Met A Lost Soul

By Shahnaz Hassan

It was a pleasing morning filled with the sound of birds chirping. I boarded a bus and sat beside a graceful lady. I was taken aback by her beauty. She had everything that a human desires. She had shiny hair, and beautiful eyes and was well-dressed and representable. She was poised, she was so together.

While I was admiring her, I saw her talking to someone on her phone. The weirdest part was that she didn't hold her phone to her ear, nor did she have Bluetooth on. But she was busy talking to someone, someone unknown.

Curiosity got in me when I saw her wave to the screen, and then I tried peeking at her phone. I saw her scrolling through Instagram reels. She was listening to the moral values of the Bible and talking to God. She was mumbling something which wasn't very clear, but by that time, my mind was clear. I understood how she had everything and nothing at the same time. She was lonely, devoid of any soul to speak to her. One could see the smile on her face but not the pain behind it. She was good at hiding it. She was in her little bubble, unaware of her surroundings. Her eyes showed slight hints of fear and sadness, none of it was because of her surroundings but because of something that she wasn't aware of. She was lost, quiet, and fighting with her own emotions. Her mumbling was low but noisy, it could be heard by her soul.

Every day we learn something, and that day I learned how not every pretty face has a pretty life. I named her, "A pretty face with a tired soul." My good wishes and prayers stand for her disturbed mind to be at peace again. May she truly smile and soothe her "thirsty soul".

By Shahnaz Hassan