Tara was glancing out of her window into the huge sky,she looked at the clear blue vast expanse and wondered in amazement what was there upon those clouds.She was told by Nina that the beautiful clouds appear very near in the flight.She also told her how once when Nina was coming back from her Nani's funeral in Chennai,she witnessed the sunrays kissing the clouds and the sky appeared to be bathed in the radiance of it.Tara heard the story many times and each time she heard it,her desire to see the sky from near increased.She knew she would make it one day.
Tara was a beautiful girl of 11 yrs,bubbly,charming,innocent and curious.She was the apple her parents' eye.Tara was a bright student and all her teachers agreed to a common fact that her future was very bright.She would always go out in her garden and run behind the butterflies to catch them,her heart danced in joy when she saw the parrots chirping in the mango tree or the squirrel running around .These things kept her occupied most of the time but her heart craved for the sky and since the time she heard the story of Nina,her desire knew no bounds.
Tara's father was a librarian in a private school and her mother was mostly busy doing the household chores,her grandma was quite old and sick and since last few years she had been in medication.Tara's father could not gift her with all the luxuries but Tara was a happy child.She would listen to the stories her granny narrated to her in her unstable voice and Everytime she heard them she was spellbound.Tara's father's assests were books and in the little study of theirs,she would run to flip pages and sometimes take a book or two to read.
Tara had a dream to conquer the sky.Everytime when someone asked her what would she like to be when she grows up,she would tell-'I want to reach the sky and I want to see the hues of the sky changing like Nina did'.Her little heart had a lot of dreams and her eyes sparkled them.Tara's parents knew that maybe Tara would fulfil her desires and make them proud one day.
Tara's mother walked in and before she could utter a word,Tara's little hands tried to beckon her and hold her tight.Tara was lying on that bed and the window adjacent to her bed exhibited the canvas of beautiful colours.Her mother leant forward and kissed her on her forehead trying hard to stop her tears.Tara smiled and those eyes still sparkled with dreams.Tara's father walked in too with the doctor and seeing them Tara struggled hard to sit up but she was too weak,she managed hard to ask the same question in the last 6 months-"Doctor when will I go back home?" Like everytime she was told to take her medicines on time and rest.
Tara's father's savings were exhausted and he was in debt fighting against God to save his child.Since the day she was diagnosed with lymphoma,he had gone beyond his means just to see his daughter doing well.The struggle had drained him mentally and financially but he and his wife didn't give up.Tara's mother had sold out almost all the jewelleries she had and they even had to mortgage their home.The wrinkles and dark circles clearly reflected how sleepless their nights have been while their only daughter was fighting for life.She was brought to another city for treatment and life wasn't easy for any of them.....
Tara's mother walked in and held her husband's hand and said-'Let us take a flight back home,Tara would be very happy to the sky.She has battled a lot.'.
The flight dived through clouds and the beauty of the sun kissing the sky and the ever changing hues of it was more amazing than what Tara had heard from Nina's stories.
The sunrays came in through the window pane and touched the lifeless face of Tara who lay cold and pale sleeping peacefully while the flight rushed to the Destination.....