The Girl in the Lotus Dress

Shanaya Sen (11 years)

The microphones were on, they picked up every sound you made. Thick heavy wires were being dragged across the vast stage. The auditorium was dark with red curtains and velvet chairs. The seats were empty, but backstage was full of gifted contestants making their way one by one to the stage for a sound check.

Kai was also waiting. Her long golden hair tied in an elegant bun. She walked up to the stage with as much confidence as she could gather. But the moment she held the mic to her lips, and the track played, no sound came out of her mouth. The track played on, but only her heavy breathing could be heard. Her mother and her music teacher rushed to the stage reassuring her that it was only a sound check.

They led her to the far end of the backstage, where paint peeled off the walls. People only came here to get to the washroom. “What’s wrong? Are you nervous?” her teacher asked. But still, no sound slipped out of her mouth. She felt silly just nodding her head. Her mother made her drink several cups of tea, as if she had suddenly got a cold after the sound check.

She choked with tears; the whole world seemed blurry. She ran to the washroom (conveniently next to them) and sunk down onto the cold floor. Tears streamed down her face. Today was the biggest day of her life, and of course she had a meltdown! Behind her, a voice asked, “Why are you crying?” It was a girl with long, black wavy hair that went up to her waist. She was in a white dress with lotus flowers printed on it. Kai said, “I seem to have lost my voice. I can’t sing at all today!”

The girl’s expression did not change. She seemed happy as ever. But then, out of a little bag, she took out a steel container that had something round in it. “Whenever that happens to me, I eat these because they make me feel better!” the girl said. She held out one of the round balls. Kai knew not to take food from strangers. But what’s the worst that could happen? She could die, but that was better than just standing on stage and staying silent! But those round things did not look appetising at all. They had a weird texture and a strange brown colour.

“What is it though?” Kai asked. “My grandma makes these with herbs, lotus extracts and ginger roots. It is sort of like, an, umm, lolly?” The girl replied.

Kai decided to risk it. She took her bite; it tasted like ginger and had a delicate essence of some sort of flower. Her eyes dried up and she set her gaze on the girl. Those lollies made her want to sing! But before Kai could thank the girl, she was gone. She must have gone back to the auditions, Kai thought.

Yes, maybe she was the worst at the sound check, but at the actual auditions, all her notes were beautiful. Her voice was delicate but strong, just like the ‘lolly’. It matched her song perfectly, and she had never sounded so good. The audience was mesmerized by her performance. Her mother claimed that it was the cups of tea that made her voice so beautiful. But deep down, Kai knew that it was the lolly that did it.

Time went by. Kai got busy with school and playdates. This one time, she was at her friend’s house. Their house smelled amazing! Her friend told her it was the fragrance from incense sticks that they lit for their gods. The friend was Indian and Kai always loved to hear about their culture and tradition. Her friend took her to a room, where there were many colourful statues and photos, decorated with flowers and candles. Her friend pointed to a black stick with a glowing head. “That’s an incense stick.”, she said.

Kai loved the fragrance and looked around the room. Soon, she spotted a photo of a girl, sitting on a lotus flower, carrying a stringed instrument. She looked exactly like the girl who gave her the ‘lolly’.

“Is that your friend? I met her at the music auditions some time back” Kai asked.

“No, silly! She is a goddess called Saraswati! She is the goddess of knowledge, music, art, and learning” her friend told her.

What! No! That couldn’t be! She must have been dreaming! The girl she met looked exactly like the goddess. They had the same hair, face and smile. No, the girl wasn’t seen sitting on a lotus when she met her…. but her white dress did have lotus prints on it!

Kai felt like she would faint. Could it be? Had she actually had an encounter with an Indian goddess?