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At
two o’clock in the night when all the normal people are at the peak of their
good night’s sleep, he was still twisting and turning in bed. His eyes, wide
open as an owl in wee hours of the morning, were constantly staring at the dim
light coming from the hall. His mind was still wandering around the kitchen,
resisting the strong temptation to pick up the ice-cream cup and savour those
angelic flavours.
Overwhelmed
by his own imagination, he suddenly felt a bountiful of smooth cream melting in
his mouth and a huge ball of butter scotch bursting to reach out every possible
corner. He sensed those teeny-tiny bits of strawberry positioning between his
teeth just waiting to be crushed and release their divine sweet-sour juices.
A
sudden loud sound brought him back to reality.
Creak…
It
was papa who opened the bathroom door.
He
grunted. His whimsical dream broke into pieces. He felt cheated, yet once
again.
Staring
hard at the bed adjacent to his, he thought “Had she been here today, I would
have made her run for her life.” His eyes were filled with anger as if
demanding vengeance that was due for a very long time.
In last eight years, papa had never
raised his voice at me but this intruder has spoiled everything today
‘Of
course, an intruder she is. The one who has shamelessly trespassed into his
fun-filled, happy territory. And those papers? She’s nothing less than an
intruder.’
His
mind ran three years back to the day when she was first introduced to him by
papa.
______________________________________
‘Sister?
She is so grown up! Sisters are supposed to be small babies when they arrive
no?’ he argued. He remembered seeing his best friend Rohan’s sister a year
back. She was so small.
Seeing
papa struggling to find a convincing reply, his mother intervened.
‘Umm,
yes my dear. But you wanted someone who could play with you, so we got a bigger
sister. You always complain of having no one to play with, don’t you?’
‘Yes’
he was still not convinced. It was difficult for a five-year-old to comprehend
such intricacies. Just because he had little information to continue with the
debate; he unwillingly gave up.
Excited
he ran to the bedroom and grabbed the chessboard. His eyes fell upon a paper
peeping out of the cupboard drawer. He carelessly closed the cupboard door and
turned back but his curiosity got the better of him.
Had
it been any ordinary paper, he would have simply ignored it, but not the one he
had seen. That dull coloured thick paper appeared mysterious. He returned to
open the door and get another glimpse.
Certificate
of A-D-O-P-T-I-O-N. Below he read his parents’ and Aisha’s name. ‘Why is my name not in there? And what the hell is adoption?’ He barely had any idea of what that alien term really meant until he asked one of his senior friends in the school.
‘It’s
simply including a new member in your family even if you don’t have blood
relations with him or her,’ was the casual reply.
Still
unsure of the significance of the term ‘blood relation’, the only thing he
clearly understood was that Aisha was an outsider and it is all because of her
that his parents’ love for him was no more the same. An overwhelming feeling of
betrayal and loss filled his heart.
_________________________________________________
He
started secretly hating Aisha. Every time she received a cute cuddle from mom
or a broad smile from papa, his heart screamed - That’s all for me, you fool! You
have snatched away my right to be loved.
This
Thursday, however, tested his patience, when papa got his favourite ice-cream in
the evening.
He
quickly grabbed his ice-cream cup after dinner and finished it in no time. He
was full, so much so, that he could barely move around the room. But he wanted more;
only because he knew that the second cup in the fridge was for someone he
disliked the most.
‘You’ve
already had enough for today. Papa will get more for you next week,’ mom said
strictly.
‘No
mum! Can’t you see I am still hungry?’ he said pointing towards his bloated
stomach.
‘If
you are hungry, then have one more chapatti. Ice-cream is not going to satiate
your hunger.’ After a pause mom said, ‘Dare you touch that second cup. That’s
for Aisha.’
‘But
she’s not well’
‘She’d
be fine by tomorrow. You need not worry.’
He
was furious. He was never denied anything before this unwanted element entered
his life. He could eat as much as he wanted and played as long as possible.
As he entered his room, his anger rose to another level. Aisha was lying in her small bed, her eyes closed. She was down with sore throat and mild fever.
