Page 154 - Musings 2021

the golden inscriptions. I opened it to find that it belonged to a 5-year-old girl named Chell
Deodar. I turned the fragile and delicate pages. They were damp and spotted. The corners of
it had been curled up. I sniffed and it gave off a musty odour.

1-1-83

A happy New Year and Happy birthday to me!! Today I turned five and granpa gifted me this
beautiful diary so that I could keep track of my daily activities. Granpa warned me that this
was not for ‘I woke up in the morning, brushed my teeth, combed my hair and played
outside’ kind of stuff. He advised me to be more creative. So here I am,

A yellow wildflower

Marvellous and maverick

Stays firm even in storms.

2-1-83

Hey diary,

Can I call you Anne? Wanna know why? Today Mr Gabriel (Gaby), our new teacher, told us
the inspiring story of Anne Frank and her diary named Kitty. He instructed us to make
diary-writing our daily habit. I proudly told him I’d already started. So from now on, you are
my Anne and I’m your Chell. Let’s be diary buddies. Yay!

3-1-83

Dear Anne,

I’m cross at granpa because he didn’t let me ride in the ropeway just because he was scared. I
threw a tantrum and tried cajoling but without success. He was adamant that he told me to
stop blubbering like a two-year-old. See, that’s what happens when you have a doting granpa.

4-1-83

Anne dear,

I’m a bit under the weather today. Danny is a real bully. He crossed the limits today because
he told me that my parents are dead and they’re never going to come back. This enraged me
and I bit him on the cheek. I was getting really uncomfortable listening to him going on and
on, you know.

Little Chell longs to see you, mama and papa. I need you more than anything in the world.
Come back!

5-1-83

Anne,

Awesome day today. Spent some quality time with granpa.

154