Tea. A Lingering aftertaste.

The cup’s warmth seeping from your fingers to your cold bones. 

The ice around your heart starts to thaw a little, a bubbling laughter threatens to spill, but stops right on the cusp of it. 

A hundred scattered thoughts from different directions. 

Should you let go of your cynicism and embrace the blossoming hope? 

After all, hope leads to expectations and expectations to pain. 

The last time you allowed yourself to believe it, to say it was painful would be an understatement. 

It felt like fire ran through your veins, every tear acting like a fuel. It charred your insides. 

You still have those marks inside you. 

Almost broke down, did you not?

Wandered around as a shell of a person for days, silently shouting, hoping, to let go of your hope. 

But you came back, stronger than ever . 

Resurrected yourself with already broken pieces and sealed it. 

Sealed it with what though? 

Love? No. 

Promises. To self. 

All those songs of faith that you sing for people, to people, you will sing for yourself. All those hugs, words of forgiveness and comfort, you will whisper to your aching soul because you need yourself more than others do. 

Whisper it till your heart doesn’t need walls to protect itself. 

Whisper till your brain doesn’t send warning bells to run everytime you strongly feel something. And if whispering doesn’t work, shout. 

Shout to let it all out. Your agony, your fear of falling. Of failing. 

Let these thoughts run through your head once more and smile. Wide. 

Because when you do, it makes you look brighter than sunshine itself. It makes angels weep for their fallen angel, for you. The moon takes its light from you, shining brighter than ever. The birds seem to be singing lullabies for you.
 
Your voice sounds like the gentle wind-chime and everything inside you feels as calm as a sea. Now you know you have both. Chaos and calm. 

Vibhuti Negotiya

A literature major from Delhi University, a bookworm, a bathroom singer and a wannabe writer, Vibhuti relates to this quote the most: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one.” She’d rather be a blahcksheep on her own terms, not because she’s wrong, but because she’s different. Everyone is. She thinks it’s about time we started accepting and celebrating it and not give in to the herd (pun intended) mentality.