My Diary

“My Diary” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Mirashyini Baskar, SMK Convent Father Barre, Malaysia.

My Diary

“This is unfair!” Bella Adora muttered as she put her phone aside. “I’m not pretty, I’m fat, I’m not rich like my friends, and my parents couldn’t buy anything expensive for me. I’m having porridge for my daily meals. Why...?”. “I HATE MYSELF” she shouted as she threw her books to the wall.

It looked as though Halloween has come. The big full moon reminded a witch’s face to everyone. The indigo sky looked as if someone has bewitched or jinxed the sky. “It’s not Halloween yet Moony”. This was what whoever that looked at the moon said.

Bella was looking around at her room furiously which looked much like a store. She was ashamed to be born and living like this. Ugly! Poor! Bad parents! These were the words that flashed in her mind. Her friend, Katie laughed at her cheap old gown last week. She looked at the books on the floor. That was when something caught her attention. There was something on the pile of books she threw. She didn’t want to bother about it for an instance. But, her curiosity which was beyond her anger made her to have a closer look. A diary! “What is this...?” she wondered. Then, she remembered about picking it from a pile of old books at her school. The cover read “My Dreams”. She picked and opened it. Immediately, she sat at her table and scribbled her wishes in it. Out of the blue, she fell asleep. She woke up a few moments later.

Everything was normal but wait! It was no more her own bedroom! It looked like a princess’s room. Bella wondered what was happening. Then, there was a sudden knock on the door. “Hello, mistress” wished a woman as she opened the door. “Madam Lily Adora called you.” Madam Lily? Her poor mother? There was something funny with this. Bella followed the woman downstairs. It was no more her house. It looked something like a royal palace. She saw her mother at the living room which was full of crystal furniture. Bella wasn’t able to close her surprised mouth at any part. She was holding a gown and showed Bella. “Ah. I think this could fit you”. There were many other dresses on the cushion too. The one that Mrs Adora was holding was gold in color. Bella tried to act casually. “Hmm....mama, I prefer the pink one”. Bella pointed at one of the gowns still curious about what was really happening. Mrs Adora blinked and continued “No! This one is the best. This is my choice. And, DO NOT CALL ME MAMA! Call me madam. You Understand?” she snapped and walked away. Something was really very strange.

Disappointed, Bella walked to her room. She searched for her phone, but it was missing. There was an iPhone 7 instead of her Nokia. She picked it happily and started to use it. She faced some troubles in using it because she wasn’t used to it. Anyway, it was very boring to be there.

Bella noticed a mirror was placed at the corner of her room. She walked towards it and looked at herself without thinking. She was dumbstruck with what she saw. She was extremely gorgeous! Exited she decided to spend her happiness by getting some fresh air. But, her parents have never let her to do so. This is really too much. “They are over controlling me. Uneducated poor gits”. She went down and saw her parents at the living room. She opened the front door. Surprisingly, they didn’t care about that. She was much satisfied with this. It was no more the little village she lived. It was a busy city instead. No more birds chirping, no more green scenery. Bella was disappointed a little. She hated the noise of the transports but she decided to go out and wonder around.

“Phew! No one to stop me from going out. ”As she walked straight down the street, she met a gang of masked men. Suddenly, one of them covered Bella’s mouth while another one lifted her. KIDNAPPERS! “I think this girl is rich. This one. We can earn money from her” spoke one of them. Fortunately, Bella somehow managed to push them and ran towards her home.

Upon reaching her home, she told her parents about what had happened. “You saw me leaving. Why didn’t you stop me then? ” Bella shouted at her parents angry with herself “Who cares about where you go? You have to take care of yourself” replied Mr Adora coolly.

With tears rolling down her cheeks, she ran back to her room and shut the door. She laid on her bed and cried. Her parents were very rude and didn’t even bother about her. What was the point of being rich and pretty?

After a while, she heard many voices downstairs. She went down and found a group of reporters. “Miss Adora!” shouted one of them. “You are chosen as the most beautiful girl in this town. They came running towards her and surrounded her. She can’t even breathe. “Thank you..hmm...uh....stop...STOP! ”She can’t bear this. “Umm..tell us how are you going to maintain your beauty” asked a reporter. “I’m not gonna be beautiful anymore! LEAVE ME ALONE! ” Bella shouted as she ran to her room again and closed the door.

“I want my own life back. Please!” Nothing happened. She looked around. Everything was solid. Bella’s tongue tasted like a cardboard. She sat on her bed thinking hardly. She knew she wasn’t dreaming. She wanted to go back.

“The diary!” She muttered at last. Yes, she was right. Everything happened because of the diary. She found it on the table and opened it. She found an empty page and wrote ‘I want my self back.’

Everything around her swirled in a high celerity. Her vision blurred. Bella closed her eyes. Then she heard a voice. No, a cry. “I will do anything to save my daughter Arnold. Even sacrificing myself”. Lily Adora was whimpering as Arnold Adora was convincing her. Bella opened her eyes. She was lying on a bed. The ceiling was white. Hospital! It took a few seconds for the Adoras to notice what had happened.

“Bella! Oh my.....Bella! What happened to you? Don’t leave mama again” Lily hugged Bella. “You were in coma for months” said her father after a few seconds of shock. It explained very clearly that he understood the curious look on her face. For months??? But, she was in her dream world, as how she understood, just for one day! Strange indeed. “Yes, but how did you pay the fee?” Bella was curious about it. “We sold two kidneys, each from each of us. We had no choice to save you, Bella. You are more important to us than our lives. But, we are happy now. We didn’t expect this. The God is with us. Doctor.....! ”

“Mama!” tears spilled from Bella’s eyes. She hugged her mum tightly. She insulted her parents for being poor but they sold their kidneys to save her. She insulted herself for being ugly. But now, she wished to be herself. Life went peacefully for her after all because she accepted everything that she had and lived a satisfying life. Now, I’m very happy in my life .The great philosophy about being happy with ourselves made me to live happily. I bet you are confused with Bella’s incident and my own life. Yes, I’m Bella Adora indeed. So, please don’t ever be like me. Don’t forget to follow my advice as it will bring a great difference in your life.