements to shift her grandmother and she started packing her stuff! Suddenly her eyes fell outside the window.She stood there still! And then she ran out...she ran out to Momo...

There Momo was standing with dead branches and fallen leaves! Tears started rolling down her cheeks! How could she not visit Momo? The grief was unbearable and she had to sit! As she knelt down before the tree ...she saw a worn away rose lying there, amidst the fallen leaves!!! She picked it up... and suddenly the familiar wind had started to blow again.....