Stepping In High Heels

"Mommmaaa!" little Leah called out in a voice filled with remarkable joy.

"What is it, Li?" Leah's mom, Angela, called back from the kitchen.

"Come out here, mom! I wanna show you what I'm wearing!"

"Oh, come on, Li! Come in here and show me whatever you are wearing!"

"Okay! If that's what you want!"

And so the little girl carefully got up from the chair. Slowly and steadily, she put one foot after the other and started walking. She was walking exceptionally slow for a seven year-old kid. But then, she wasn't just another seven year-old kid! She was Leah Kent - the little girl with big, bright eyes and thick , black, wavy hair that stood up on her head making it look like a mushroom.

Leah Kent was the little girl who could find weird ways to trouble her mom, and even weirder ways to make it up to her.

Leah Kent was the little girl who could rock a normal chair, fall off with a big thud, get back up, sit on the same chair and start rocking it again.

So if she was walking exceptionally slow for a seven year-old, you could definitely say she was up to something.

After two long minutes of 'steady' walking, Leah reached the kitchen. She carefully walked to the center of the kitchen, cleared her throat as if getting ready for an opera performance and squeaked, "Mom?"

"What is it?" Angela asked, now turning around.

She looked at her daughter's face and noticed the ear-to-ear grin spread across it. Then she moved her eyes to see what her daughter was wearing - it was the same polka-dotted tunic she had been wearing since the morning. It was when her eyes reached her daughter's feet that Angela's eyes widened in shock.

There stood her clumsy little daughter in front of her, wearing her mom's 4-inch heels in her tiny feet. Angela was very well aware of her daughter's accident-prone nature. She had witnessed times when her daughter would be standing right next to her and the next second she would simply hear a thud and find her little girl right down on the ground.

"Take them off! Right now!" Angela ordered, pointing at Leah's feet. She watched the grin fade from her daughter's face. "Baby, you have your exams in a week and you don't want to miss them because of a twisted ankle, do you?" Angela said, now kneeling down in front of her daughter so that she could look into her dark brown eyes.

"I'm a big girl now! I can wear heels! I will not fall off and twist my ankle!" saying this, Leah turned around and started walking towards the living room. Angela sighed, got up and went back to stirring the onions. In about a minute, she heard a loud crash and a scream. She rushed towards the living room and saw her little girl on the floor, rubbing her bare foot. The heels were placed neatly beside her. Angela smiled. Her daughter had to learn to be slow and steady.

************

It was going to be the biggest event in her life. She had worked night and day for this event. She had been criticized, rejected and thrown away. But then. she knew a stone had to be polished to turn it into a diamond. Yes, it was a painful process. But it was worth it. Leah Kent stood in the balcony of her elegant apartment, watching the sun set behind the high-rise buildings. This was going to be the best evening of her life. The breeze ruffled her hair and her face glowed. She closed her eyes and smiled as she tried to visualize it - the launch of her very first book. She slowly opened her eyes, still smiling broadly, as she gulped down the memories of the vision. She stepped inside her apartment and checked the clock - she had two hours to get ready. But before that, she reminded herself, she had to go and pick up Zinnia from school. Just then, the phone rang. It was Rebecca, Leah's best friend. 

"Hey! You all set for the launch? What are you going to wear?" Rebecca asked, all excited.

"Oh well, I was thinking of grabbing something from the mall. But I have to first go and pick up Zinnia from school." Leah informed her.

"Ah! Don't worry about that! I'll pick up Zee from school. You go and buy yourself something pretty. Leah, this is going to be THE event of your life. You have been waiting for his moment since ages. You'll have all eyes on yourself, get that? You just have to look your best, I'll take care of the rest. OMG! That rhymed!" Rebecca chuckled.

"Rebecca! You don't have to prove you are my best friend all the time." Leah said, now laughing at her bestie's oh-so-wonderful sense of humour. 

"Whatever! Now I have plenty of jobs to do! So, bye! See ya soon!" and Rebecca hung up.

She was always so jumpy when it was anything about Leah. Leah simply loved her. She had stood by her when the whole world had backed off. Even though she never said it, Leah could see in Rebecca's eyes how much she cared for her.

Leah quickly grabbed her keys, left her apartment and drove to the mall. She bought a pretty dress and then went to the shoe store. She tried on a lot of shoes but none seemed perfect for the event. Exhausted, Leah got up to leave the store when she saw it - standing out proudly from it's neighbours stood a pair of glamorous black classic sandals. Leah took them off the rack with a delighted expression but soon enough, her face fell. They had 4-inch high heels.

Since childhood, everyone in Leah's family had told her that she was too clumsy for high heels. Everyone told her she could never walk in high heels. And everyone told her she could never write a book and publish it. But she had done it. She had written a book and today she was going to launch it. She looked at the sandals she was holding and she knew what would be perfect for the event. She held them out to the salesgirl and said, "Pack them."

"Now, I request Leah Kent, the author of this book, to come over to the stage and speak a few words,"  the anchor's voice boomed from the speakers. Leah was in the backstage and she had her eyes closed. She had been praying all the while. She opened her eyes at the sound of her name and walked towards the stage, slowly and steadily. She walked exceptionally slow for a twenty-four year-old lady. But then, she wasn't just another twenty-four year-old lady! She was Leah Kent - a beautiful lady with large, twinkling eyes and thick, black, wavy hair that draped down her shoulders elegantly. Leah Kent was the beautiful lady who was the proud mother of a cute girl, responsible daughter of her amazing parents and a friend who was always there to lend a helping hand. Leah Kent was the beautiful lady who had done everything that the world told she couldn't.

After a minute of 'steady' walking, she reached the center of the stage. She looked down at the audience and saw Neil smiling and waving at her. Next to him sat Zinnia who was blowing kisses at her mom. Then there were her best friends, her family and her other colleagues who were either waving at her or giving her thumbs up. 

And then, Leah's eyes reached her father. Dressed in a dark gray Armani suit, her dad was seated solemnly in his chair, like a king on his throne. His eyes met his daughter's and he smiled, proudly. Seated next to him was the world's most gorgeous lady. Even in her late fifties, Angela Kent had the charm of a young lady. Her eyes were glittering which meant she was crying. But as she looked at her daughter, a broad ear-to-ear smile grin spread across her face. 

Leah Kent stood at the center of the stage, in her high heels, looking as graceful as she could while the audience applauded cheerfully. Today, the world, who had once rejected her, was putting it's hand together to praise her. Angela looked at Leah's feet and she knew at once - her daughter had learned to be slow and steady...