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| Sunday, 30 October 2005 |
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Magazine |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Short story -
Freedom! Roshel was driving her brand new car along the dark, empty road. It was midnight and the city was completely deserted. The pale moonlight appeared feebly through the light of municipal lamps which were shining brilliantly.
Suddenly, a stray dog ran across the road and she applied the breaks quickly. The car stopped with a creaking sound. She heard something falling down and guessed what it was. It was the award she won as the best female singer of the year. Her head was badly aching and she didn't trouble herself to find out what it was. So, the poor thing laid there miserably until she reached home. Puzzled As she entered home Magilin, her servant congratulated her. Roshel noticed that Magilin was a bit puzzled when she didn't see the award. Roshel asked her to bring it and the poor woman was delighted, she brought it willingly and placed it on her mistress' dressing-table. When Magilin left the room, Roshel stood before the mirror and looked at herself. She saw a beautiful creature with sparkling blue eyes, long dark hair, rosy cheeks, fair complexion with a slim figure. She knew that she was a gorgeous, attractive woman. Long ago, she secretly dreaded to see the people admire her beauty and charming voice. Identity But soon, she was tired of it, she saw herself as an isolated, miserable person who had no identity. Then, she looked at her award and felt that it was just like herself, because it only had superficial beauty. Cold tears gathered in the corners of her eyes but she didn't allow them to run freely. After a bath she went to the bed and began to think about her own life again and again. Orphanage Her real name was Malathi, she spent her childhood in an orphanage. While she was living there she was told that she was found in a gutter. She recalled how she cried bitterly when she heard it for the first time. As a teenage girl she became very stubborn. She hated herself and the whole world. Though she was surrounded by all kinds of misery there was only one thing which made her happy. That was her enchanting voice. When she was just sixteen, she ran away from the orphanage and found a job in a pub as a singer. She met various people there. Among them there was a well-known music producer. He was ready to give her a chance and she exploited the opportunity. Popular Her first album became very popular and she became a successful singer. Day by day her fame increased and many of her songs were at the top of the musical charts. She made a lot of money out of her albums and led a luxurious life. As a popular singer she was often invited to parties, beauty contests, television programmes, interviews etc. At first she loved them immensely but as time went on, she found it tiresome and dull. She had no family and whenever someone asked about it she evaded the question by boasting that both her parents had died in a plane crash and she was adopted by one of her relatives who now lived in Australia. Everyone believed it and she was quite content with her story. But now she had lost her enthusiasm to live, she let her life to go on in the same dull, gloomy way. One day, she went to a very rural village for a television shoot. She was touched by the honesty and simplicity of the villagers and soon became friendly with them. When the shooting was over, she felt sad to leave the village, because she was strongly attached to it. Though she went again to her home, she never forgot that village. One day, she saw a newspaper advertisement which said that there was a fine piece of land and a bungalow to be sold in that village. Without thinking twice she bought it immediately and spent her vacations there. She was careful enough to not to let the media know about her new house, only her intimate friends knew about it. At first she only spent her vacations there but gradually she grew very fond of it and stayed there all the time. It was a big land and had enough space to cultivate vegetables and fruits. She was thrilled to see the harvest of her cultivations. Her heart filled with pride and pleasure whenever she thought of her new life. While she was living in the orphanage, she learnt to play the violin and thus she was a marvellous violinist. She taught the neighbourhood children how to play the violin. They were indeed very poor children and she didn't expect anything in return. She had saved enough money to live the rest of her life. She did it only for the sake of happiness and enjoyed their companionship very much. The people soon forgot about her because she was not to be seen on television so often. She never worried about that because she loved her new peaceful and simple lifestyle. She understood one eternal truth about life that the best thing one can ever achieve in life was freedom! Dilshani Nakandala, National Youth - Service Council, Maharagama. |
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It was silent like a tomb except when a stubborn vehicle thundered on
the road. 