Suddenly, he thought of something that changed his frown to mischievous naughty smile. He quickly switched the fan on and also turned on the room AC. He knew well that an unwell person will not be able to bear this for long. Her temperature will rise, and sooner or later the second ice-cream cup would be his. With narrowed eyes and with a quirky smile on his face, he mumbled, ‘I hate you.’
He
did not have to wait for long. In less than an hour Aisha suffered with bouts
of serious coughing. Mom and papa ran to her room and were shocked as soon as
they entered. The room temperature was not more than 15 degrees. They quickly
moved to Aisha. She was shivering, coughing and could not even open her eyes,
probably due to weakness. Mom looked at Manas with disgust and carried Aisha to
her room. He was flabbergasted to see mom’s eyes filled with tears. This was a
clear sign of his persecution that was soon going to follow.
Papa
was shouting since the minute he saw Aisha’s deteriorated condition. As soon as
mom stepped out of the room, he could not bear it any longer and slapped Manas
hard on his face. After giving a fifteen minutes lecture, he too stormed out of
the room.
The
whole episode turned out to be exactly different from Manas’s expectation. He
could not have imagined his loving parents choosing someone else over him.
_________________________________________________
He
couldn’t sleep that night. Now he was much more desperate to get his ‘fair share’.
Finally
at three in the morning, the fridge door opened.
_________________________________________________
Next
day was an odd one. There was no hustle-bustle of regular mornings and an eerie
silence filled in the house. As he woke up, last night’s happenings were still
lingering in his mind. Anxiously and slowly, he moved to the dining area where
the family usually gathered for breakfast.
The
dining area and kitchen adjacent to it were deserted. He quickly rushed to
parents’ bedroom and found no one there too. Before he started panicking, he
heard a dim sound coming from the bathroom. He sighed relief and ran towards
it.
As
he knocked the bathroom door, Meera, the housekeeper appeared. ‘Where are others?’ he gasped.
‘Memsaab and saab have gone to the hospital. Aisha baby is serious and doctor
says she needs to be admitted,’ Meera replied.
A
series of questions surrounded him and his heartbeats began racing fast. He stood
dumbfounded; someone had shown him the true reflection of his evil avatar.
Meera
continued, ‘Are you hungry Manas baba? I’ll cook something for you.’
Meera
stared hard at her Manas baba whose
face had suddenly turned pale and expressionless. He seemed lost in some other
world.
Worriedly
she said again, this time her voice a bit louder, ‘Manas baba. Are you ok? Do
you need something?’
Meera’s
strong voice shook him back to reality.
‘Hun?
No, no. You do your work,’ saying this, he turned and walked back to his room.
‘You
please get ready for school. I’ll prepare breakfast for you. Aloo parantha will
do?’ Meera’s faint voice was chasing him but he was too preoccupied to answer.
In
the midst of turbulent thoughts, Aisha’s face appeared before him. A deep sense
of guilt and fear of unpleasant happenings haunted him.
Just
before leaving for the school, he spent five minutes in puja room. It was quite an unusual sight for Meera but she chose
not to speak. She already was clearly upset over the hot paranthas kept on dining table but still untouched. As there was no
other way to vent out her feelings, she muttered some words under her breath,
when a sudden loud horn almost gave her heart-attack.
Manas
timidly watched from the puja room.
Papa carried frail Aisha to her room while mom followed him silently. Looking
at their tired faces it was quite obvious that both didn’t sleep the whole
night.
Mom
stopped to talk to Meera.
‘Has
Manas gone to school?’
‘Just
about to leave, memsaab.’
‘He
had his breakfast?’
‘I
will serve him now.’ Meera didn’t want to give her memsaab any more problems at that moment.
Mom
heaved a sigh. Suddenly she caught a glimpse of Manas standing at the door of puja room.
‘You’ve
created a big blunder son. Doctors say if Aisha’s condition doesn’t improve by
tomorrow, she has to be admitted in the ICU. You understand what an ICU is?’
Without
waiting for Manas to reply, she walked to her room.
Manas
stood there watching his mother till she was out of sight. He turned back to
the worship idols and started sobbing uncontrollably.
