Layla sat by the pond near the forest , dipping her feet in the water and taking in the coolness of it. This was a place that was immensely sacred to her. For as long as she can remember, she has spent her time sitting by the exact spot, enjoying the sight of the trees and the birds and the sunset. She found company in the stillness. It may sound strange to any sane person but she has had more conversations with the birds and the trees than with people around her. It is not as if she despises people or their company. On the contrary, it was the people who seemed to scorn her. The reason for such hatred was quite simple. People refused to talk to her because of her face. She was, what they called 'ugly' and the mere sight of her often seemed to give them horrors. She never understood how any of this was her fault. She was born, unfortunately and unintentionally, with an unnaturally large scar that covered the entire left side of her face.

Her mother died soon after her birth and since then her Baba never failed to remind her that their misfortune was entirely her fault. It's a different fact that the doctor himself said that she had a weak heart which was the cause of her demise. Layla wouldn't say that she was unloved. But love and pity aren't always the same thing now, are they? Her aunts from her mother's side seemed to care for her but their efforts were evidently pitiful. They always appeared to weigh their words while talking to her. She has heard them talk in whispers when they thought she wasn't listening. They worry that she would die alone without knowing love and affection. She found their worries ironic considering that they never extended any shred of love and affection towards her either.

She often pondered over these thoughts while passing her time by the pond. Presently, she adjusted her foggy eyes towards the horizon where the sun had turned orange. She was always awed by the way the colours of the sky and the sun turned different shades through the course of the day. People wouldn't have appreciated mother nature if she wasn't so aesthetically beautiful. Layla sometimes imagined herself becoming a butterfly or a flower so that people would appreciate her. Imagination was one thing she excelled at and it was the only thing that made her otherwise lonely and boring life, appealing. She fantasized about travelling to a faraway place where everything and everybody looked as hideous as her. A place where nobody can scorn or pity her because they would all be equal there. Sometimes she imagined being born as a princess who was so pretty that people paid money just to get a glimpse of her face. As she started her daily ritual of imagining the impossible that day, she caught sight of a middle aged woman approaching her near the pond. She tensed at the unusual sight. People didn't usually come here at this time and most importantly people didn't come towards her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched the woman warily as she...