The Daughter of the Mud

If it was a doggy dog world, she was living it. She went through the day with a dog like determination, working like a dog. It seemed there were lot of dogs to describe her life. And it didn’t help that she had a Miranda Priestly for a boss, who not only made her slog and made her life miserable , but made her work doubly hard to prove herself.

Then one day, right in the middle of a presentation, the room started to spin around, and the world became a blur. One moment the world was right side up, the next, it was on its side. All she could see blurry blobs of light, the world going by in a speedy blur. And then it was all dark.

When she opened her eyes, the world had changed, it was a very strange world. The world had gone all black and white. Everything appeared like strange lines. She was now a floating blob, and there were others just like her.

What was this place? Was she dead? Was this purgatory? Why could she not feel or smell anything? 

She tried to ask someone, but they just hurried away quickly.  She felt all alone and lonely, in this  strange place. She started to wander off trying to figure out where she was, trying to see if she could get back her taste and smell.

Suddenly there was this smell. Faint at first and then it grew stronger. It was a familiar smell but somehow she couldn’t place what it was. Like an itch, it kept nagging her.

When she finally realise what it was, something quite strange happened. The lines became shapes, the shapes became objects, which began to be filled with colour. These objects began to form pictures, which she had seen before.

In front of her was a little baby, siting on the grass, with a woman, whom she assumed was her mother. The picture seemed familiar but once she couldn’t remember where she seen it. And then it dawned on her.

The child was she. This was the house where she grew up in. Gosh, she loved living here so much, but somehow over the years had never seen it. And the garden, it was her favourite place  of the whole house. 

She then saw herself eat little of the mud. Her mother who saw it, gave a little pat on her hand, but then hugged her daughter with a big smile. She remembered how she loved the taste of the mud, and her mother used to scold her for doing so.

Then scene changed. It was still the garden, but this time she was a little older, with her grandfather. He was watering  the garden. She loved the smell of wet mud. It filled her joy and happiness. She remembered the hours she spent on her front poach enjoying the smell of the mud on a rainy day.

All of a sudden it began to the rain, and her grandfather was no longer watering the garden. She now saw her older self laughing and playing with the family dog, running round her, splashing in the puddles of mud. 

Oh what fun she had that day, slipping and sliding in the rain and muck, with her doggie in tow. She remembered how they were covered  in mud, from head to toe. She got a scolding from the maid who was sure that they were going to double her work.

The scene changed once again. She could see herself with her grandfather in his little workshop where he used to make little mud dolls and idols, which he sold in the local market. This was when he had helped her make her very own mud doll. She remembered how excited she was when he showed her how to shape the mud. She remembered asking him if this was how God made humans. He just smiled and kissed her. She remembered how she waited patiently for the dolls to dry so she could paint them. And once they were ready, she ran to show it to her mother, who was so proud of her, and put the doll in place for all to see. That day she declared that she wanted to be an artist just like her grandfather.

Once again the scene changed. This time she was returning home from church with her parents and grandparents. She remembered that day, their priest kept using the word “Son of the Soil” to introduce the preacher. So she proudly declared to her family that she was the Daughter of the Mud. Everyone laughed and blessed her.

Slowly the scene faded away. She was now on the football field with her friends. She remembered this game, it was the finals and though her team played really well they ended up loosing it. She could see herself sitting dejectedly on the field, all covered in bruises and mud. Suddenly there was a hand on her back. It was her father. She remembered hugging him tight, never wanting to let go. He just took his baby girl in his arms, rubbing the mud off her face, kissed her forehead. He carried her and swirled around, he didn’t care that he was getting mud all over him.

And then the atmosphere became somber. She saw her grandfather lying in a casket. She was surrounded by her loved ones. She then saw the pallbearers lowering him into his his final resting place. She could see herself letting go of the mud while tears streamed down her eyes. She remembered that sad feeling. She remembered her grandfather used to say that “We are made from mud and to the mud we shall return”. He was returning back to his home.

As the scene slowly faded, she wondered what happened to her? In a pursuit of success she lost touch of so many things, her childhood home, her family, her health. She had called herself the Daughter of the Mud, how did she loose her connection to it? She had so many sweet memories with it, so many of those memories were connected with the people she loved so dearly. How did she get so lost in the concrete jungle that she lost touch even with the smell of the mud of the front yard?

And then something very strange happened. She found herself enveloped in this strange brown cloud  that was filled with the sweet smell of mud. It swirled around her like the tornado carrying Dorothy and Toto from Kansas and into the land of Oz.

And when it lifted, she found herself in her old room. It had been raining outside and through the window the came the beautiful smell of mud. She heard a cry of joy from her bedside, it was her old maid who cared for her as a child and was caring for her now. 

Her parents came bursting into the room. They had tears of joy in their eyes. They hugged and kissed her. They couldn’t give up on her like others. So they brought her to the only place they knew she was deeply connected with. And it did it’s part to bring her out of her slumber.

She hugged her parents tightly, never  ever wanting to let them go. She was the Daughter of the Mud, and it did it’s part to bringing her back.