Naomi's Expedition:A fictional story

Naomi was an amiable and respectful village girl, with a deep desire to explore the world around her. She was such a girl who wouldn't go beyond her parents' words. She was living peacefully along with her parents and her dog named Luna, who loves following Naomi everywhere.Naomi was the only child of her parents.

Naomi's village is located in the middle of nowhere. She comes from such a village with no advancement at all. The only advancement that it has is an old school building, where one can study upto their teenage years (i.e upto 16 y/o).After the completion of schooling from here, usually boys would go to the town in search of work whereas girls stay at their home and would learn to manage the households and marry someone from the same village. One can say the village is much of a patriarchial one. The village also have a village head, who holds the power in managing the village people and activities. 

Naomi's father, just like every other men in the village, works in the nearby town. He would go for work early in the morning and would come back evening.Naomi completed her schooling about two years ago and now she spends time by helping her mother in households and playing with Luna.Every evening she goes for cycling around her village.And Luna would never gets tired of running behind her cycle. She very much loves exploring her village. And Naomi is the only girl in the village to own a Bicycle and the only girl who knows cycling. The Bicycle was a gift from her father, for her birthday. 

Everyday, while riding through her village, she would stop by the the boundaries of the village. And would sit on the lawn, with Luna who followed her all the way along. She would then look around the vast landscape in front of her and would wonder: ' If my small village is so beautiful and has a lot to explore, how vast would the world beyond this boundary be! One day ,I want to explore every single place in the world.'

Naomi always wanted to go for a journey beyond her village, in her cycle. But, whenever she expresses this desire to her parents, they always frighten her saying, 'The world is not a safe place for a girl to travel alone. For a girl like you, this house and this village is the safest place on earth'.This would frighten Naomi, even though she has this deep desire for setting out for the journey. Because, she like the other girls in the village, have never gone out of this village once in her lifetime. And so, she doesn't have any other options, but to believe her father's words, who frequently goes out of the village for work, that the world is not safe for a girl like her.Therefore,she was forced to live with her hardest desire supressed. 

One day, as normal, Naomi was cycling through her village. She suddenly saw something glittering between the grasses. She stopped there and gave it a glance. It was a crumpled piece of paper. The paper was glittering blue. She was flabbergasted to see such a paper. She made sure no one was around her and then grabbed the paper and hide it in her skirt's pocket.B'coz she knew,the paper must be something special. She then rushed to her house. There stood her mother in front of her house, waiting for her to come home, as she was later than usual. Naomi didn't even tell her mother about the paper. She soon get to her room and hide it under her blanket. And then she had dinner along with her parents.When it was time to sleep, she rushed into her room and took the paper from under her blanket. She opened the crumpled paper and in bold letters, it was written on the paper :"TAKE ME TO ____"... She was confused about what it meant, at first. She then wrote 'Pattami'(Pattami was a nearby town famous for its annual fair, which she only have heard of ) on that paper and read:"TAKE ME TO PATTAMI".In a instance, a sudden force grabbed her to the paper. When she opened her eyes she was surprised to see that she was at some other place she have never seen before. She then saw a big arch written Welcome to Pattami. She was so excited , happy and confused, all at the same time. Anyway, she decided to happily explore the town. It was crowded, as the annual fair was happening. There were lot of children enjoying different rides like seesaw, merry-go-round etc. Some teenagers were playing different games f such as ring toss,for prices. .. Some where enjoying different types of food and some were watching a magician's performance besides the street... She was so happy as it was her first time out of her village. She went around the town and finally sat on a bench on the roadside, watching the entire fair. Suddenly a middle aged man with a huge bag sat down by her side. Naomi was curious to know about him. And from their conversation she understood that this man have been traveling around the world since his teenage days and that he owns a great experience about travelling. She said him that she also loves travelling and that her parents won't allow her to. She also enquires, whether it's true that it won't be safe to travel around the world alone especially for a girl like me. The man laughed and said:"Dear, from my journey till now, I understood that the world is a much better place to travel alone. Good things and bad things can be found anywhere. And dangers can be everywhere, even if you simply sit inside your house. So, search for the good and it will come to you. Chase your dream.. " Suddenly a smile bloomed on Naomi's face. Soon, the force grabbed her back to her room. Even though she was confused and didn't know what just happened, she was happy to meet that traveler and to explore Pattami. And when she reurned to her room there was a determination on her face to definitely start her expedition. 

The next day, she once again expressed her desire to explore the world. But this time with great determination and not even a bit of fear. Her parents as usual didn't agree upon it. When she became stubborn about her desire, her father scolded and slapped her on the face. She cried a lot that day. 

Days passed by. One evening,Naomi was sitting alone in her house. Naomi's parents went out to collect the firewoods and her dog followed her parents.One of her distant relative Akash, who live in the same village, came to her house knowing Naomi was alone. His intention was impure. He tried to rape Naomi. But she screamed and luckily her neighbour did hear her scream. The neighbour rushed to her house and saved her from an absolute disaster. The neighbour caught Akash and tied him on a tree and called the village head and other villagers. Naomi's parents come back to their house to see a large crowd before their house and their daughter sitting on a corner crying with some parts of her dress torn up. They were extremely disheartened to know about such a tragic. The village head punished Akash.Naomi's parents hugged her and sat on her left and right. Naomi with her crying eyes, asked her father:"Pappa, you were the one who said that for a girl like me her house is the safest place. But look now, it was inside our house... by our own relative.." Her words shattered and she sobbed.. Her father burst into tears and said: "I now understands my dear, danger can happen anywhere in the world. And that good and bad things exists everywhere regardless... "

Weeks passed by...Soon after Naomi recovered from the trauma of rape, her parents gave her permission to set out for her desired journey. Her mother asks her with a motherly concern that :"How will you find something to eat and survive? " To which Naomi replies:"Maa, I will ride to the nearby town and will find a work. I will eat and survive with that money and will save some. I will then visit two more towns including Pattami and would return here. Then, we can all go for a journey together.. Maa, Pappa, Luna and I.... "

The next day ,Naomi kissed her parents and Luna and bid farewell from them.Naomi went out of the village with her cycle, to chase her dream.She became the first girl from her village to go out of the village. .As she was cycling away, her parents and Luna and one of her best friend and the village head stood in front of their house happily waving their hands.