le petit princess
“I
am looking for friends. What does that mean -- tame?"
"It
is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish
ties."
"To
establish ties?"
"Just
that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little
boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need
of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you I am nothing more
than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we
shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I
shall be unique in all the world....”
― Antoine de Saint Exupery, The Little Prince
I have read
the book for a bazillion times already. And I know it shall be followed by
another millions of bazillion times again. Such a good read.
I love the
book as much as I love the friend of mine to whom I am addressing this post. If
the author of the highly acclaimed book dedicated his work to “Léon Werth
when he was a little boy”, then mine would be for “Princess Olivia ― both the child and the adult in
her”.
__________________________________________________________________
It was one
of those days when a girl was finding her spot in a mad, hurting world but she
just cant seem to fit in. For all her life, she always felt different. Outcast.
There is no one she could talk to about what’s seemingly a weird, boring hobby
for most. She is surrounded by happy drunkards or if not, happily in love
people. May it be with their couple, their imaginary couple or in some sort of
a lifestyle.
“I am not
just going to survive but also thrive.” She told herself. But as the days go
by, she found herself before two choices. It is either she simply float in the
waves of the sea and be outrageously happy and ‘in’ or she constantly swim and
fight the currents and still be ‘outcast’. It is a lot like ‘do or die’. But
she thought to herself “I’m damned if I do, I’m damned if I don’t”.
So she made the obvious choice: Kill the old
self and fit in.
But when she came back to her senses, she felt defeated.
She lived in the world that she never knew.
She did the things that she was never familiar with. She wasn’t good at doing
different stuff at all. She became the person she said she would never be. She became
weary and tired. Even if happy people surround her, she’s still alone. She
became like the world – hurting.
When one’s tired and unhappy, they wander.
Now, she’s alone. With the vast blankness on her head, she finally noticed the
ignored Man whom she has bumped in ‘countless and constant’ times before but
that, she cannot grasp. So as for a forgetful human like her, it was only
twice. Twas when first: the time she knew that Someone from who knows when had
died and live again for her and second: the time she realized that He didn’t
stop chasing her even before she had consciousness in the world.
Both happened
in the same day … Saturday, January 14th of the year when everybody
insanely thought that it’s the end of the world.
Yes, she fell in love. But their tale is
beyond romantic love. It’s radical … and the term that was just used is an
understatement.
Now, she felt victorious after being picked
up and out of the mire she made for herself.
As for a love story, the troubled young
character became a changed person when stirred up by an inner drive – love.
She became so fond of it that she tells to
whoever she’d have a conversation with about the Man whom she had met twice in
the same day.
Nobody ever heard her brag about her love for
Him because as for the girl, she fails Him everyday. Instead, she talks about
the Man’s love for her, for it never fails.
Now she’s not alone … but she still wanders.
Not with a blank head but a head full of stories about the Man.
It was not long when this time last year, the
wanderer starved. Yet, she felt blessed that she might just sneeze. For a
fateful twist made her bump with a princess she barely knew who coincidentally
threw off a feast for an annual celebration. What else bedsides birthdays?
She have seen and talked to a lot of people.
But she never knew that the princess she once was just staring at would agree
on establishing ties with her. They soon tamed each other as friends.
As usual, the wanderer told the princess
about her stories. The princess in return, told hers.
Both had a lot of exchange of timeless
stories and laughter. They do it in the same place at afternoon every fifth day
of the week that usually lasts long for five to eight hours.
Unbelievable.
Sometimes, they’d walk and talk. Most of the
times, they’d talk and talk.
As the meetings went on and on every week,
the wanderer slowly discovers something about the princess.
Like a child, she’s a wet cement. Everything
that falls on her makes an impression.
There was also once that they talked about
one’s brokenness with friendships.
“Forgiveness opens a door for a second
chance”, said the princess.
But the wanderer wasn’t able to thoroughly
express her thoughts. For her, not all friendships are meant to be saved. Some
are just meant to spend a certain part of our lives with certain people and
move on.
Also, the princess would not only talk about
the radical love, which they both commonly understand. She, unlike the
wanderer, knows something about romantic love.
She’d tell the wanderer quite good stories
regarding her kind of romantic love story.
Another thing she has learned from it, is
that the princess knows that there is no way she can stop the downpour but
she’ll always join her prince for a walk in the rain.
There was also a time when the wanderer
didn’t think if she was to take the statement of the princess seriously or
she’d just feel funny for hearing her say, “It is true that the prince loves
her princess more only in the first year of their romance and the succeeding
years would be the princess loves her prince more”.
For the wanderer, another window has opened.
Enough for her to peek in to yet, another view inside.
Now there’s another conversation that was
important for the wanderer. There, she traced how the princess became a
princess.
Her small, pretty eyes, her fancy things, her
gracious movements, her sweet smile, her thinking head, and her beautiful face.
Those are the qualities you see in a princess. She has everything, yes. But that’s not the big thing really.
What is essential to the heart is invisible to the eye.
She
told the wanderer that the people that surround her love her so much as much as
she loves them. But because she’s the little princess, they won’t allow her to
do much. Instead, she was served. When she was younger, the eldest prince would
treat her sumptuous foods while the other prince ensures her safety going in
and going out of the learning facility. The other princess would give her nice
and fancy clothes. The queen as for the wanderer’s perception based on the
conversation they had, is like someone whom the wanderer has once read. She is
like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is
yet night and provides food for her household
and portions for her
maidens. She
considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a
vineyard. She
dresses herself with
strength and makes her arms strong.
Most of all, she became a princess because
she is the daughter of the Most High.
Now that the princess is older, the two
princes separated at their castle to become a king and build a kingdom of their
own.
Always, the princess would tell the story
about it with enthusiasm and laughter. But because the eye is the gate of the
soul, the wanderer would always see the sadness and longing inside her, hidden
in what is seemingly a joyous manner of delivering and lively words. It is as
though she didn’t want to grow up from the childhood memories she once had.
The most remarkable conversation yet that
they had was when one time, the wanderer became physically compromised. For her
the world has crumbled right before her eyes. It is not the end she knows but
she felt sorry and deprived and threatened. For the wanderer can no longer
wander as much as she wants. It is a lot like ‘do or die’ for her the second
time around.
When the fifth day of the week arrived, they
again met. The wanderer told the princess everything about how she felt about
it while holding all her tears in and keeping herself composed and her cracky
voice unambiguous.
But to her surprise, the princess told her
the most important lesson yet.
The princess told the wanderer that the world
for her might be crumbling down but that can’t be a reason for her to sulk and
feel sorry for things. If the wanderer can no longer walk the way she usually
does, she should still be thankful for she still can walk a few. If she’s
suffering from an unknown disease, at least she’s still surviving and living.
If she caught herself attacked by an illness, at least she got people around
her who would stand by her. She wasn’t the most unfortunate person after all.
The wanderer of course knows these things. The thought drenched down to her soul but not deep enough until the princess confessed that as for someone
who suffers a disease like her, it felt the same.
For the wanderer, she could
still do the things she loves doing. But as for the princess, it is no longer
advisable. The things she loves ... the things she have grown up with have been literally killed by her illness.
But she is able to
face the world with joy. Giving hope and affecting people’s lives with her
story.
Now, the princess must face a new life. Begin understanding the unknown. She showed so much strength and courage. And little did she ever know, it moved the mountains and the clouds upon the wanderer's perspective.
It made such a great impact.
The ending is yet to
be told...
