In a sweet little world...
It was 8.30 and stars were twinkling, happily, in the sky. Little Rini sat by the window of her room with a book on her lap. She could hear the television downstairs. The pine tree that stood close to her window rustled in the wind. On any other night, she would have spent a while with her Father discussing the happenings of the day, brushed her teeth, read a story or two from her favorite fable book and gone to sleep; but tonight was different. She had bypassed all her rituals and had even bluntly refused her Mom’s offer to read her a few stories. She could simply not think about anything else. What would she do tomorrow!?
Her thought process was interrupted by a loud hollow laugh from the room right below hers… ‘Prathap Uncle…hmm!’ she thought ‘Why did he have to be here today?!...shuks!’ Her Dad would have left to UK before she wakes up the next morning! She simply wanted to bring all the clocks in the world to a halt…give them some respite from their never ending chore, and keep her Dad with her. Her little face tightened with an annoyed frown. Somehow her little world seemed to fall apart. Not having her Dad around for a few days would mean too much of a vacuity. As if this wasn’t enough, she has had a fight with the nightmarish PT teacher’s daughter, Nidi, that day. Nidi had promised to convey this to her Mom and get Rini punished during the PT hour the next afternoon. She was sure that she would be caned by the PT teacher, the way Ritosh was when he poured a hand full of mud into Bobby’s ear. What would she do?
*********************************************
Her heart was heavy and the film of water that had formed in her eyes threatened to wet her cheeks any minute. Pinky had fought with her and wouldn’t have lunch with her. She couldn’t swallow the tiny piece of chapatti that she had in her mouth. She was chewing it noiselessly and with her mouth shut, the way her Dad had told her to. She sat all alone in one corner of the class room. PT hour was just an hour away. She closed her little purple lunch box and put it back in her bag. Pinky was staring at her from another corner of the class room. Rini walked out of the class room to the huge garden on one side of the school. Nobody seemed to care. She sat among the roses and cried her heart out.
**********************************************
She looked at her little pink watch. The smiling Barbie in the watch didn’t care a damn about this teary state she was in. She kept smiling sweetly. It was 12 minutes to 1. Her Dad had taught her how to read time from a non-digital watch. The more she thought about her Dad, the more she missed him. She sat there swinging her little legs to and fro. ‘He isn’t even aware of this mess I am in. He is so far away!’ she thought.
“Sweetie, shaking your legs like that isn’t a good habit… haven’t I told you before?”
“Daddy…” she whirled around! There he was walking hand in hand with Pinky.
She rushed to him with extended hands and was lifted up as always. A canceled flight and proximity of her School to the airport had brought him back to her just when she needed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rested on his shoulder and poured out all her worries to him. Her Father resolved all her problems and hand shakes with Nidi and Pinky happened in a jiffy. He even spoke to her PT teacher (who amazingly smiled as she spoke to her Dad) and took Rini with him.
***********************************************
In a short while she found herself sitting in the car with the seat belt on, licking a choc bar and discussing her classmates with her Dad.
“Daddyyy…”
“Yes Sweetieee…”
*giggle* “…You said ‘sweetie’ in just the same tone that I used for ‘daddy’….Why did you do that Daddy?.... Are you a copy cat? “ *giggle*
“ hmm… so, you say I shouldn’t imitate you! Yeah?”
“Imiatee… What does that mean?”…
“Its IMITATE honey……..
……………
Her thought process was interrupted by a loud hollow laugh from the room right below hers… ‘Prathap Uncle…hmm!’ she thought ‘Why did he have to be here today?!...shuks!’ Her Dad would have left to UK before she wakes up the next morning! She simply wanted to bring all the clocks in the world to a halt…give them some respite from their never ending chore, and keep her Dad with her. Her little face tightened with an annoyed frown. Somehow her little world seemed to fall apart. Not having her Dad around for a few days would mean too much of a vacuity. As if this wasn’t enough, she has had a fight with the nightmarish PT teacher’s daughter, Nidi, that day. Nidi had promised to convey this to her Mom and get Rini punished during the PT hour the next afternoon. She was sure that she would be caned by the PT teacher, the way Ritosh was when he poured a hand full of mud into Bobby’s ear. What would she do?
