Not all stories that start with ‘Once upon a time’ end with a ‘happily ever after’ . . .


Once upon a time in a city of love and sorrow, there lived a young girl of sixteen with her father. She was a pleasant looking girl with fine features. Her father, who was in his late forties, was a well built man with a strict personality and low temper.

The young damsel was studying hard to clear her medical examinations. Her father who, indeed, was a renowned doctor used to teach her biology and other necessary subjects. Every day, he gave her a lot of assignments to do and every day she strived to complete them. Sometimes she succeeded; sometimes she didn’t. Every night the father uttered the same words, “There is so much to do. You need to work harder. In this manner, you will never be able to compete with this world.”
The time when the daughter was unable to answer a question correctly, he muttered angrily, “You should give up studying. No matter what I do, or how I teach you never catch up with me . . .”

The first two-three times when those words were uttered, she had cried her eyes out but after that when she got used to such kinds of words and took no notice of them. Her father always used to say them, just to arouse that fire inside her heart which would help her to clear her exams but all his efforts were futile. There was nothing that he could do to excite her.

He started using those words frequently. He started losing his patience but his daughter stayed emotionless as if she were a doll. Slowly and slowly, the smile on her face started disappearing and her willpower drained out of her. She made mistakes more frequently and he scolded her almost every day.
She tried to understand her father’s absurd behaviour but failed miserably. She looked thinner and paler than usual. Dark circles never left her eyes. She looked so lifeless and frail. The studies became a big burden for her but she somehow managed to go through her regular routine.

One fine day, when she was out of determination and strength, she decided to do something that she would have never even dreamt of. She scribbled a small note and addressed it to her father. After that, she took a blade and made a deep cut on her wrist. The cut was strong enough to take her life away.

When her father saw her lifeless body, he immediately checked her vital signs only to find that she was long gone. He saw a yellow piece of paper on the floor. He picked it up and read it:

“Dad,
I am sorry for being such a coward but I could not help it. I could never be good enough for you. I promise I tried. But as you said I was never worth it. I am sorry for being such a huge headache. If only, I could ever be what you wanted me to be . . . I wish you a great life ahead,

Yours sincerely,

Georgia. “

A teardrop rolled down his check when the realisation hit him. He could finally see through his daughter’s plight. He had never meant the words he had uttered. All he wanted to do was provoke his daughter so that she could perform well. Both of them had misunderstood each other and it was a little too late now . . .