Breaking through the Darkness

Entry for:
A picture is worth a 1000 words contest

A Picture Is Worth A 1000 Words Contest  (ASR) Write a story in 1000 words or less to a given picture prompt. [Hiatus!] #1101926 by iKïyå§ama

Round 53

Two little girls jostled their way through the thick dark forest. The view ahead was quite scary, yet inviting. Wherever their eyes could travel, only bald branches were visible, and the only sound which tried to break the suffocating silence was the cracking of dry leaves under their feet.



“Come girls break through this darkness,” A strong, echoing voice called out to them.
Ding- dong! The clock struck eight. Usha blinked. Her soft bed seemed most comfortable in the morning, when it was time for school. Her twin sister was still asleep.
“Sis get up, or we’ll be late.” Usha shouted at the top of her voice.
“Um… Late for what?” Shoshi asked sleepily, with one eye still closed.
“School. We have an algebra test today, remember?” Irritation showered from Usha’s voice.



The word “test” added fuel to Shoshi’s energy. She jumped up immediately.
About half an hour later, both the girls were seated comfortably in their white Toyota car. The car was a gift from their parents on their eighteenth birthday.


“You know Shoshi; I had a very strange dream today.” Usha said, her slender fair hands firmly placed on the steering wheel. “I dreamt of two little girls, their faces exactly like ours when we were in the first grade…”
“The voice…the darkness…” Shoshi murmured, toying with a strand of her straight black hair. Both the sisters had the same dream.



The algebra question was a tricky one. A simple mistake was enough to lower precious grades. The twins worked very carefully. A good grade in algebra meant less pressure on other subjects.


The next day, there was pin-drop silence in the whole classroom as the algebra teacher entered. He had serious anger painted on his face.
“None of you know even the “a” of algebra. Only the twins managed to score well,” he hissed.

All the students glared at the twins. The sisters were smiling ear-to-ear.

That night, the sisters had a similar dream like the previous one:
Two little golden-haired girls walked through a dense forest hand in hand. Dry leaves cracked under their booted feet. There were some white, soft things on the path that looked like breadcrumbs. Each white crumb glowed as the little girls jumped over them.


“You are almost there, girls. Come, the world awaits you,” a strong voice kept calling the two girls.
The next morning, Usha and Shoshi discussed about the dream again:
“We did not have golden hair when we were kids,” Shoshi said, between sips of tea.
“We are in our late teens, so why do we see our childhood faces?” Usha asked, gnawing on a carrot.
“We have a concert to attend, so let’s analyze this later.” Shoshi looked impatiently at her watch.



The twins always had a soft corner for music. Since childhood, they had attended music courses regularly. Shoshi excelled in guitar, while Usha rode on the piano.
The merry sound of applause filled the atmosphere as the twins concluded their performance.
“Wish we could play like them,” many teenagers whispered.



Many parents had accompanied their children to the concert that day. When the twins noticed many mothers and fathers in the audience, a deep sigh of sorrow escaped their lungs.
Usha and Shoshi’s parents gave them everything money could buy. Car, computer, expensive outfits…the list goes on and on. But the sisters always had a silent craving for something- LOVE. Their parents were too busy to think about their feelings.



That night, when the tired sisters dropped down in bed, they heard that same strong voice in their dreams:



“Girls, there are many things that others envy about you. The crumbs symbolize your strengths. When you touch them, they glow. There are also things which you want, but you hardly get them. Sometimes you become so desperate to fulfill your desires that you act like children.
Both of you always wanted to dye your hair golden, but your parents never allowed you. You can break through the darkness when you stop brooding over your shortcomings. Accept your lives, and improve yourselves within your constraints. Remember your names- Usha and Shoshi (the sun and the moon).


The sisters never had that dream again. They had done what the voice had told them to do. Soon, the word “grief” vanished from their dictionary.


Total:720 words