It was evening. The sky was a painter’s dream of accomplishment. But how could one capture this heavenly beauty that seemingly lit every corner of the Earth? The sun was slowly steeping into the  ground while its scattered yellow lights bid goodbye to the worn-out people of the land. The moon was now peeping from between the fluffy white clouds, glowing softly. Its softness numbed my  pricking worries, letting my mind live life for once. The wind was blowing softly. Brushing my cheeks, it quietly landed on each tree, making their nettled leaves sway gently. I stared. My restless red eyes  were soaking in the simplicity of this beauty. “Even an eternity wouldn’t do justice to such a  paradise,” I said quietly to myself. This moment was my escape from reality. This is when I would  pretend that the world was this phenomenal dwelling of peace and love. But alas, one’s imagination  can only last so long. Aware that reluctance was tugging at my heart, I turned my glance at the people around. Predictably, what lay in front of me was- in a word – “chaos”. It was quite amusing to  see people so wrapped up in their problems, that not even a paradise for a solution would dare distract them. “Mortals,” I said, shaking my head in disappointment. 

I walked around aimlessly for a while, pondering in-depth about mankind. Such bedlam is a pitiful sight. Mirthful is this sight – the humans who have the capability of designing a flying metal bird believe that the age, gender, religion, caste of the human makes us different from each other. At the end of the day, each one of  us is lost. Each one of us had to walk the tedious path of life and each one of us is destined for the same amount of joy and happiness as the other. Perhaps, people are dejected with life because their  definition of happiness is erroneous, to say the least. Happiness is neither conditional nor is it unobtainable. Happiness is with us at every part of the way, it’s for us to find it. Everyone seeks happiness from materialistic things in vain. I, for one, am different from the rest. I find peace in the chirping of the birds, the swaying of the leaves, the blowing of the wind, the sunshine falling. I find peace in the perfect moments when my family together sings and laughs to the tune of life. I find peace in the little joys of life. 

// This fictional story has been penned by 14-year-old Aayushi Kumar from Mumbai and has been chosen for publication on our website from the weekly submissions //