I am never going to repeat such a ghastly
act again. Please forgive me God! Please make her alright. I am sorry; I did
this all just to eat that ice-cream. I am not going to eat any ice-cream for at
least a month from now. I promise…Thinking of the ice-cream, he suddenly found out his way of repentance. He remembered one of the Morning Prayer sessions conducted in school, when the headmistress read out from a holy book that if you are the cause of someone’s loss, you should try to repay as soon as possible. Only then will God forgive you.
Now
he knew what he was doing next.
He
sprinted back to his room, opened his cupboard, and threw his stuff out to find
out his old piggy bank. Leaving the jumble behind, he opened that small plastic
box and began counting.
It
was fifty-three precisely; sufficient for purchasing two ice-creams. With a sad
smile on face, he felt relieved for the first time since he woke up in the
morning.
I have to make everything fine. I’m
sure God will listen to me.
He
wanted to reach school as soon as possible but not before gobbling down half a
parantha. Meera was in no mood to listen to his lame excuses, so he finally
obliged her.
Facing
a great deal of restlessness and anxiety, he somehow managed to sit in class
during the first half. As soon as the recess bell rang, he jumped out of the
seat and ran out. He knew well that the flavour and brand he wanted will not be
available in the school canteen and therefore he had to sneak out of the
premises. He already had done his planning well and quietly moved to the small
gate behind the school building, which was mostly locked. Thanks to the ongoing
construction of a new building that since a few days, the door was being left
unlocked till afternoon.
With
only twenty minutes in hand, he was supposed to do a serious job today. He ran
towards the market as fast as he had never done before. How amazed he was at
his own performance!
Wow! I run pretty fast. Guess I too can
participate in the upcoming annual sports day.In another six minutes he was in the ice-cream shop. Quickly, he did his work, picked up two ice-creams and ran back to the school with a pace bit slower this time.
He
was nearly out of breath as soon as he entered the clandestine gate, but he
managed to do it. He headed straight to the school canteen owner and pleaded
for his help.
‘Bhaiya,
please keep this ice-cream in your fridge. I will take it back after school.’
‘We
are not allowed to keep any outside food. And where did you get it from? I will
complain to your teacher that you are breaking rules.’ The owner was obviously quite
miffed with Manas for bringing his own stuff thus adding to canteen loss.
Finding
no other way out and threatened by fear of facing the class teacher, Manas had
to narrate the entire happening to the ‘canteenwala
bhaiya’- as children addressed him.
It
did not take much longer to convince him after that. Soon the ice-cream was in
the fridge. Canteenwala bhaiya was
too emotional and also prayed for the girl’s speedy recovery.
Pumping
with joy and confidence, Manas entered the classroom after recess. He was
assured that things are soon going to fall in place. He was desperate to reach
home and put the ice-cream back in place and make everything okay. Not giving a
damn to what was happening in class, his ears were desperate to hear the last
bell of the day and finally he did. So, straight to the canteen…
Soon
he was there, holding those soggy paper cups dripped in thickened milk with the
remainder flowing out to hands and arms. He was crying inconsolably like a
baby.
‘Just
calm down, child. Look so much of my ice-cream stock is also ruined.’ The
canteen owner stretched his arms showing two big paper packets exactly in the
same condition as the cups.
But there was no respite for Manas. Overwhelmed
with fear and anger, he screamed at the owner.
‘You
are the biggest idiot on earth! Why don’t you keep a generator in this filthy
shop of yours?’
‘Listen,
you know well that electricity is not a problem in this area and I am no
servant of yours. I was just trying to help you since…’
‘But
you didn’t, you couldn’t help me. You’ve spoiled everything.’ He started
sobbing even harder.
As
he got control of his senses, he realized the mistake done in rage. Quickly
regaining his composure, he threw a fake smile on face.
Wiping
his tears, he said, ‘Sorry bhaiya. I
didn’t mean to hurt you. I know you did your best and you’ve so kind to help me
out. Ahmm…’
Words
were stuck in his mouth but he summoned courage to speak.
‘Bhaiya, can you please lend me some 30
bucks? Promise, I will return it tomorrow. Pakka.’
