For My Daughter
It’s been a while since I last posted anything here on my blog, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing other things down! It’s late autumn again (late Autumn in Sept?), and I’m enjoying this lovely crisp night with the log burner going.
My 17-year-old daughter, Sophia, sat on the sofa with an application for college in one hand and the pages of a coming-of-age novel in the other.
A cloud of uncertainty passed over her features.
"Dad..."
Sophia closed the book, looked up, and asked thoughtfully:
"Is it really that hard for a woman to stand strong and succeed in this world? In the stories I read, it always seems like a girl's destiny relies entirely on a prince or a husband who comes to rescue and protect her..."
After taking a pause and putting my coffee cup on the side table, watching the steam rising out of this cup, I suddenly realized what 17 means to us as parents.
That’s when the reality hit me that our daughters’ hearts are filled with fear towards their unknown future but full of curiosity to learn more about life…
I smiled warmly and moved over to sit beside her.
"Let me tell you a story, Sophia—not a fairytale, but a striking truth about life."
Sophia’s eyes lit up with curiosity. I began in a calm, steady voice.
"There was once upon a time a princess of great beauty in a far-off land. So beautiful was she that every man who looked upon her fell madly in love.
Her parents showered affection on her to keep her away from every trouble under a golden umbrella. So the princess led a carefree life when she grew up.
She met a noble Prince and got married him. Now elevated because of this union, she became a ‘Queen’ of that particular land. But she found nothing interesting about royal lives, except for the fact that she had now become richer than ever. And she would never dream of living in poverty again…"
Sophia nodded slowly, listening intently.
"Suddenly there came news of a war that struck the whole kingdom. In a moment everything changed. Prince died and all fortunes turned out to be dust.
When she reached the gate of the Grand Palace, she was informed of the fall of the house, then she had to escape into the dark forest with just her clothes on her back. There was nobody left for her now! No parents or husbands anymore… My dears what could have happened?"
"Oh no... What happened to her then, Dad?" Sophia’s voice held a mix of tension and concern.
“That was where the most crucial decision of her life started,” I said as I gently patted her shoulder.
"At first, having grown up surrounded by luxury, the queen wept in the shadows of the forest. She didn't even have the courage to pick wild fruit for food because all her life, others had provided everything for her. In a typical fairytale, she would simply sit there waiting for another prince to save her."
I paused and looked straight into Sophia’s eyes.
"Do you know what she chose?
Instead of crying, she took hold of a blade in her hand.
She learned how to hunt and survive in the wilderness, learning skills such as building a fire and constructing shelters for herself.
She gathered all those scattered guards and soldiers around her and trained them herself!
After several years of doing this, she no longer belonged to another – she created her own army! She became an ‘Empress’ that forged an entire new empire by herself."
A deep breath inhaled by Sophia as she was quite curious to know about this.
“So… A self made empress will be far more powerful than a queen with an emperor?”, she asked.
"Precisely, Sophia." I reached out and took her hand before picking up my coffee cup again.
"Your mother and I love you beyond words, and we have provided everything we could for you. Under our roof, you have been a 'Princess'. One day, when you marry a partner who truly loves and respects you, you may live gracefully like a 'Queen' by his side."
My voice grew deeper and more resonant.
"My dear Sophia… no matter what we want, our parents can’t be with us all the time. Sometimes there are storms outside which can't avoid hitting us. So when these fierce waves come over and hit hard on you, try to run under someone’s umbrella.
But wait! Once that umbrella gets broken you would be completely drenched because of these terrible waves. Instead of this, learn to make your own umbrella & build up yourself so as to withstand any storm."
I gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and continued—
"That is why you must remember this: Because of your parents, you may be a Princess. Because of your husband, you may be a Queen. But never forget that through your own self-reliance and strength, you can be a reigning Empress. A woman who wears a crown she built herself will never become a slave to circumstance."
It was dead silent inside that cozy little room.
The anxieties left her eyes as she gazed at me, radiating with confidence and determination.
Sophia wrapped her arms tightly around me in a warm hug and whispered softly:
"Thank you, Dad... I’ll never forget this. I promise to become a queen who wears her own self-made crown."
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