Shut Eye

A little girl is lying on her bed, resting on her tummy. The pillow is neatly tucked in between her elbows and chin. There is a colouring book in front and a box of crayons at the side. There is also this tired droopiness in her eyes.

Her father is at home today. He is watching tv in the hall. When he gets up for a drink of water, he decides to check on his little girl. She lies fast asleep on the bed - the crayon lying forgotten nearby. He goes back to the tv show. Some time later, out of the corner of his eye, he notices that the kid is walking through the passage to the bedroom.

Suddenly, he hears wails and sobs. The child is red-eyed, half - awake, disoriented and lost. She is bawling her heart out and only wants her mummy. The poor father is confounded. You can't produce a working mother at a moments notice and the child refuses to even hear his consoling pleas.

That was me - 12 years ago.

I saw a little girl doing the same thing on the train today. Brought back memories, it did.

I feel like that sometimes. You've just arisen from this comatose existence you've been living for a while and you feel lost. You want your mommy. You want to cling to her and cry. And then not stop crying. Not because you had a bad dream but because you don't remember where you are or what you are doing there.

For the record: I was never "little" =P