Krishni, the Creative from Sri Lanka
Krishni was born on a small island, the shape of a pear diamond, in the middle of the sea.
Her grandparents loved her, her parents loved her, the skies loved her and the sea loved her. They were all very happy.
One day her small family got on a plane and moved to Bahrain. From her new dusty balcony, Krishni could see the brown city of sand and concrete before her.
She made many friends and ate many things and played many games and laughed many times. Krishni liked Bahrain.
Soon she was flying again. This time it was to a big, tall, glass city. She was going to live in Dubai!
She stayed there for a long time. The ocean lay outside her bedroom, and salt-flecked seagulls passed by her window. The sun was a mandarin at dusk.
Krishni spoke Arabic and French and English with her classmates. They snacked on dates and learned about sushi and exchanged sandwiches for lunch.
Then Krishni moved to Tasmania with her ammi. The grass was bright green, and the air was sharp and clean. There, she looked different, so some kids were mean.
She learned not to mind, and in a short time she met some nice girls and nice boys. She rode horses at their farms and had lemon and sugar pancakes for breakfast.
When Krishni went back to Dubai, she was 13! She began to paint and draw and colour and paint again. Her thathi wanted her to learn maths. She said yes, but she didn't like it.
One day she fell in love. Her first boyfriend was from Sri Lanka and wanted her to be just like him. Krishni had other ideas and said goodbye.
Krishni went to Melbourne to study at a university. Her dad asked her to become a businesswoman. She said no because she didn't want to.
She made movies on her computer and wrote exciting stories on her keyboard. Her lecturers adored her projects. Krishni was going to be an art director!
After she graduated, Krishni wished for one last adventure. "Shouldn't you find a job and buy a house?" Her parents said. She worked hard and bought a ticket to Tokyo.
Japan was the most beautiful country she had ever lived in. She loved the swish-swish of shabu-shabu and the shy pink Sakura trees in her neighbourhood.
Yuki made balloon animals for Krishni by the beach. Mutsuki was too much fun to dance with. Emily liked to watch fireworks during summer nights. Krishni found her sisterhood.
Krishni moved back to Melbourne and became an art director and worked on many clever projects. She rented a pretty flat with big windows above a hilly park with lazy trees and wooly puppies.
When Krishni turned 30, she celebrated her birthday with gold helium balloons and a purple unicorn cake. All her friends and family joined her with lots of presents and sparkling wine.
Krishni was happy being a creative.
She was happier being a kind friend.
She was happiest being Krishni.
*ammi: ‘mother’ in Sinhala (a language spoken in Sri Lanka)
*thathi: ‘father’ in Sinhala (a language spoken in Sri Lanka)
