The ice-cream saga

 

image: depositphotos.com

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

 ‘Intruder!’ his mind interrupted.

‘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.

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 ‘Manas, meet your younger sister, Aisha,’ papa said in a flat tone.

‘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.

 It took him three years to find more information…

 That was a Sunday morning and he was restlessly roaming around the house, with his usual moaning that he has nothing substantial to do. Papa finally asked him to bring the chessboard from the cupboard.

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?’

 The owner clenched his fists in an attempt to keeping his anger in check.

‘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.’

 

Mom, still surprised with her son’s transformation, suddenly noticed his empty wrist.

‘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.