The mannequin

Somewhere in Russia, in a place where the world was cold and  mercurial ; was a store famous for apparels .In the 2 storeyed store where people came and went there was also a male mannequin on the first floor. He was good to look at but was a mannequin ,a non-living statue ; he also had feelings ,but because of being where he was they were buried for years ..

One day an angelic girl walked in. She had been newly recruited .As she climbed the stairs , the mannequin looked at her and as she passed by she looked at him. Something transpired . She somehow liked the eyebrows of the mannequin and maybe his smile .In the mornings ,evenings in her spare time ,everyday she would talk to the mannequin about herself, about things which impacted her , which used to impact her and generally. The mannequin started to feel his heart melt with her voice , her look and her presence ,but he was a statue .Somehow they both hoped the mannequin would start living .God was watching and wanted both of them to be happy ..so god whispered some words in the mannequin’s ears

The next day as the girl was talking and held the mannequin’s hand, by magic the mannequin seemed to come alive, the fingers moved, the eyes met and the hands grasped .They were overjoyed . With time they started talking about each other’s pain , pleasure ,sharing things and also traveled whenever the store allowed the girl to take the mannequin out on a road show. The girl took great care of him, his looks, his clothes, his general wellbeing and when she felt the mannequin seemed tired she would ensure he was rested .The mannequin also started speaking , hoping and ,dreaming .A lot of talking seemed to make his throat go hoarse , the girl angelic that she was even got him medicines…and surprisingly the statue  felt his throat become better.

The time they spent together started increasingly, but was also limited to when the girl would go home, and the store would lock the mannequin. They would feel so hurt .The relationship was strange but pristine , for unknown were the reasons the hearts came together .They also probably started loving each other more than anything else.

As the lovely time passed, some dark clouds gathered .The store owner started becoming nasty; some old friends of the girl came in town ; the pressures and need of  worldly relationships  was also heavy on the girl, the mannequin was struggling to come out of the store to spend more time .The store owner would lock the mannequin more often ;and the girl was shifted to the ground floor .

They both were now able to spend less and less time together, they talked less, virtually traveled less .The mannequin seemed , felt less alive .The absence of the girl , her presence ,her voice seemed to choke him. But could he express , he did ;however since he was a statue his pain was not visible .The girl was pained as well , she would still come as soon as she got free , look at her mannequin ,talk , hold hands ;but she was unable to take the mannequin with her forever .The magic words which would have set the mannequin alive forever got lost.  

With time the girl came less , talked less.. the mannequin would always wonder , hope , wanting to see her ask her what happened , hoped that all of ok with her in the world and also felt envious of all who might want to talk to her, were able to talk to her ;would look to hold her hand .

Gradually the girl stopped coming, hours changed to days, and days to weeks .People started observing  that probably the mannequin’s smile was replaced by a sad look and something which seemed like a permanent tear .…the mannequin remembered what Kahlil Gibran had whispered in his ears- ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation

…the mannequin, waited and waited.. wondering if she remembered him. at all, the way he looked , his voice …he is still waiting for her; she was the only one who ever warmed his heart...and made him come alive ..

Message from the mannequin (who did not seem to do much  )  : Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. It is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own...it is impossible to forget….kal ho na ho