Mikal

“I felt my spirits lift. I would leave the map of my life here, in Jaipur. I would leave behind a hundred thousand henna strikes. I would no longer call myself a henna artist but tell anyone who asked : I healed, I soothed. I made whole. I would leave behind the useless apologies for my disobedience. I would leave behind my yearning to rewrite my past. My skills, my eagerness to learn and my desire for a life I could call my own - these were things I would take with me. They were part of me the way my blood, my breath, my bones were”
― Alka Joshi, The Henna Artist

“Cry and let your tears flow for a brighter tomorrow... Rain falls because the clouds can no longer take its heaviness... Just like our Tears... it falls because the heart can no longer take the pain...”
― Nitya Prakash

“Just then, my mother’s words echoed in my head: stretch your legs only as far as your bed. I was getting too far ahead of myself.”
― Alka Joshi, The Henna Artist

“She wouldn't reveal why
It was she did cry.
She thought she could put aside
How she really feels inside.”
― Heide Velarde, A Fadeaway Dream of Justice to Redeem