The Pink Feather

• Nandika Rakesh, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2022

The day begins with nothing to look forward to and things only get worse. The world is dull and the people seem like machines, doing the same thing every day, as if they were put on repeat. Darkness is a veil, concealing the sun from your eyes. And under the darkness you weep, wishing your voice would be heard. Everyone else acts like this is how it’s meant to be. You try to warn them but they ignore you without any reason.

The world is in shades of grey. The hate inside you is growing stronger each day like a hurricane being built inside you. You feel your heart searching for something great that’s just out of your reach. Your world is swept by a wave of grief. Storms of misery were on its way. But when it comes, you see it. A tiny pink feather. Your hand reaches out but it vanishes into the mist. You let the storm sweep you away.

You are in the maze of loneliness having no idea what you’re supposed to do. You peer into your soul. A small pink feather sits inside your heart, covered in black. Everybody thinks you are like them, but you see something different. A small fraction of hope is hiding inside you, camouflaged in dark colours. The pink feather then fades back into the depths of your soul. You hope it appears again. You stay still and wait but nothing happens. You wait some more.

Then all your troubles come at once. The storm appears again and the darkness creeps in. It pushes you away but you push back. Tired of being scared and rejected your whole life, you go deeper into the core. Then you finally reach it, the heart of the
storm, where wonderful things are passing you by. How has this beauty been kept hidden from you all your life? But terrible fates are inevitable and no good thing lasts forever.

Loneliness tries to deceive you, make you think that you are alone and no one hears you. No one else cares so why should you? No! There is hope and determination inside you and you won’t let it go to waste. A window opens above you and pierces the storm. The darkness was broken by the light. Some fates are unavoidable but with courage, we can change it. Suddenly something emerges in front of you. There it was. The pink feather you were after. You grab it but it dissolves and so do you.

The day seems to end the way it began. Loneliness and gloom starts to crawl back. Was this all for nothing? Did it really happen? No! Something different was in the air, like a new sensation. You step outside to be greeted with a breathtaking sight. The world was full of colour, a rainbow all around you. Birds chirped happily while beautiful blossoms bloomed. And there it is, bright and vivid, quietly waiting, just as you imagined it would be.