A Spider’s Web....

She was the youngest among her four siblings.

....A short girl with squarish shoulders.....Her triangular face with a short stubby nose (that she so hated ) would go unnoticed had it not been for her big bright shiny eyes enhanced by cascading black satin like eye lashes.

But deep in her heart she always felt a dash of sadness as she looked at her two elder sisters who seemed epitomes of beauty to her.

On top of it their vivacious nature made them the center of attraction everywhere while she seemed so inconspicuous.

To add to her woes her own mother kept drawing comparisons with her sisters and kept lamenting about her plain looks. All this along with the constant battle that a normal twelve year old fought with the hormones playing havoc at this age, she slowly started withdrawing herself into a cocoon.

Inside her cocoon she was the beautiful butterfly. Her world was colourful within the confines of her small room.The walls were covered with her vivid imagery in form of beautiful vibrantly coloured paintings.....the outcome of her silent romance with canvas, paints and brushes....she was happy....

And then one day he came ......Tall, fair, well built young man.....The whole house became alive with his animated anecdotes and cheerful personality. He was a distant cousin who had come for some training and would stay with them for a year.

The suave and sharp young man that he was,at the very first instance he could see the admiration and awe in those big bright eyes .....and the devil in him was evoked....a perfect bait he thought....naive and vulnerable....

His crafty fingers slowly started invading her cocoon with words of appreciation and undue attention that she had always craved for...

....and one day he succeeded in breaking into her cocoon....slowly her world transformed....what she could not comprehend was that the tender caresses were lusty strokes....the affectionate hugs were a pythons grip over his helpless prey.....

As days passed....his deft fingers slowly made a web around her....how she missed her cocoon...but she felt she deserved it ...after all she allowed him to invade her cocoon...and she never made an attempt to come out of it...

The young man left.....The sisters continued to be basking in their glory....the mother engrossed in her daily chores......no one noticed that the little girl's colourful paintings had changed into dull shades of grey black and white....the vivid imagery had been replaced by dark images....

....The soft cocoon was engulfed by the spider's web....

.....Her trail into her past was halted suddenly as she heard her name......and the award for best painting goes to.....she slowly walked up to the dais ....the flashing light bulbs ...the clicking cameras...sent shivers down her spine....with sweaty hands she held the trophy....as her short fingers grasped the trophy....her grip became firm...her pounding heart calmed down....the shivers stopped ....and the web broke down....setting her free....and the cocoon ? ...not needed now....!!!

"Raise your girl to be a fierce lioness and not a timid doe...

....there are predators lurking at places, you shall never know..."