A short story by Rashika Gupta

Maira was lying in the hospital down with meningitis fever fighting for her life. At one point, the doctors had given up all hope on her. It was as if she had lost all hope in life and was not willing to live anymore as her body was not responding to any medications or treatments. She was the kind of person who had always lived for the happiness of others and never really cared about or paid attention to her own. She was living her life in constant fear of disappointing others. Suddenly her dad said to her sobbing `Maira, you can do it, you can’t go like this, you have to make it. I promise I will let you live your life the way you want to, please forgive me beta, I am so sorry bacha for not giving you the time and attention you always longed for. I was busy expressing my love by buying you all those materialistic things. I should have given you more time instead. Now I realize that life is very unpredictable. We should spend money on experiences instead. I always forced my dream on you. If you don’t want to be an engineer, Don’t be, you don’t have to be. You can pursue what you love. Give me another chance, give your life another chance’ At that moment, she opened her eyes and said,'' It’s okay daddy, I forgive you. Today is the first day of the rest of my life’

Soon after this, when she recovered from her illness. She started working on herself to become a successful singer. She joined the best music academy in her city to hone her skills and eventually participated in many talent shows. She sang for open mics in her college and for many small gatherings too. She was looking for that one chance that could change her life forever, She participated in India’s got talent but couldn’t make it to the finals, she didn’t give up as she always believed that through efforts and perseverance, dreams do come true. After some time she participated in the Indian idol but didn’t make it far in the competition this time too. She was eventually disheartened but she always remembered what her mother used to say `Make yourself so capable that people are willing to pay for your skills’ she decided to wait for some time, polish her skills more and then start participating again . 2 years later, She got the courage to participate in “Rising star ‘ and she won the show. Now, Maira is the highest paid Bollywood playback singer among her peers .contributing to society by being the best version of herself. She has also started her own foundation `Do what you love’ through which she is trying to inspire others through her story and encourage them to pursue their dreams.