Anything for Dreams

There was a spring in her gait, an elation that propelled her, an eagerness to fly, a yearning to have wings! She had been invited by the university to receive her gold medal. She was the topper of the year. She had waited for this day.
How could she forget this day? The day her bones felt lighter. The day she broke some!
Now what?
“Let’s cancel the program. Your foot needs attention.”
“I am good,” Laila hid her pain with a wide smile.
She ignored the swelling on her foot and got into the car. No broken bone could deter her determination to receive the honor in person.

Thirty years after the fall that had changed her gait, she says, “Sometimes the great bones of my life feel so heavy. Sometimes we take them for granted.”
“Do you regret your insouciance to injury?”
“Never.” Anything for dreams.

Louisa’s post inspired me to play with this prompt that I saw at Dare Boldly and followed the link: Prosery Prompt at D’Verse 

The rules and prompt are: 

“Write a story of 144 words or less (not including the title). The story must have a beginning and an end, and should not be poetry. Sounds easy enough right? Here’s the twist: You must use the poetry line I have given you within your story. You may alter the punctuation, but you must use the line in its entirety.”

Today, the chosen line is taken from Spring Azures from the book Wild Geese by Mary Oliver: “Sometimes the great bones of my life feel so heavy.”

38 thoughts on “Anything for Dreams

    1. Thanks to you Louise, your posts are always inspiring in one way or the other and some of them really touch my heart. Keep it up, dear friend.

  1. That was a complicated prompt, Balroop, and you pulled it off! Some choices do feel heavy as we carry them forward, and yet we don’t regret them. Some goals require sacrifice. Loved this.

    1. I don’t know how this prompt took me far away into the realm of dreams but I felt nice despite the broken bones. Haha! Thank you for your encouraging words Diana.

  2. Well done, Balroop! That was quite a challenge to tackle and use that sentence:) Great story.

  3. Great story, Balroop, and I like the idea of including a poetry line. You mastered it! Her determination is admirable, and you’re right, anything for dreams and keeping them alive. 🥰

  4. Beautifully written, Balroop. No dream is too small or too hard to reach. If we are determined, we can overcome the challenges, enjoy the journey and enjoy the finish line too. Some decisions along the way may be hard but in the end they make us stronger and help us see the bigger picture 😊

    1. I like it Mabel when we enjoy the journey and the finish line. When we look back, it seems like a fond memory even if we could have struggled with the journey. Thank you for coming in to share your insight.

  5. Balroop, I really enjoy when you venture into prose, the poet in you still visible and adding an extra depth to your work. A great story and yeah, Laila did right to follow her dream, to honour her accomplishment of all those years of study!

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