Get Your Wings

There was once a girl named Merpati who was raised in a very traditional family. Her family had very conventional ideas of what a girls role was in life. In their eyes, education meant learning to navigate the kitchen and keeping the house spotless. School was merely a formality that they honestly wished they could do without. To us this may seem bizarre but this was a common ideology shared by almost everyone in her small village. Merpati would know more than anyone for her sister Cempaka was the pinnacle of what a young lady ought to be in their little village. She was beautiful, soft spoken and was swarmed with proposals from neighbouring families who thought she would be the catch for their sons. By the age of 17 she was married and now she is the proud mother to a beautiful baby boy.

Merpati loved her sister and tried her best to be like her. She tried to always look presentable, be soft spoken and learn the ways of a homemaker but deep down she always wondered “Is there more to this regimented life?’’ However hard she tried she couldn't suppress her thoughts when she disagreed with elders. She despised house chores and she would much rather be doing anything else than to spend another minute standing in the mirror as her mother fussed about her tanned complexion and unruly hair. However, this was the only life she knew and to think otherwise would be out of this world.

Merpati loved school. Most girls in her class would eventually drop out because their parents would find schooling their little girls to be a waste of time. Between the house chores, she would also find it difficult to attend everyday but she made sure that she did. Not because she had to but because she wanted to. During her free time she would write her many thoughts in a little journal. These were thoughts that she was too afraid to vocalise. Why was the measure of a woman depending on what was on her face and not what was in her head? Why were men given all the important jobs in the village and not the women? What lies beyond the village borders? She had so many smart questions that would remain without any smart answers.

One day she would be late for school and when she rushed into her classroom she would be faced with a person she had never seen before. Unlike the people in her village, this new teacher has eyes the colour of the blue sky and hair the colour of ripe paddy on the fields. In the beginning they were all scared of this new teacher but they eventually warmed up to her.

Throughout her time with them she would tell them stories of skyscrapers that pierced the sky and cars that could take people everywhere. Merpati exclaimed in excitement “Maybe one day I could get in a car and maybe I could go and see these skyscrapers”. The others sniggered at her wild imagination but the new teacher just looked at her and said “Don’t bother them Merpati. You have wings and they can take you anywhere”. In a fit of rage and embarrassment, Merpati leaves the classroom and runs back home only to realise that she has left her little journal behind.

The next day she was cornered by her new teacher after class. In her hand was Merpati’s little journal. Merpati was terrified. If the new teacher had read through her journal she would have known all of Merpati’s secret thoughts that were controversial by her village’s standards. The new teacher said “Well, I am shocked to say the least. I spent the whole night pouring through every riveting word and I feel rather upset to part with this journal. Can I keep it? Begrudgingly Merpati agrees. After a few more weeks the new teacher leaves along with Merpati’s little journal filled with her controversial thoughts and opinions. Maybe with the loss of her journal, her controversial ideas and fantasies would leave as well and she could finally fit in with everybody else in her little village?

Months pass by and one day Merpati saw a familiar individual with sky blue eyes and ripe paddy coloured hair at her doorstep. “I have come to return your journal. I really enjoyed it and so did some of my friend. In fact we would like you to contribute your thoughts more often in a little publication of ours in the big city” said her old school teacher. With that Merpati had gotten her wings to work and she had managed to fly.

It was not easy to convince her family at first. Fundamentally parents want to see their children happy and she was but they had no idea what was in store for Merpati in the future. How could they just let their little girl go off with some stranger? What would the rest of the village say? However, it wasn't really their decision to make now was it.

Soon she was whisked away in a car and taken to the big city to share her thoughts with the world. Now she sits in the comfort of her home in a skyscraper amongst the clouds writing stories very much like this one to empower young girls like her with a very poignant message. It is okay if you choose to live your life like Cempaka or like Merpati but fundamentally, the choice must me yours.