A journey towards Independent

Hope

Jasmine Lee stood by the doorway of her bedroom which was filled with cardboard boxes that were as symbolic of the past and the future of the family. Every box was a story of a life with framed photographs, favorite books and other mementos kept in every box. She had decided to leave her past behind and start over her story in Windhaven a beautiful coastal town nestled between hills and sea where she had found delight of her childhood. This was a location that symbolised the freedom of the morning mists which gracefully turned like the spirits of the night to signify that every new day was a chance for a new start. This has been several years since her family had been here but as she thought about it the memories warmed her up from the inside even with the cold feeling of the approaching clouds.

One more look at the room where she had sought refuge; hesitated for a moment; and desire to turn back. But Windhaven’s promise was so much bigger than any of them now; it was her lighthouse calling from the fog, a beaming light that showed her the way. It was as if that she was freeing herself from the cloak of a woman that had been shaped by her past sins, losses, and sorrow. Jasmine was set on the course of writing a new chapter in her life, a chapter that encouraged with hope. The second day she met a lady called Frances, she was a old woman who treated her as if she was her children. Frances said with her grey hair and a loud and cheerful laugh, "you have come to the right place for change, my dear. It is interesting but Windhaven has the unique ability of making an old wound disappear." Jasmine appreciated her kindness and humble behaviour.

After a week, Jasmine started engaging herself in the community. She went to farmers market with ringing laughter of children and conversations of old acquaintances. Every such meeting had a toll on her earlier reluctance to interact with the opposite gender. The artists painted the town with the colors of kings, musicians set the rhythm of the night at the base of the lighthouse and stories of the family and love surrounded her as the warm blanket. But often she felt the burden of loneliness in her the ticking moments and the crumbling down of her marriage haunted her. It seemed to her that memories which have seemed to be wrenched out of reach were now coming back to her at the speed of the waves crashing against the sharp cliffs below.

Jasmine struggled with these pieces of her past and often asked herself whether she can really escape them. One night she was sitting outside the lighthouse and she met a group of artists, a group that accepted her not only as a part of their group but as a part of their narratives. Hope was found in one another, humor and nods of comprehending all in the company of friends who were as wounded as they were new.

She listened to Melissa, a potter whose hands worked the clay into bowls and memories into her story. “Life is a series of pieces you know? You break, you mend but the cracks tell the story,” When Jasmine heard those words she immediately understood that everything she lost was not a burden but rather experiences the cracks that can heal her. Regaining the vision, she wanted to become a passionate artist and started drawing the coastal scenery around her. Every line that she drew on the paper was the acceptance of all that she had gone through in her journey to accepting fate.

The lighthouse the symbol of her loyal friend, seemed to tower high as the water surged beneath it and the message that had survived her own ordeals. From the townspeople, Jashmin learnt to appreciate the beauty in the cracks; the pieces of her past became stepping stones into the light where the townspeople was her newfound family. She is not the woman who had run away in a bid to start a new chapter but a compilation of joy, sorrow and accomplishments a testimony of a life reinstating its story. She was finally letting go of what was, and was ready to accept what can be. And while the tides turned and changed this one symbol left a light to lead the way into new days and uncharted stories.