*********************************************
Her heart was heavy and the film of water that had formed in her eyes threatened to wet her cheeks any minute. Pinky had fought with her and wouldn’t have lunch with her. She couldn’t swallow the tiny piece of chapatti that she had in her mouth. She was chewing it noiselessly and with her mouth shut, the way her Dad had told her to. She sat all alone in one corner of the class room. PT hour was just an hour away. She closed her little purple lunch box and put it back in her bag. Pinky was staring at her from another corner of the class room. Rini walked out of the class room to the huge garden on one side of the school. Nobody seemed to care. She sat among the roses and cried her heart out.
**********************************************
She looked at her little pink watch. The smiling Barbie in the watch didn’t care a damn about this teary state she was in. She kept smiling sweetly. It was 12 minutes to 1. Her Dad had taught her how to read time from a non-digital watch. The more she thought about her Dad, the more she missed him. She sat there swinging her little legs to and fro. ‘He isn’t even aware of this mess I am in. He is so far away!’ she thought.
“Sweetie, shaking your legs like that isn’t a good habit… haven’t I told you before?”
“Daddy…” she whirled around! There he was walking hand in hand with Pinky.
She rushed to him with extended hands and was lifted up as always. A canceled flight and proximity of her School to the airport had brought him back to her just when she needed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rested on his shoulder and poured out all her worries to him. Her Father resolved all her problems and hand shakes with Nidi and Pinky happened in a jiffy. He even spoke to her PT teacher (who amazingly smiled as she spoke to her Dad) and took Rini with him.
***********************************************
In a short while she found herself sitting in the car with the seat belt on, licking a choc bar and discussing her classmates with her Dad.
“Daddyyy…”
“Yes Sweetieee…”
*giggle* “…You said ‘sweetie’ in just the same tone that I used for ‘daddy’….Why did you do that Daddy?.... Are you a copy cat? “ *giggle*
“ hmm… so, you say I shouldn’t imitate you! Yeah?”
“Imiatee… What does that mean?”…
“Its IMITATE honey……..
……………
................
“ Daddyyy… Is the PT teacher scared of you?”…..
………….
………….
“Why did you call me ‘Sweetie’ when Pinky was with you?...I’m a grown up gal, can’t you understand?? …”
“Am sorry honey………………….
……………….
……………….
………………….
As the car sped through the picturesque roads of that hilly town, there were at least two souls perfectly in harmony with life and there was at least one little soul who resolutely believed that there isn’t anything that her Dad can’t possibly accomplish in this world!
This story is a queer blend of past incidents and future prospects, and is dedicated to two people
1) My Dad whose birthday is round the corner- All through my life, amidst problems of various sorts, I’ve derived tremendous strength from the unflinching affection of my Father. Hats off to his dedication towards work and his crude affection for the ones dear to him!
2) A Man who, I think, will make a wonderful Father when the time comes (dunno when!?) – I’m yet to meet a more patient and level headed soul. His kid/s (when they begin to exist) could certainly be considered most fortunate!
“ Daddyyy… Is the PT teacher scared of you?”…..
………….
………….
“Why did you call me ‘Sweetie’ when Pinky was with you?...I’m a grown up gal, can’t you understand?? …”
“Am sorry honey………………….
……………….
……………….
………………….
As the car sped through the picturesque roads of that hilly town, there were at least two souls perfectly in harmony with life and there was at least one little soul who resolutely believed that there isn’t anything that her Dad can’t possibly accomplish in this world!
This story is a queer blend of past incidents and future prospects, and is dedicated to two people
1) My Dad whose birthday is round the corner- All through my life, amidst problems of various sorts, I’ve derived tremendous strength from the unflinching affection of my Father. Hats off to his dedication towards work and his crude affection for the ones dear to him!
2) A Man who, I think, will make a wonderful Father when the time comes (dunno when!?) – I’m yet to meet a more patient and level headed soul. His kid/s (when they begin to exist) could certainly be considered most fortunate!
posted by Xena at 6:29 AM
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