Nisha, was a 13 year old girl. Her face was a sea of joy, silence and tranquillity.
It was the spring of 1985. The sweet fragrance of roses and jasmines were spread in the air.
At night, Nisha ran to terrace with her mother to look at the stars. She was interested in pulsar stars. She collected the paper cuttings and news about the interventions of new stars.
Nisha lost her father at the age of 4. Her father died in a car accident. He was a doctor. She had only her mother to take care of her. One day, her mother got bedridden because of fever. She was very weak, as such she couldn’t move from her bed. Nisha’s aunt came by to take care of her mother. Her aunt was not a very nice person. She was the perfect example for an arrogant and strict person.
During the night, Nisha told her mother, “Mom, please take me to the terrace. Today is a shining day. The stars in the sky will be a beautiful view.”
But her mother was very weak, and told in a weak voice, “No dear, I can’t. I can’t move out of my bed. I feel so weak.”
The anticipation and happiness on Nisha’s face disappeared. Her aunt forced her to the bed to sleep, and turned the lights off. Nisha’s eyes were full. The drops of ......beads ran through her cheeks. Nisha slowly parted the curtains of her room’s window near her bed. She looks outside in to the sky. But, she couldn’t see a single star, but the sky was powdery coloured. Even the tiniest portions of leaves and flowers of the trees could be seen in the magic light of the Moon.
In the next morning, on 9:00 AM she ran to her mother and kissed her on her forehead. After that, Nisha ran to her school bus, which was waiting outside. After a 20 minute journey, she reached her school. On that day, during the class, her class teacher asked her to prepare an article for that year’s school magazine.
Nisha thought a lot on it. At last, an idea struck her mind. She decided to write about her last sad night. She wrote it in an expressive way. Her article was selected and got published in the school magazine. She got extremely happy.
After the bed rest for two weeks, her mother got well. Her aunt went back.
In October 1986, Nisha began to write her personal diary on every night. She wrote about her long and vast look and observations of the stars and, she named her Diary – “Jocelyn”.
She did best in her studies, and she cruised to her dreams. Everything was going great. But as we all know, even good things will end on some day.
Nisha was attending a seminar for young astronomers, on December 15, 1987. At that time, she was of 15. During the event, she felt severe headache, and she fainted in a matter of seconds. Her mother and other people, who were there, took her to the hospital. Doctors, later found out that she was having brain tumour. That was a huge shock for her mother and friends.
For Nisha, the life of astronomers was a great inspiration. Even though she was in the hospital bed, she studied as much as she could. And she continued to write her little dear diary. She was a great admirer of Anne Frank’s diary. She left hospital after two months.
In 1989, when she was 18, she participated in a quiz competition, on the topic of ‘stars’, and she won that. That was a real boost for her confidence and hopes.
On November 9, 1989, she wrote in her diary-
Saturday, November 9, 1989
Dear, Jocelyn,
I am not feeling well today. My head was cracking all day. I can see a new world, when I close my eyes, a world full of stars. And, I am walking in that wonder world. There is silence everywhere. I can see the fairies, showering me in flowers. I know that my life is going to end now. What can I do? I will tell my mother about you. I will ask her to give those paper cuttings about stars, to someone who has the same dreams of mine. I feel sad, only when I think about my mother. She will get alone in this house. My days are over, Jocelyn, take care of my mother.
Your Nisha.
This was her last Diary note.
Next day, on November 10, 1989, she was admitted in the hospital. Ker eyes were dull, her lips were dark. She became very lean. She was severely ill.
Nisha told her mother, “Mom, after I am gone, you should go to the terrace in every night. You should look at the sky. There, you can my dreams glittering. While you are looking at them, please hold my Jocelyn in your hands. My dreams never will be shattered, mom. “Then she closed her eyes, and she travelled to that beautiful world of stars, in her dreams.
The next day, her mother took Jocelyn to the terrace. She looked long at the stars. Her eyes were filled, and her tears fell on Jocelyn. In her hands, Jocelyn glowed and smiled at the stars in the sky, which were dear to Nisha.