Little Lamp

[LordDarknus]

“Little Lamp”


I don't know why I want to see her, my indecision has me going round in circles beside my bed, straining my nerves as I ponder deep in thought, keeping my arms crossed while idly cupping my chin, insistent on coming up with these reasons why I should just go to bed.

I nag myself down with excuses, fighting against this feeling in my heart, stubbornly muttering in my mind, “she's not interested in me”, “I'm not her type”, “oh come on, she'd never even look at me”, “I'll probably ruin things somehow”, “I'm a dick.”

I keep journeying around and around these circles in my head, refusing to let my desires take control, keeping them under lock and key, chained tight and fastened down by loops in logic, just following my train of thoughts on their endless, self-justifying tracks, that only brings me back to the beginning, again and again, crashing into the fact that.. I like her. – I really like her.

Everything in the world comes to a stop, and I feel something bright begin to flicker warmly in my heart. – My stiff arms fall feather-like to my sides, the weight over my shoulders disappears, I lift my head up with ease... and feel as free as the air I breathe.



The night looks cool and clear, with about.. fourteen stars glinting in the distance, held high and mysterious over the grey-white dusky horizon, as I quietly make my way to the girl's dormitories, I'm greatly surprised when I find her sitting there, alone on the stone bench in the courtyard, holding a little chocolate bar in her hands, speechlessly looking back at me with her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

“Err.. errm.. err. – Hi.” I stammer.

She blinks once in response.

“I was just looking for you, Molly. – Err, I didn't think that you'd be out here alone.”

She blinks twice, then tries to be nice; she slowly holds up her chocolate bar, and wholeheartedly offers it to me, wordlessly.

“Ah.. err.... – Thanks.” I gently accept it with a whisper.

She eases herself to one side of the bench, gently dragging a little clay lamp closer to her, then pats on the other side of the bench, while looking at me with ever expectant eyes.

I smile at her inviting gesture, and gladly take my seat beside her, giving her a warm gaze to softly thank her.


“Thanks for having me, Molly.” I smile and say to her.

“Are you lonely too, Maeda Takashi-san?” She.. wistfully asks me.

“Ah? Err... I..... not in particular.” Almost blushing, I answer her and avoid confessing my affections.

She smiles, catching my eyes in hers, and gently reassures me.


I look away from her suddenly, feeling my heart race and the rising rush of blood going to my head, making ever louder that constant ringing in my hearing.

I shake my head slightly in subdued frustration, trying in vain to get rid of this high-pitched screeching. Of course, she notices my irritations, and blinks with worry in her eyes.

With a bit of a forced laugh, I quickly apologise while nervously scratching the back of my head, waving my other hand and explaining about the sharpness in my ears, asking her not to mind me too much.

But she's worried anyway... I try to move her focus away from myself and.. errm, err...

“Oh hey, what's that?” I ask while gesturing to that small clay lamp beside her.

A brief look of shock widens her eyes, before a moment when they soften into.. sadness?

“I-I'm sorry, Molly. It's not.. I shouldn't be so-”

“It's my Grandmother's. My Father's Mother.” She softly whispers, smiling fondly at the lamp, gently cradling and lifting it with her memories... kindly sharing them with me.

She tells me how every October or November she remembers, up until three years ago, there were lights and festivals, friends and neighbours to share in the celebration, family and relatives to be with.

There were lots of sweets, some were even spicy, but they were all colourful and tasty, and when the uncles were busy singing songs and the aunties busy making rangolis, she and the other children would try to steal another jar from the cabinet, only to accidentally drop it on the floor.

They ran and hid under the bed, huddling and hushing each other. But Grandmother still caught and punished them, making them offer to help the neighbours repair their fishing nets and clean all their boats.

She remembers those deep windy blues and bright cloudy yellows of the horizon, those long sunsets over the beach, where she lived so close by, her whole world just beside the living colours of the rich open sea.

Her mother used to home-school her, teaching her Japanese and advanced mathematics, challenging her to keep doing better, to one day get accepted into a highly-regarded school, even if it meant leaving the world she knew behind her.

She never liked that, and despite earning acceptance into a few prestigious schools overseas, she never wanted to go. – She didn't want to miss the nights when her house would be lit by little clay lamps, she wanted to stay with her Mother and Father, and listen to Grandmother tell all her stories, while she falls asleep watching every tiny flame sway quietly to the ocean breeze.

But things always change, and people have to move on. – One day, while practising intricate henna art on the clay lamp Grandmother gave her for Christmas, there was...

There was a wind. A strong, swirling, sweeping wind.

She looked to the horizon, and said nothing as the water came.

Her house was swept away under her feet, everyone she loved was lost in a moment.


The only thing she has left of her world was..

“..is this.” She says, holding up the clay lamp in her hand, weathered and beaten, ...but still unbroken.

“I don't like being alone... but as long as I have this little lamp... and someone beside me.. to share Deepavali with..”

“...I don't feel so alone anymore.”

[AntonSlavik020]

That was a sweet little story. Kinda weird that it was a one-shot from the perspective of an original character, though. Kinda makes me wonder why you decided to go that direction instead of just using Hisao.

[Kyler Thatch]

I, for one, like that it's someone else in the limelight instead of Hisao. Nothing against Hisao, but having a different character feature in a story is a nice change of pace.

One thing I will say, however, is that the story could have been much livelier with more dialogue. As it is, you avoided having Molly speak by having Takashi describe what she tells him in his narration. It would have been a great opportunity to find out not only the events that happened, but her feelings on the subject revealed through the way she tells the story. Instead, what we have is pretty dry description in comparison to what it could have been.

[Lianam]

Kinda weird that it was a one-shot from the perspective of an original character, though.

Ahem.

[AntonSlavik020]

Kinda weird that it was a one-shot from the perspective of an original character, though.

Ahem.

Oh, OK. Never mind then. I actually know why Takashi is, so I should have recognized him.

[Feurox]

3 words:
I love it <3