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COVER STORY

By Zarmeen Khalid
10 February, 2017

The cords of gloom struck hard. It was a winter night - cold and brutal.

Do we know where our love is?

The cords of gloom struck hard. It was a winter night - cold and brutal. Darkness mushroomed over her tiny lodge as if some wicked fairy had spread her wings over the weary walls, cocooning the little place, suffocating her. Agitated by her surroundings, Elsa rushed outside to escape the existing murkiness. She ran aimlessly. She ran until her lungs burned and she began wheezing. She stopped and looked around her; it was the central square. She stopped by an abandoned bench; her legs were numb with pain.

The market place was illuminated with bright lights that night. It had started drizzling by that time and she watched people make their way to cafes and bars to be out of the cold.

“Do I know where my love is? Is it here? Will I find it today?” Her questions were barely audible, a mere whisper.

Raised as an orphan, Elsa was always thinking about her destiny. Life had never been kind to her. In her view, it held secrets for her which she failed to understand. She mourned the god of love who had not given her the due share; cursed the goddess of fortune for creating her alone in an unforgiving world; complained the goddess of destiny for her purposeless life.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a child next to her. Their eyes met. The little boy was selling balloons. He said nothing and yet something struck her. She had no one to buy it for, was short of money herself, but she immediately drew some pennies and bought a balloon and watched him scurry forward. Elsa stared in his direction long after he had even disappeared. She could not help but relive the moment; that glance! He had been so hopeful - despite his circumstances.

She tied the balloon to the side of the bench and wondered whether the child knew where his love was? Was it in selling balloons for the rest of his life carrying the burden of wishes, hoping they would be fulfilled one day?

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God of love smiled from heavens. So did goddess of fortune and goddess of destiny. It was the moment they had been waiting for.

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It was the moment she had been waiting for so long. It did not require much thought to guess what love actually was. It was the hope she saw in the child’s eyes. It was all the lights around her which symbolized thousands of hearts walking by. Elsa started to see love everywhere now. She could identify the thousand reasons to live that the goddess of destiny had written for her. She knew where her love was. It was all around her yearning for an appreciation and pleading for an approval. It was in the beautiful creation of God which had always been looking up to her, begging for a little heed.

The cords struck again. She gazed in space to trace the melody. Smiled and found it.