The Little Girl and the Stars

By Aakriti Pandey

I really love children. 👶💖

If there’s any way to feel closer to the divine on this earth, I believe it’s through them 💫

(The first way — if you’re curious — drop a “YES” in the comments 😉👇)

They’re pure ✨, innocent 🕊️, and they accept you and the world with open arms 🤗

One evening, the little girl from my building — she’s about 3 or 4 years old — was playing outside like always 🛝

That day, she found two paper stars 🌟 on the road — one green 💚, one yellow 💛

She was so happy, proudly showing them to everyone walking by 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️

I happened to be one of them 🙂

With a big smile and sparkly eyes ✨👀, she held the stars out and said,

“I got these!” 🎉

When I reached out to touch one, she quickly stopped me and said,

“Look from far away! I won’t give it to you!” 😄

I asked her,

“Where did you find such a pretty star?” 🌟

Her grandfather, who was nearby, said,

“She picked it up from the road, even though I told her not to.” 🚫🛣️

The little girl started laughing loudly 😂

Then he teased,

“Only junk collectors (kabadi walas) pick up things from the road. So now you’ve become one too!” 🧺😆

She paused for a second and then asked in her sweet little voice,

“You called me a junk collector?” 🥺

Her grandpa laughed,

“Yes, only junk collectors do that.”

She burst out laughing again, louder this time 🤣

And said,

“I’ll tell Mom when I go upstairs!” 🏃‍♀️🏡

Her grandpa replied,

“Go ahead, tell her.” 😄

And just like that, the moment ended.

I smiled and walked away 😊

🧩 How These Two Stories Are Connected

One story is about a little girl 👧 who is just beginning to learn the meaning of words—

What’s right ✅, what’s wrong ❌, what’s acceptable 🤝, what’s not 🚫

But she hasn’t yet learned to attach importance to them. 🧠💬

She was called a “junk collector” 🧺 — and what did she do?

She laughed 😂

It was just a funny-sounding word to her.

She didn’t attach any shame 😳, insult 😔, or hurt 💔 to it…

Because the world hasn’t taught her that yet 🌍✨

And then there’s my grandmother 👵 —

Who has lived a full life, seen the world 🌐, and understood everything…

And yet, even at that final stage,

She’s still caught in her thoughts 💭, her worries 😟, and everything she has given too much importance to 🧶

So here’s the real question —

How do we go from simply understanding words…

To becoming trapped by the importance we give them? 🪤❓

💡 The Hard Truth

Writing this is easy.

Actually applying it to real life? That’s tough.

But the hopeful part is:

🧠 The human mind, if it wants to, can learn anything.

       And even more powerfully—it can unlearn.

We can choose what deserves our importance.

And sometimes, the most freeing thing you can do is… to stop giving so much of it away.

By Aakriti Pandey