Nepenthe

Homer described ‘nepenthe’ as ‘the one who chases away sorrow’. While it was a philter in the Odyssey, according to me, the material exitence of a nepenthe remains fluid. Within these pages, it is disguised as a confidante. The only one who can console an aching heart. A girl so special, she possesses the power to quell all that hurts. No, she is neither a witch nor any other creature of the mythologies. She is the one we all have in our lives. Masquerading as one or the other thing that brings a smile on our face.

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    “I can’t believe you would do this! I’m sick of you not considering my opinions. You can’t swerve me off every time like my opinion doesn’t matter.” I pressed.
    “We think you’re not old enough to be involved in this sort of decision making.” mom insisted.
    “But it’s not-” before I could protest any further, I was dismissed coldly by my father as a child.
    Storming out into the balcony, I felt the tension I built as I left the room ‘disrespectfully’. The street was flooded with pedestrians seeking shelter from the rain. The thunder and lightning mirrored the storm I felt stirring inside me. I was boiling with rage, enough to destruct anything that came in my way. My heart raced so fast I could feel the blood rushing through my veins. My fingernails, barely capable of scratching any surface, dug deep into my palms as my fist hardened, looking forward to punching something. I wanted to scream until I could no more.
    But then I saw her.
    There she was, sitting in her balcony. With the book she’d read a million times before in her hands. Though across the street, I could make out her sky blue baggy sweater pop out the green colour of her eyes. Her olive skin shone under her grandmother’s vintage lamp hanging amongst the creepers. Her red hair curled around her shoulder as if a ribbon around a present.
    For years we’d been friends. But I still remember the first time we met. 9 years old, she’d fallen off her bike and I ran to rescue her. The blush of embarrassment made her look so adorable. Despite all her insecurities she tried to hide from the world, over the years I had seen them all. I had seen the parts of her that she tried to hide from the world because the world has different ideas for beauty. I had held myself from cursing her for not seeing her the way I saw her. But again I guess no one did. And till this moment, there wasn’t a day where I did not admire her beauty.
    My gaze was interrupted by a flush of embarrassment as I realized she’d caught me staring at her. Her eyes sparkled as they met mine and her lips broke into a smile. A smile so enchanting I can swear my heart skipped a beat. Her freckles added an innocence to her smile, even after 13 years.
    My legs felt weak, not strong enough to bare the weight of my throbbing heart. My mind curled itself into its shell entranced by her sheer beauty. I felt so light, as if my soul had drifted off into the sunset, overlooking the most beautiful horizon dotted with thousands
of arriving stars and the moon that led them.

When I was dragged out of my trance, I found myself smiling back at her. After my heart regained its rhythm, I reckoned that I couldn't feel my face. I couldn't get myself to look away from her.

When I was brought back to reality, nothing else mattered. Not my parents, my insecurities none of the problems I had could bring me down, as long as I had her smile in my life.