A short story

It was a Monday morning, yet Amy got up with a palpable sense of excitement,”God, I want to look my best today!” she thought aloud.

It was after all Amy’s special day! She had waited long enough for her moment. And this was it; her moment of truth. She had been chosen as ‘The Designer of the Year’ and she was getting ready for the grand finale.

Last year had zipped past her. Amy still remembered the cold September in Paris when she had received critical acclaim for her designs and her theme: ‘Out of the Closet’. Critiques and fashionistas had rated her show the best. They loved the couture, the cuts, the colours, et al. and praised Amy for the same. However what no one felt or saw were the emotions behind the clothesline.

Amy had spent umpteen numbers of days and nights “fighting the demons”; her mother had used this term; when Amy finally came out of the closet. Amy had never belonged to the crème de la crème crowd and it was the helplessness and constant denial she saw in her parents’ eyes that made her move out. She announced one night over dinner that she had planned to move to Delhi as an intern under the famous fashion designer Vikram Kapoor. Her joi de vive was however doused under the cacophony of the city traffic outside and the fighting demons (her family) inside.

Amy left for Delhi the next morning.

Her mother used to call her impatient and naughty. During her pre mature birth the doctors had given her and her mother a bleak chance of survival. But Amy was a fighter and it was her impatience to see the world that saved the mother-daughter duo.

Amy tried her best to adjust to the Delhi life. The over crowded state transport, the long grueling work hours, the brain storming sessions et al. had made her loose a lot more than just weight. She missed her mom’s fish curry and her grand mom’s pickles. She missed having dinner at the table with the family.

Vikram Kapoor was very hard to please. He would always manage to reach his office sharp at 9.00 am sunshine or rain. It was tough to join his ship and the fact that Amy had; spoke a lot about her talent. Vikram had noticed her work during an inter college fest and had hand written to her to join his ship. It was upon receiving his letter that Amy had decided to come out of the closet.

Vikram had an eye for talent. He liked Amy’s dedication, her impatience for perfection, her creativity. Amy on the other hand looked up to her mentor not only for his knowledge, and experience but also because he accepted Amy as she was.

It had been more than 3 years since Amy started interning with Vikram. Her mother and grand mother had by now come to terms with her reality. And it was now normal to see Amy’s kitchen shelf filled with pickle bottles. She still missed the fish curry though. She was sure the ladies back home would convince her father some day. And she was waiting patiently for that moment.

Amy had climbed the corporate ladder sans any favours. Her designs now featured regularly in Vikram’s shows. She was ecstatic when Vikram told her, “You have now graduated to be my colleague”. “I always knew you had an eye for talent!” she had replied back and both had laughed a lot. Vikram offered to showcase her designs under his company’s name at the upcoming Delhi Fashion Week. “They’ll just love you Amy, trust me”, he had said.

That evening Amy walked the ramp with her show stopper under a blitzkrieg of applause. Amy went on to do a lot of shows for Vikram’s company; till the time she thought her name could be a brand by itself.

She thought hard for the designs. This was after all her first solo effort. She was having pickle rice and reading her mother’s letter when she thought of her line’s name. Her mom had ended the letter with her blessings, love and pride for her daughter! Amy knew what she had to design.

The day had finally dawned and Amy had butterflies in her stomach. Her show was slated to be the grand finale of the evening but she had something else on her mind. She had invited her whole family and her mother had promised to bring her father along.

The show was a grand success. They loved her theme: “Out of The Closet”. As Amy took a bow, she saw her family waving to her with tear filled eyes. “Wow, thank you mom for bringing dad”, she said to herself.

As the applause died, the chief guest of the evening came on the stage to present the award to Amy. Amy thanked her family, friends, Vikram and then said something that stunned the crowd and made her father hug her!

She just spoke the truth.

“Honorable audience, colleagues, now that I have finished thanking everyone, I have a few apologies to make. I apologize to my parents for making them go through the misery all by themselves while I ran away to Delhi …”

She went on to narrate her story. “And finally I apologize to the whole world for keeping my real identity under wraps. I Amit Kumar thank you all for liking my brand and helping me truly come out of the closet!”

All Amy, sorry Amit Kumar could see was his father running towards him. No flashbulbs clouded his vision. As Amy collapsed in her father’s arms and loving gaze she knew she had made him proud by doing the right thing.

Looking back on that day, she thought to herself, “You have definitely arrived!”