Lyra the Princess

In Lyra's world, going to school felt like a curse. For her, it was so dull and painful, “as if she had lost her entire life just by spending a few hours there.” She had no friends at school; she came alone and left alone. Though there was always a crowd of girls around her, they only spoke to her to mock her or tease her. She sat in the corner of the classroom, the one with the only window in the room. That corner was where all the muddy and dirty footprints accumulated, the dirtiest and most soil-covered part of the room. Lyra cleaned that spot every day, but by the next day, there was even more dirt and mud for her to clean. It was the only spot in the room "that needed to be cleaned daily."

She was always a quiet and calm girl "because no one was there to listen to her." She loved playing relay races, “but no one wanted to play with her.” She spent most of her time sitting in that corner, watching the girls in the schoolyard play through the window. Sometimes, when the game reached its peak excitement, “she, too, would get thrilled, as if she were part of a team, playing on the field.” In her imagination, she crossed the finish line of the relay race, as if she were flying in the air. But when the curtain of dreams lifted from her eyes, Apart from sadness and pain, he could see nothing outside the window.

When coming to school, walking in the schoolyard, or during lunchtime, all the girls were always in pairs or groups. Even when school ended, they climbed into the van with their friends, smiles always lighting up their faces, laughing heartily at each other’s jokes, arms entwined as they strolled joyfully. "Everyone seemed to be living their school life happily and joyfully." Lyra would watch the girls share their lunchboxes during lunchtime, feeding each other with their hands. She watched them and smiled silently, “feeling no jealousy at all.” Instead, she felt genuinely happy seeing them cheerful, “grateful that no one else in the school was like her, someone everyone despised.”

In the classroom, no girl ate her lunch alone; "everyone had at least one friend to share their tiffin with."

“Every day, she sat in that quiet corner of the room,” her lunchbox lying in her bag, with no reason to open it.

But no one ever asked Lyra what was in her lunchbox. No group of girls ever invited her to join them for lunch. She brought her lunchbox every day, “but not once had she taken it out of her bag. And no one cared whether Lyra brought her lunch or not.” She didn’t ride the van to school or back. Her home was a little over half a kilometer away from the school, so she walked alone. Lyra was the only girl who walked to school and back home. Occasionally, her father came to pick her up from school, “and she would ride home on his shoulders.” But that only happened once or twice a week, “and when it did, her lost smile would return for a while. Sitting on her father’s shoulders, Lyra felt as though she were soaring in a world free of all sorrows and worries.”

"Every morning, Lyra's father prepared breakfast for her and lovingly fed her with his hands. Lyra, in turn, would grab as much food as her little hands could hold and shove it into her father’s mouth. These were the only moments in her day when her withered face would bloom.

Lyra never ate lunch at school, “so she came up with a way to dispose of the food without letting her father know that the meal he prepared so lovingly brought her nothing but endless pain.” She still had no friend to share her lunch with. "Between her home and school lay a small forest,” which she had to cross daily to reach school.

One day, she placed her lunchbox on a thick branch of a banyan tree,” hiding behind another tree to see if anyone would come to eat the food. A flock of birds soon descended on the branch, “and in no time, the food disappeared.” Some crows were shoving the food into each other’s beaks. “For Lyra, it was a joyous moment.” She watched them and smiled, standing there until the birds finished the food and flew away. “Then, she laughed as she walked away, and from that day on, she did the same every day. It became an adventure for her,” as if her life, apart from these small moments of happiness, was filled with nothing but endless sadness.

Lyra’s father was the only ray of light in her dark world, but he was a very busy man. After losing his job, he now looked after his fields. However, every evening after dinner, he would always ask Lyra about her school activities and what she had learned that day.

One day, he asked her, “It’s been a while since you started going to school, my princess. Have you made any friends?”

Lyra replied in a harsh tone, “No! I don’t have any friends.”

Her father smiled and looked at her. “Is that really so? You should make new friends. Do you know? When I went to school, I had a lot of friends. This is the most precious time of your life, so you should make friends. Yes, you definitely should,” he said.

“No one likes me,” Lyra replied simply. But as she said this, tears she never let fall began streaming down from her bright green eyes. She clung to her father’s chest and started sobbing uncontrollably.

For her father, it was a strange feeling. He had never imagined that his innocent daughter was drowning in so much pain and loneliness. His eyes filled with tears as he gently stroked her golden, curly hair, trying to console her. Lyra, however, kept crying. Slowly, her sobs softened into quiet sniffles, and then she fell asleep peacefully in her father’s lap. She had poured out the emotions she had kept locked in her heart, but the heaviness in her heart remained.

The next morning, Lyra left for school as usual. Today, her math teacher, Miss Rose, returned to school after a long vacation. She was familiar with all the other girls in the class except Lyra, who had joined recently. The class greeted Miss Rose with great warmth and enthusiasm.

Miss Rose’s eyes fell directly on Lyra. “Oh! It seems we have a new guest in our class. What’s your name, my dear?”

Lyra stood up from her seat, her head bowed. She was a bit uneasy about meeting a new teacher for the first time. In a trembling voice, she said, “Ly... Lyr... Lyra.”

“What’s your full name, dear? Is it just Lyra?”

“Lyra the Princess,” she replied loudly this time, without hesitation.

The entire class burst into laughter. Lyra’s face turned red with embarrassment, and she stood silently, staring at her nails. Even Miss Rose smiled slightly. Then she said, “Who gave you this name? It’s really beautiful. I love it.”

“My father gave it to me. Yes, he says I look like a queen,” Lyra replied.

(The classroom was still echoing with laughter, and Miss Rose’s captivating smile lingered.)

“It’s indeed a very sweet name. Please, take your seat, Lyra the Princess,” she said with a continuous smile.

Lyra kept looking at Miss Rose’s smile, and it sent a wave of happiness through her heart. This joy was deep enough for her to ignore the cruel laughter of the other girls in the classroom. For today, this happiness was enough to lighten her heavy heart.

A/N:- Thank you so much for taking the time to read! Wait for the next part, it will come very soon.