THE GATE

  THE GATE 

“The gateway to heart” is something she had been pondering about ever since she read the blurb of the book ‘Soul’. Soul is a book about emotional connection and Charlotte felt like she needed it more than anything in the whole world right now. Her parents did not feel very comfortable with Charlotte reading a book that needed a lot of understanding at such a young age. But she didn’t let that stop her. She knew deep in her heart that she needed more connection with the world and not just with the books on her shelf.  
As she started reading, found it hard to understand but her mind didn’t let her rest. “Something seems to say ‘don’t let boredom get to you. Keep reading’ and that voice is the only motivation that I get,that really gets me going.” she said to her parents one night. “The voice...it's echoing in my head whenever I want to stop reading. The only way to stop it, is to keep reading” Her parents nodded supportively, which made Charlotte feel better. However, they also suggested that she stopped reading books for a change, and go out, make some new friends, and enjoy her childhood. To that, Charlotte said “you, see? That's the problem right there! I know there is something stopping me from doing that. Something within me. The only reason I'm reading ‘Soul’ is because I want to open the gateway to my heart. This gateway has been shut because I’ve restricted myself from exploring the world. At that time, it felt right to stay with books. only books and nothing else”, Charlotte knew she had to go out and explore the world. But she couldn’t do it, that is why she needed to read the book. It's not about if you will understand the book or not. It's about the little things that you do understand and what you make out of it. 
As she progressed with the book, she understood more of why living an open life was important. She finally realized what was stopping her from doing all the extraordinary things she and her family wanted her to do. A gate. A barrier. Anxiety. All she had to do was open the gate. Open the gateway to the world. Open the gateway to her heart. She had understood all this by reading a book no one wanted her to read. This gave her more courage to finally open the gate. The gateway to her heart. 

-Mahathi, Grade 8 Anantha