All Roads Lead Home - 2

The lady who had been sitting next to me all this while, smiled at me as I entered the bus. For all I knew, she was my birth mother. I mean, how was I supposed to find her? I stared at the hastily jotted down address which the Matron of my Orphanage had given me. AS a rule, she wasn’t supposed to reveal the names or addresses of the birth parents but I could be very persuasive when I wanted to be. I had offered to donate an obscenely large amount of money to the Orphanage for the address.

As I had walked into the Orphanage, from where I had been adopted, the Matron had approached me. She mistook me for someone wanting to adopt and came forward with a beaming smile. Her smile expanded as I told her who I was. She remembered my adoptive parents and thought she remembered me as a baby.

 She introduced me all the nurses who gushed over how I hadn’t changed a bit and even though I knew they were lying, it felt surprisingly good to have them fuss over me. It was as if I had come home after a long time.

As I explained to the Matron my need to find my birth parents, her smile vanished. “Let bygones by bygones Ira” She tried to talk me out of it, but I remained firm. “I have to,” I told her, “Please, won’t you help me? I’ll try helping out the Orphanage from time to time” I had offered.

Finally, after hours of persuasion, the Matron searched through some some old files and noted down the address for me. Hesitantly, she accepted the cheque from me. As I walked out, wondering how I was going to go on this quest of mine without anyone any money, the Matron came running behind me. She thrust something in my hand. It was my cheque. “Give when your heart wants you to, not for that.” She indicated towards the note, which I held tightly in my fist.

I had left then, promising to return when I was financially more stable.

“Travelling alone?” The elderly lady asked me politely. I could tell she was bored and I was in no mood to entertain small talk. I nodded non committedly  and put on my head phones. The lady, didn’t get the point. She kept tapping me, forcing me to take off the head phones, each time, to answer her queries. Finally, frustrated, I took off the headphones and pulled out a map. I wasn’t familiar with the area and had bought a map. The place where my parents stayed was off the road. Once in the city, I would have to find my way on my own. I ran a finger on the map, trying to trace the path that I was to take.

“Where are you going?” The lady peered at the map spread out on my lap.

“Just, tourist places.” I answered politely. I wasn’t going to share why I was here, with a complete stranger.

“Here?” She pointed at where my finger was on the map. I nodded.

She clapped her hands in excitement. “I stay there! you must come with me!”

How could I refuse a free ride? Fifteen  minutes later I was telling her my entire story.

All Roads Lead Home - 1

The journey was a long one, and I was glad for the chance to step out of the bus and stretch my legs.The view was spectacular and I felt rejuvenated, with the fresh, crisp mountain breeze gliding softly over my skin.. I was all alone, in a new place, with no idea how to being my quest but strangely I felt at peace. Some greater force was guiding me. I felt as though I was on the right path, even though I didn’t know where the path would lead me.

All the materialistic things I owned were now in the small bag pack I carried. I had packed up my life in the city abruptly and taken this voyage.

All to find my birth parents.

As its turns out, I was adopted when I was too small to even understand what it meant. My adoptive parents, never let me know I was adopted. I didn’t have any reason to even doubt my true lineage. But the day they told me, my belief in everything they had ever said just evaporated. After a day of trying not to react to the news, I quit my job and  made my escape. To maintain a normal façade and go on with life as though nothing had changed would have been almost impossible for me.

Even the one day that I stayed, questions hounded me.

Did they really love me? Or was it some charity love that I had been surviving on for the past years? I wouldn’t deny that I was given a comfortable place to stay, good education and even love from time to time, but once the truth came out, I began doubting the authenticity of that love. I had started remembering all those little things that they had done for their real daughter, whom I loved with every fiber in my body, but not for me.

I had called my family, from the airport, telling them of my decision. They had been shocked but supportive. They wanted me to discover my roots, if that’s what was going to make me happy, they said. I had hung up, not knowing how to react to that. Why had they kept it a secret for so long? Was there anything  more to it?

I had come here, into the mountains up north because that was the last address of my birth parents that the orphanage could provide me with. From here on, it was anybody’s guess. I couldn’t even be sure whether they were alive or dead. But, in order to try and get rid of the bitterness that had creeped inside me, I had to try.

Maybe somewhere deep inside I felt that I should try and start a life here, where my real parents were. Maybe, they had to give up on me because they couldn’t provide me with a good home and they wanted the best for me. As I a daughter, I felt, it was my duty to look up on them. What if they still needed some help to get by? Maybe they had regretted the decision to leave me and had tried to get me back, it was possible right?

I became aware of the conductor, waving his bright red handkerchief trying to catch my attention. It was time to continue the journey.

All Roads Lead Home - Introduction

I almost published something else, but while proofreading it, I realised it was a little too close to the truth. So I changed the entire theme completely and now I've to build around it.
Should be fun :)
Hope you enjoy reading.  

As Good As It Gets - Feedback

Hey.. Okay, I'll admit it, that was fun to write! And I can't believe some guys were following it too :D
Almost everybody seemed to like this one. :) (Yay!!)


I haven't decided what to write next. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment and I'll try to come up with something around that.
Till then, you can admire my new guitar :)


New story starts Wednesday.