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Living in a ‘fat’ world
I stood in front of the huge mirror in the boutique, holding a chic black party dress against myself. “How is it going to look on me?” I asked my friend, Aimen, nervously, who was eying my reflection in a scrutinising manner.
“It would look superb,” the salesgirl said voicing her opinion.
“Well!” Aimen began. “I’d rather you went for that brown baggy-style dress. This one is kind of going to accentuate your ...well ...umm... your chubbiness. You know what I’m talking about.”
“I guess I do,” I sighed .Then handing that dress to the salesgirl, I marched out of the boutique and Aimen, realising how I felt, followed me.
As soon as I reached home, I went to my room and slumped on to the bed without even taking my shoes off.
“This isn’t the first time!” I thought. “The fact that I’m overweight has not only humiliated me a lot of times, it is also a great barrier in my social life.”
The thought of that black dress made my eyes well up with tears, and I kept on crying and grumbling till sleep overcame me.
“Rrrring.” It was my alarm clock. “It couldn’t be morning already. I’ve hardly slept,” I mumbled and rose up.
It wasn’t morning. I could see the stars gleaming in the dark sky from the window. I wanted to scream. But it wasn’t the fact that I’d been woken up in the middle of the night that made me want to scream. There was a lady seated on the sofa beside my closet! She was dressed in white and there was something unusual about her. She had wings! In between the confusion, it didn’t take me long to assume that she was a fairy. But she had covered her face with a veil and I could only see her eyes.
I opened my mouth to scream but no voice came out of my throat. I glanced back at her, shaking with fear. She sat there silently, with my alarm clock in her hand, staring at me. But something about her drove my fears away. What was it? Of course, it was the fact that she was fat. Just like me.
“Great” I thought. “Birds of a feather flock together.” Out loud I asked, “Who are you?”
“I’m the Fat Fairy,” she replied flatly.
The Fat Fairy! The name sounded so comical that I could hardly stop myself from laughing. “So what are you doing in my room?” I demanded.
“I’ve been assigned by the Fairy Queen to help and guide fat people,” she replied.
“What about it?” I asked, finding it all quite amusing.
“I hate this job!” she blurted out. “It’s so humiliating. I wasn’t fat before. But since the “real” Fat Fairy is on leave for the next five years, I was told to do her job. So I had to be fat against my will. That’s why I keep my face hidden in shame.”
“Cut it out Fat Fairy,” I said, getting irritated. ”I’m fat too but I would never want to hide my face in shame. We may be fat but we’re a lot better than many people out there.” I said, amazed at my own convictionsince a few hours ago I had the same feelings.
“Look who’s talking,” she remarked sarcastically. “I heard you were very depressed about your being fat and I was told to go and comfort you. It’s people like you who are making my life more miserable.”
“I don’t need your help and besides there’s nothing that bad about being fat,” I said.
“Yes there is,” she replied sharply. “I sometimes stand in front of the mirror and find a buffalo staring back at me.”
I giggled at this but the next moment I was infuriated. “So you see no difference between a fat human-being and a buffalo?” I demanded.
“I guess I just got carried away,” she said sheepishly. “But all the intelligent people in the world have been slim.”
“I don’t mean to boast but I’m one of the smartest students at school,” I said with a hint of pride in my voice.
“The majority of the people in the world are slim ...,” she began.
“That’s what makes us unique,” I interrupted.
“Fat people always have an inferiority complex,” she said.
“I don’t!” I said, smiling, “In fact, I’m proud of what I am. What do you say?”
“Oh, you’re one of those maniacs who’re happy to be fat. I’ll have to teach you a lesson some day,” she retorted angrily and disappeared.
“Hey Fat Fairy, wait!” I called out.
“Who on earth are you talking to?” It was my sister’s voice.
I rubbed my eyes and sat up. My younger sister was standing next to me.
“Time to wake up,” she said and bounced away.
So it was all a dream! But I felt happy and cheerful. The Fat Fairy had given me a new lease on life. From that day onwards I never felt sorry about being fat again and eventually I became one of the most active and popular girls at school. I owe it all to you Fat Fairy! So dear Fat Fairy, I guess it’s about time I taught you something.
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