A little magic can take you a long way

"A little magic can take you a long way," _ Roal Dahl. This holds true for the prompt that was used in my writing group last week. We had to write about the things that make you feel like a kid again. I began writing about my grandmother, but a ton of other things emerged out of my pen, taking over my thought process and leading me to a place that I wanted to dwell in for a while. I surprised myself and that's what I love about this piece. My mind wandered in the lanes of nostalgia, with a beeline of memories that made me smile, starting with my nick names, to my eagerness in waiting to catch a glimpse of the rainbow, the sweet smell of jasmine flowers bunched up, ready to be tucked into my thick, long, black hair, glass bangles particularly in green and red colors embellished with gold dots, shimmery hair bands, scrunchies, living on a steady diet of Enid Blytons, Nancy Drews and comic books, fountain pens, fancy letter pads, satin bows and school uniforms. The ecstasy that swept over me when I let the wind kiss my hair as I tried to swing faster in the playground. My fascination for cross stitch, the taste of boiled peanuts, feeling the silky soft peacock feathers hidden in the pages of my notebook, stamp collection, gulping down sugarcane juice from vendors on the street with a pinch of guilt of it being unhealthy, but letting the temptation of taste overpower my resistance. The joy in collecting sea shells from the beach and struggling to make jewelry out of it & ending up using it to decorate sandcastles. Most importantly, my ability to laugh mindlessly at things that were not funny to others. There are a ton of other things on my list including being mesmerized by the colorful display of bougainvillea flowers forming curtains on the walls, the intoxicating smell of the first touch of rain as it meets the soil, paper boats sailing in rainwater puddles, dancing to songs playing on the radio, dancing like nobody is watching, humming along film songs strongly followed by the dreams of becoming a famous playback singer, were some of the things that I cherished the most. Riding the bike was a favorite activity too, except that I wanted to be the only one on the street. My list is endless. The more I think about it, more stuff pops up. But it was fun to put it down on paper and take a walk down memory lane. Reminiscing the times when imagination had wings, magic was real and small joys made a big difference, was like a breath of fresh air. The experience of writing this down was energizing, powerful and brought along memories that made me happy. Indeed, a little magic can take you a long, long way!