The Door

"I have stepped up around fifty steps, struggled hard to reach you, fell around twenty times, and succeeded never ," I complained to that big, wooden, yellow door. Yes, I do it every single day, whenever mom is outside. She never lets me come here, on the 6th floor. That beautiful girl lives here, behind this door, I know. I think she lives here. My hands never get me reached the doorbell . I don't know why but I never knocked at that door, I will someday though. Today I have brought a big piece of chocolate cake for her, that one piece mom kept aside for me. She always does this. She knows I don't fight for foods with Sam and Meg. I saw her going on a cycle yesterday. May be she goes to school, unlike me. I have grown big, long hair. They are even longer than meg. She never looks at me, but I do. I keep looking at her, putting her cycle on the stand, tidying her hair and dress, lifting her bag from the basket, walking like a lady. I want to be grown up fast, like her. I don't know why but people do me extra favours whenever I fail doing anything, I don't like it. They don't understand. I want to do things myself, just as she does. There are some noise going on inside the room. I can hear it from here. "Happy 17th birthday, my dear," told someone. I am restless now,I want to tell her that it is my birthday too. I want to knock at the door now, but what if no one responses! what if she gets angry! I love this floor. Here lives no one in any room except this one. I love watching all other rooms locked and the darkness making the light coming from below this door beautiful. I always want to touch this light, some evenings I put my fingers inside the room through the narrow space from where the light comes through. I guess no one saw me doing this ever. "She won't come ever, and I'll keep waiting for her", told the same voice. I started contemplating who is with her inside. Should I go back to the ground floor! But I wanted to share my birthday cake with her! I wanted to talk to her. I don't have friends like Sam and Meg have, I don't like having friends in fact. Mom buys me new books every month and I love reading them sitting in the garden, but she scolded me that day for reading a book from her library. I cried that day a lot and thought of telling this to her, the 6th floor girl. I will talk to her today. Someone is singing. That same voice, oh! Beautiful it is. What is she singing?!

"Let's cross it together!

 Let's meet here, on this road.

 Let's pray for the better and greater,

 Let's make it our own abode..."

Is it her own voice?! is there no one else inside?! I need to shout now, "Why don't you open the door ever?" Silence! Suddenly it became all dark. I can't see anything now. It seems to me to be more peaceful now. Sometimes I hate her, I hate that door more. Doctor uncle says that I should not think about her all the time. I think he is right. She is not good, otherwise she would have opened the door! But she's beautiful, her friends admire her, her teachers say that she plays piano beautifully and I want to be like her! Now this darkness is suffocating. Who's shaking my right shoulder?! Mom, mom, mom.....

"Alice! Alice! wake up my child, I'm here, with you," mom's voice came from somewhere. "She didn't open the door, mom," I cried. "Come on, get up and freshen up dear, we will go to buy new books," she said. Mom did not say anything about the door, even today. I don't know why doesn't she answer me anything whenever I ask her about that door. We went to the doctor uncle's place after shopping so many books. They talked on something about me. Perhaps, he was talking about restarting my schooling. It felt so good hearing that and I got afraid at the same time. I always find that door at every place I go regularly and mom doesn't like this for some reason. Last time, mom asked doctor uncle if we should change our apartment and my school or not but he said that mom should take more care of me and nothing else. They don't know that I overheard them. I really don't know what is the problem if I want to meet that 6th floor girl or my school's 10th standard girl and make them my friends. Whenever I tell mom about this she gets scared of this. Even Frida got scared when I told her that I will take her to the 6th floor one day and asked her about helping me to reach the doorbell. She is my classmate, or was. No one of my classmates ever understands me, that's why I don't like to get friendly with them. Mom usually read me some stories and always point out the moral of the story at the end, I enjoy her depiction. That very night mom finished The Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. It seemed to me a story of a child who gets rewarded for not becoming greedy. Mom told me that this story teaches us another thing and that is, we will always get Wonka's in our life, it is our strength of mind that helps us getting rid of them."You are strong enough, right?" She said. I don't know why she told that to me but it felt good. She believes in me, she thinks I can do things myself. Mom loves me, even though I'm not like that 6th floor girl! Nowadays I skip going to that floor sometimes. I spend time looking at me in the mirror and admiring me. These days I feel better indeed. Today I went to the park with mom and came across Frida unexpectedly. "Hey, Frida, I miss you," I said to her. She replied and we chatted a lot. It was going very pleasant, but Frida told me something that left me trembled. I am shivering with fear in mom's lap and she is trying to keep me warm. "I'm here with you, love," she assured. I asked her with shaken voice, "Mom, why didn't you tell me that there's no 6th floor here?"