One fine morning, as I opened the window of my room, I caught sight of fog all over my complex. A cold breeze was blowing outside. The leaves of trees were scattered under a tree. Mist covered multistorey buildings. Every day, I used to see a woman selling flowers from my window. Today, all I could see was a vague color of a printed yellow color saree. But, I could not see the woman’s face properly due to extreme fog. The chills of air touched my skin, making me realize that after a long wait, winter has knocked on our earth’s door that year. Winter has always been my favorite season since my childhood days. Standing near the window, I was recalling those sweet memories when my mother used to yell at me for not wearing pullovers and sweaters. How I miss those days so much!
As hours passed by, I started getting ready for my morning jog. As I opened my wardrobe to pick my jogging outfit, my eyes fall on the mirror which was attached to one side of the wardrobe. I noticed grey hair which was as white as the color of milk and was shining like silver in the sunrays. The white color amidst my black hair made me upset for the time being. “Am I growing old? It was the only question that was revolving around my mind all day. I noticed not just one but many grey hairs that were telling me that the time has arrived to bid adieu to the golden days of your youth. I came close to the mirror to see how old was I looking.
To my dismay, my eyes again caught sight of the fine lines close to my cheeks. I did not pay attention to the fine lines, as I was only seeing the white hair which was making me worried. In order to brush off those depressing thoughts, I occupied my mind with work. All-day, I kept myself busy with various household tasks. Still, my mind was flying back in the morning scene which made me realize my aged look.
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“Was I really getting old or was it my illusion”? In order to stop me from thinking the same disheartening images, I shifted my mind to the television shows. The colder months which I used to enjoy in previous years showed me a bitter truth of life. Just as leaves shed from trees, my youth started fading away. The cold breeze was piercing my skin, refraining me from enjoying the colder months. In the commercial breaks, I happened to see an advertisement for a hair color product.
The advertisement claimed that the users will be able to get their black hair back after using the product. “Why don’t you use this product? “, asked my mind to me. I grabbed my sweater and made up my mind to walk to the nearby cosmetic store to buy the hair color product. I used to see the commercial advertisement of hair color products many times, but I never felt the urge to use the product. I wore the sweater which was lying on a table and I latched the door from outside.
As night was drawing close, the temperature started dipping and the cold air darted through my sweater, piercing my skin again. Owing to cold weather, my feet refused to move fast. As I was close to the cosmetic store, I halted for a while to think again about my action which was about to take up. “Should I use the hair color or not?” “Was the hair color worth buying?” For a moment, I was at sea. Then, a woman passed by me flaunting her black silky hair which helped me stick to my decision. After battling with my mind, I purchased a pack of hair color from a store. Since morning, my mind was disturbed by the sight of gray hair. The product in my hand gave me a permanent solution to getting rid of my white strands of hair. Some mornings change your thoughts and perceptions.
The next morning, when I opened the window again, the outside view was a bit clearer than the previous day. On one side, I caught a glimpse of leaves that were falling off a tree. On the other side, I saw news buds of flowers in my small garden. Along with the colorful flower buds, I saw fresh green leaves were growing in the flower pots. The sight of green leaves and blooming flowers started budding positive thoughts in my mind. The trees shed their old leaves and new leaves and flowers start growing and blooming again which is a part of nature. The same holds true for me.
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Why should I use a fake color on my hair when the white color is the symbol of naturalness. When you are at the peak of youth, you look beautiful. As you age, the fine lines start appearing on the surface of the skin, and the color of your hair changes naturally. When we can appreciate white skin, then why cannot we appreciate white hair? I dumped the pack of hair color in a trash can. Just as mother nature embraced the fall of leaves in winter, in the same way, I embraced the natural color of white on my hair.
About Aparna Mukherjee –
In a few words, Aparna defines a woman who beholds high aspirations and firmly believes in expanding her horizon. She holds a Master degree in English from Mumbai University. By profession, she is an online Senior Content Writer and Blogger who writes informative articles for various Indian, UK and US blogs and websites. Her poems got published in the digital Reflection Magazine and in the Indian literature website. She is a budding author too. Her first story on romantic theme got published in a book named “Memoirs Of Love”. Her second story in another anthology will be publishing soon. As a person, she is open-minded, down-to-earth and amiable in nature. Her world revolves around creativity. She wishes to make her mark in the literary world, hoping to leave an indelible imprint on her readers’ minds.
