Shivangi Adatia
She couldn’t follow instructions. No, her ears were perfectly functional, and her nervous system intact. They had repeatedly asked her not to go on her own, not to digress from the path they followed.
But she couldn’t. She couldn’t read maps. Couldn’t use a compass. Couldn’t even simply follow footsteps. Couldn’t refrain from wandering. Couldn’t refrain from getting lost. She took ways which didn’t have footprints; new ways.
Took those ways every time, and got lost almost every time. She fell too; hurt herself. But the bruises made her content. “She was deviant, stubborn, egoist even”. That’s what they called her. “She got lost because she couldn’t understand simple rules”. Maybe she didn’t want to understand rules. Maybe she didn’t want to follow instructions. Maybe she wanted to get lost; lost in a place only she could visit. Wanted to put down the map, get rid of the compass, ignore the footsteps, and get wonderfully lost.