But
bhaiya was too apathetic to answer
and Manas did not want to waste a minute more. He could not remain out of the
house for long. He already had given enough troubles to his parents…and to
Aisha. Aisha’s thoughts brought that miserable feeling back.
Terrified
and confused, he ran to find any possibility of finding a savior. Somehow, an
overpowering belief was controlling his judgment ability. He was sure God will
punish him if he does not repay and here repayment had to be done in the form
of that ice-cream only.
He
was running vigorously, unsure of what he was doing and what he was going to
do. He ran and ran and stopped only at the entrance of the ice-cream shop.
The
shopkeeper recognized him.
‘Did
you forget something beta? You came
here a few hours back no?’ the shopkeeper’s voice was amiable.
He
looked at the shopkeeper - a middle aged man with a rough beard and thick spectacles.
He wore a slight smile on face which gave hope to Manas that this person can prove
to be of help.
‘Uncle,
will you help me? Please!’ Manas was getting quite desperate.
‘Relax
beta. What is it? Tell me.’
Hesitatingly,
he said, ‘Uncle, I want to purachse ice-cream. The same flavour which I had
taken earlier today.’
‘Ofcourse,
son. There’s enough stock, don’t you worry.’ There was an unnatural kindness in
the shopkeeper’s voice which was more due to the joy of his profit he was going
to earn rather than helping a young boy.
‘B…
but uncle, I don’t have money to pay.’
No
answer from the other side.
‘I
mean right now. I will pay tomorrow, definitely. First thing in the morning.’
No answer, again.
Manas
kept staring at uncle’s face. It was expressionless. Suddenly all those calm
and friendly looks vanished into thin air. After a long pause, the shopkeeper
finally spoke,
‘It’s
better you go back home. Your parents must be worried.’
‘Uncle,
please. It’s urgent.’
‘Urgent?’
the shopkeeper smirked. ‘I know you boys well. You think we are fools, or some
social workers? Ice-cream without money. Huh!’
Manas,
the poor soul, had little time to waste. He stood still thinking of a possible
solution.
‘Uncle,
I will leave my books here. You can sell them off if I don’t come tomorrow.’
‘What
am I going to do with your books? Am I a raddiwala?
I will not even get five rupees out of it. You just leave and don’t waste my…’
The
shopkeeper suddenly stopped. He stared hard at Manas’s wrist and the shining
branded watch.
‘If
you leave that watch to me, I might think about it.’
Manas
looked at the watch and then at the shopkeeper. He could see those greedy eyes
concealed behind that fake smile.
Papa
gifted that watch to him when he turned eight this year. A brand new watch! How
could he?
But
he did. Silently he removed it from his wrist and handed over to the
shopkeeper. He had this uneasy feeling that this watch is never coming back to
him, but he still went ahead.
If this is the final price I have to
pay, then I have no regrets.
___________________________________________________________The doorbell rang. Meera opened the door.
Without
looking at her, he quickly went in. He was anxious, frail, murmuring prayers
under his breath. And then he saw Aisha. Mom was feeding her khichdi. She was looking much better
than yesterday.
She
looked at him and that innocent smile spread on her face.
‘Bhaiya’ she said with her mouth filled
with khichdi.
She
always called him bhaiya but he hated it. Today, this word sounded the sweetest
word to him. He was exhilarated, ran straight to her and hugged her. Tears
escaped his eyes.
As
he released her, his white shirt was smeared with yellow khichdi.
‘This
is for you,’ he said, handing over the ice-cream cup to Aisha.
‘Ice-cream?
Wow! Thanks bhaiya.’
‘Manas,
where is your watch?’
‘Ahmm,
I lost it on the playground today.’ He said carelessly, still looking at Aisha.
‘What?
Lost it? How could you….’
image: depositphotos.com |
The
little boy was not in a mood to listen. His heart was dancing; he was on top of
the world. He picked his school bag and headed straight for his room.
‘Manas,
where are you going? I am talking to you. This boy is really getting out of
control. Wait, let papa come. He will talk to you. These children don’t have
any respect for their elders and even yesterday you were rude…’
Mom
went on and on. Her voice was still audible in Manas’s room but could not reach
his ears.
1 comment:
It is cute little childhood story.
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