Pandora's Hope...

She stood at the window watching him go.

He turned back and gazed at her. With a twinkle in his eyes.

A smile creased his face. A smile full of warmth and care. A smile that said ‘I am there for you whatever you do, where you go and whatever happens!’

She could not believe her luck. Or rather her fortune. That was how it should be termed now.

He was all that she ever wanted in life; just that she had never realized it. She had been caught in a time-warp thinking she was someone else, acting like someone she was not. And now she knew the truth.

The human is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for s/he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.

She could be herself with him. She knew he would appreciate that. He would not stop her from doing what she wanted. He thought she was strong, confident and tough. She knew better.

Of course, she would always project herself as this suave, smart, go-getter. Someone who speaks her mind always when she was confronted with something. That was her. That was who she wanted to be. And that was how she portrayed herself in the meager hope that maybe someday it would be perceived as true.

But now she knew. She was that girl.

At least to him.

He believed in her.

And that gave her the strength.