Special Section: Abha Iyengar

Abha Iyengar

A little girl’s dream

My yellow frock and red shoes. That’s all I have left. The sea has taken my Mama and Papa. A big sea storm raged and the waters took them. I would have gone with them. I wish I had. But a sea creature brought me out of the water and left me here. I don’t know where that creature is. I wish she had not saved me for I don’t know what to do without anyone here.

I am waiting, hoping the sea creature will come again for she is the only one alive that I know. No one else is here. All the neighbours and my friends have gone as well. The sea took everyone. Why did the sea become so angry that it took my family away? Why did she want to destroy? Did she stop trusting us? Did she feel we had hurt her and so she became sad and then angry?

I feel so alone. What will happen to me? I look at the sea, quiet now, but I know that this is just an act. I will not enter the water ever again. I cannot trust the sea anymore. I am sad and angry like her.

I look up at the sky. And there I can see, in the distance, a big bird with wings, heading towards me. I am not afraid. I will not hide. The bird is huge. I can see that it is  very big, for it comes and sits right next to me. It begins to stare silently at the sea as well. A tear falls down my cheek and I brush it away. Mama had said, ‘Brave girls do not cry,’ but I can’t help it, Mama. I am trying very hard to stop my tears but I don’t know what to do without you.

The bird drops something at my feet. Maybe she thinks I can eat it. it looks like a worm. I feel like crying some more. The bird now looks again at the sea.

And then it emerges. A huge creature, a dark blue creature and I recognize it as the one who had saved me. Though the creature looks dangerous, I know she will not harm me, for why did she save me and leave me here otherwise? The creature disappears and then appears again, right next to me, in the sea waters. It has two big fins to swim with, and also has webbed feet, for now she is stepping out of the waters. She also comes and rests next to me. I have the big black bird on one side and the big blue sea creature on the other side, and the sea in front of me. I am not afraid. I don’t know about the bird, but I trust the sea creature.

She is talking to me through gestures. I look at her and try to understand. I think she wants me to sit on the bird! She is pushing me towards the bird. She wants me to trust the bird.

The bird is waiting, flattening himself out into the sand for me. Suddenly he picks me up with his beak holding the end of my frock and I flail in the air. Then he deposits me on top of his back. I lie down, holding on to his feathery black body so that I don’t fall off. He flaps his wings and air currents form. All around me is the noise of air, a ‘whoosh, whoosh’ sound that fills my ears. But I cannot close my eardrums since I am holding on to his back. I cannot allow myself to slide off, for he has taken off into the sky with me. The sound stops and now we are sailing in the air.

The sea creature looks up at me and she nods. I cannot wave a goodbye to her, but I hope she can see my eyes. I am wishing her goodbye.

I am heading towards the pink clouds. Maybe there is another land beyond the clouds where there are people. I will no longer be alone. I cling on to the back of the bird, and close my eyes.

I dream. I dream of a little house with a red roof, light blue windows and a bright yellow door. My new Mama is there, waiting for me. She is holding a bowl of soup in her hands. I cannot wait to be in her arms. I cannot wait to have her feed me. I have not eaten for a long time.

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Bio: Abha Iyengar is an award winning, internationally published poet, author, editor, translator and a British Council certified creative writing mentor. She is the author of ‘Yearnings’, ‘The Gourd Seller and Other Stories’, ‘Flash Bites’, ‘Many Fish to Fry’ and ‘The Full Platter’. She has curated and edited three anthologies. Her poems and stories have been published in innumerable literary journals. She has received the Sangam House residency fellowship. Her poem-film, ‘Parwaz’ (Flight), won a Special Jury prize in Patras, Greece. Her latest collection is titled ‘Big Daddy’s Chair: Stories’ (2025). She is the founder of Creative Wings Studio.

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Setu, November 2025