Flawed Masterpiece
"You do know that you look grotesque, don't you?! Why do you insist on wearing sleeveless outfits?"
An acidic voice cut through my high spirits.
I turned my head sharply at these unkind words. Mother can be so bitter at times that she doesn't realize what she's uttering…
"Mom, today is my Valedictorian day. I have to show up in my best dress. I'm getting an award for the 'Outstanding Student of the Year'."
Mother screwed up her nose at me and continued spewing her venom, "If you have even the slightest hope that Rohit will choose you, you can crush your dreams in the bud!"
Where did that come from!
She stormed out of the room leaving behind a pall of misery in her wake. The most beautiful day of my life stood splintered.
Diagnosed with a condition called *Neurofibromatosis, the echoes of barbs never faded. Even if they did, new ones exploded like firecrackers and bombshells.
Mina, my sister who is two years younger than me, had grown audacious from the time she had sensed what mother was talking about.
When I was 8, I had received an icy verbal slap from her when she had refused to have anything to do with me!
"Go away! You don't belong to our family! How different and ugly you look...like a toad."
I was shell-shocked!
Mina, my baby sister who I had adored and worshipped for her cherubic looks and angelic hair, the little girl who was in sharp contrast to my unsightly looks could talk so bitterly?!
I had looked at my parents for some comfort or for them to admonish Mina, but to my utter disappointment, mother had smirked audibly.
"Mummy says we pitied you and took you in when the rainwater washed you in from the gutter! Your own parents didn't want you and threw you away…" Mina had rattled on.
Father had looked away awkwardly.
My disgust was a waterfall of mud splatter on fresh paint.
What good is a father if he can't stand up for his daughter?! But wait! Is he really my father? I'm glad if he's not...what a spineless man!
Father had slunk out immediately on a flimsy excuse even before I could put a brake on my racing thoughts.
***
I've had a variety of people who have befriended me despite my looks. I had once curiously asked them why they chose to hang out with me.
Replies came in a chorus, "What? We can't see anything on your skin…! What're you talking about?! We all love you and the joy that you bring us..."
Miracles had started appearing in my life when I came across Louise Hay's self-love affirmations. I stood in front of the mirror every morning and told myself:
"You're beautiful!
I LOVE YOU!"
I had started loving myself and it showed!
The love, hugs and acceptance came from unexpected quarters.
P.S: After the Valedictorian day, Rohit proposed marriage to me!
I love myself!
***
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Neurofibromatosis type 1 is a condition characterized by changes in skin coloring (pigmentation) and Neurofibroma is a tumor that grows along a nerve in any part of the body. Usually, they look like little rubber balls under the skin, or they may protrude from the skin.
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