She opened her bag to take out her umbrella, thanking her lucky stars that she was carrying one. It was raining very heavily, quite unnatural to the place where she lives where monsoons generally tend to exist only in the pages of geography books or scripts of news-reporters. She shivered as the cold air laden with rain drops gushed past her. She already felt the urge to cup the sides of a hot coffee mug. I will make the evening up to it, she promised to the weather, smiling at nowhere.
She plugged in her earphones, perfect opportunity to drown herself in songs from her "Rain" playlist, and also that she was walking alone, it served a greater purpose. Finally, she set out from under the shed where had taken refuge for a while as the light drizzle had changed into enormous drops falling with so much intensity that it almost hurt to stand under them. She was unknowingly singing the song that was playing in her playlist quite loudly, the rain drowned her voice quite effectively. She released a deep sigh after the completion of her favorite lines.
She looked up to find a girl smiling at her. She was drenched from head to toe, her hair all messed up, falling half on her face, she was shivering like anything. But it was the smile that caught her attention, it was almost the same smile that her seven year old sister had given her after successfully spelling out B-A-S-K-E-T-B-A-L-L, one that was printed on the mini ball that she gifted her this summer and this made her suddenly miss her sister very much, remembering the times when she used to enjoy getting drenched on their roof with her sister in her lap, ignoring the perpetual shouts from their mother downstairs.
She was jolted back to reality when a streak of lightning split open the sky in front of her turning the grey hue around into an amazing purple followed by a deafening thunder. She realized that she had stopped walking. She noticed the girl was still looking at her still, almost amused. She took off her earphones, thinking maybe she was one of those people whom she knows but can't point out their name or how she knows them at the moment. Then she realized that this was the same girl who some of her friends had conveniently named "weirdo".. "freak" based on very little interaction they had with her. She asked her whether she would like to share her umbrella, she happily came under it.
As they started walking towards their hostel, she asked the girl general questions, some she answered with overflowing excitement, some with pursed lips and some with animated gestures. She was more and more reminded of her sister now. From the little conversation they could have while walking towards the hostel, she came to know her name, the place she belonged to, that she was a fresher, and didn't have many friends yet.. As they reached the gate, the girl ran out of the umbrella, looking back with a grateful grin.
As she entered her room and put her bag down, she could not shake off the worry that engulfed her now, worry for a mere stranger. She felt angry towards the parents of the girls who had sent her to the hostel, could they not see that she was too naive to live in one, did they not know how other students might make fun of her innocence (like her own friends had done), take advantage of her gullibility or did they want her to learn things alone? But would she be able to cope up? She stood in front of her window, it was still raining heavily, she thought of her baby sister, imagined her getting drenched in a heavy rain somewhere when she had forgotten to carry her umbrella, would there be anyone to provide her with one, she felt a lump in her throat.
She tried to change her course of thoughts, she had promised herself that she would spend the evening well, she could not ruin it worrying about things that were not in her control. She sat on her window sill with the unfinished novel that was reaching its climax now.. but all she could remember was that innocent smile.. so pure.. so innocent!
She plugged in her earphones, perfect opportunity to drown herself in songs from her "Rain" playlist, and also that she was walking alone, it served a greater purpose. Finally, she set out from under the shed where had taken refuge for a while as the light drizzle had changed into enormous drops falling with so much intensity that it almost hurt to stand under them. She was unknowingly singing the song that was playing in her playlist quite loudly, the rain drowned her voice quite effectively. She released a deep sigh after the completion of her favorite lines.
She looked up to find a girl smiling at her. She was drenched from head to toe, her hair all messed up, falling half on her face, she was shivering like anything. But it was the smile that caught her attention, it was almost the same smile that her seven year old sister had given her after successfully spelling out B-A-S-K-E-T-B-A-L-L, one that was printed on the mini ball that she gifted her this summer and this made her suddenly miss her sister very much, remembering the times when she used to enjoy getting drenched on their roof with her sister in her lap, ignoring the perpetual shouts from their mother downstairs.
She was jolted back to reality when a streak of lightning split open the sky in front of her turning the grey hue around into an amazing purple followed by a deafening thunder. She realized that she had stopped walking. She noticed the girl was still looking at her still, almost amused. She took off her earphones, thinking maybe she was one of those people whom she knows but can't point out their name or how she knows them at the moment. Then she realized that this was the same girl who some of her friends had conveniently named "weirdo".. "freak" based on very little interaction they had with her. She asked her whether she would like to share her umbrella, she happily came under it.
As they started walking towards their hostel, she asked the girl general questions, some she answered with overflowing excitement, some with pursed lips and some with animated gestures. She was more and more reminded of her sister now. From the little conversation they could have while walking towards the hostel, she came to know her name, the place she belonged to, that she was a fresher, and didn't have many friends yet.. As they reached the gate, the girl ran out of the umbrella, looking back with a grateful grin.
As she entered her room and put her bag down, she could not shake off the worry that engulfed her now, worry for a mere stranger. She felt angry towards the parents of the girls who had sent her to the hostel, could they not see that she was too naive to live in one, did they not know how other students might make fun of her innocence (like her own friends had done), take advantage of her gullibility or did they want her to learn things alone? But would she be able to cope up? She stood in front of her window, it was still raining heavily, she thought of her baby sister, imagined her getting drenched in a heavy rain somewhere when she had forgotten to carry her umbrella, would there be anyone to provide her with one, she felt a lump in her throat.
She tried to change her course of thoughts, she had promised herself that she would spend the evening well, she could not ruin it worrying about things that were not in her control. She sat on her window sill with the unfinished novel that was reaching its climax now.. but all she could remember was that innocent smile.. so pure.. so innocent!
Excellent piece of writing as always... but i cant really see eye to eye with you on the matter of letting daughters/sons live in hostel.... since she is just a fresher, i guess she still needs time to get used to this foreign environment, but this would help her build her character... it will make her independent... staying at home doesnt necessarily mean he/she would be protected from the harshness of the world all the time....we were all there at one point of time, we have all come out of it with a certain enriching experience... now we are more confident of ourselves than we would have been had we stayed alone in our hometowns being spoonfed by our guardians.... as for name-calling, there are certain juvenile conduct that one must learn to shirk... and being a day-scholar doesnt protect one from this form of bullying, if i recall clearly from my school-days..... all in all i think you are just experiencing what a dear friend of mine likes to call "working parent syndrome" where you want to shower your sibling/progeny with affection/gifts in order to compensate for the time that you stay away from her.... And I cant blame you for that .. especially since i, myself have been accused of it....
ReplyDeleteThe only thing you can do, i guess, is ask your friends to stop talking about an innocent stranger behind her back... and then, sit back and enjoy life! and the glorious weather!!!!!!
Thank you for reading Debolina, I am obliged!
DeleteThe worry and insecurity that the narrator feels is irrational, as maternal instinct most of the time is; which sometimes leads them to believe that keeping their little ones safely tucked in their arms and always beside them will protect them from the harshness that the world has to offer.
Working Parent Syndrome is an interesting mention!