Chapter 1:-The Endearing Dilemma

Amma walked into little Piya sleeping peacefully. Amma knew Piya is awake and was trying her best to avoid school like she always used to. Crisp cotton saree draped neatly, hair neatly tied in a bun, tall, fair and pleasantly plump. One look at her and you could say that Amma was a disciplinarian. Ignoring all the puppy faces and feline noises Piya was making, Amma asked sternly, “So what’s the excuse today?”  Piya covers herself over with a blanket and says “Er, I feel a little heavy in my heart, maybe I should sleep Amma, no school Amma, please na.” Amma simply burst out laughing and called Milind in the room, her blue eyed son in his late 20s. “You heard what she said? It seems today her heart is giving her trouble. This is what happens when a little girl watches too much television.” Milind doted on Piya since the time she was born and he poured all his affection on her. Piya was more like a daughter to him. He covered Piya over with a blanket and took Amma out of the room. Amma was caught up with packing lunch boxes and ensuring that the men of the house leave for their work on time, so she saved Piya for the last since her school was in the afternoon. Meanwhile Milind’s elder brother Vineet, the ultimate prankster of the family, tiptoed over Piya’s room and woke her up again. He pulled Piya’s ears and she screeched with anger. That was Vineet’s agenda for the day completed successfully. Acha came out of his room with a comb in his hand and dressed up for the day. His moustache was just like the Army men which gave him a very stern and intimidating demeanour. He was very particular about how well his shirt is ironed and how perfectly his trousers fit. “Early morning this boy starts troubling my little doll”, Acha yelled out to Amma. Hearing Acha’s voice, Piya decided to persuade him that she doesn’t want to go to school. She quietly walked towards him like a little girl burdened with a heavy heart. Acha then made her sit on his lap and attempted at cajoling her. ”You are a good girl no? Good children never say no to education. You know how difficult it is for some people to even get an admission in a school?” By now, Milind chirped in “Amma let her stay at home na, even I have a holiday, I will play with her” Acha sternly said “Milind, it’s because of you that this girl is getting lazier day by day, stop pampering her like this. Piya will go to school, won’t she?” Piya nodded along with least interest and had by then accepted the fact that she had to go to school at any cost. Sigh.

 Since the time Piya was in her kindergarten, she had developed the knack of making up the most unique and funny excuse to avoid school, everyday!  Not that she was bad in her studies or had no friends in the school. She was the only student who was sent from junior year kindergarten to the first grade directly since she had brilliant communication skills and was much more evolved for her age. The teachers absolutely adored her in spite of her absenteeism and reluctance for school. A baby face, dusky complexion, jet black curly hair and an impressive height, Piya came off as a typical South Indian kid from her looks. But unlike other South Indian kids, she was least interested in pleasing teachers or being the first one to answer every question. She had a little world of her own where everything had to be real and sensible. Her classmates thought of her as an arrogant girl but still somehow mustered up some courage to interact with her. Once they got to know her , they realized that she is she a friendly, kind yet reserved girl. She used to cry silently missing home unlike other kids who wailed at the drop of a hat. She hated to be away from home and her teachers knew it. Tears used to keep dripping on her big, round cheeks and she used to wipe them off while writing in her notebooks. The handwriting was consistently bad. It was legible but very bad. She surely couldn’t seem to care about it.

Somehow Piya managed to pull of the day and came back home in the evening.  Before Piya started lazing around, Amma caught hold of her and made sure she took a shower in hot water with Dettol. Yes! Hot water shower with Dettol was a painful and unavoidable ritual maintained by Amma. And mind you, nobody could escape it. Amma made Piya wear clean clothes meant only for the home and then let her into her own world. Piya was allowed to watch as much as cartoons and television as she wanted to. The family was very liberated and never believed in troubling little kids with studies every day. Piya was looking out of the window and waving out to a little monkey perched on a dense tree next to their house. Kids from the other buildings used to do the same thing but again Piya was keen about knowing as to how can one stay on a tree. She was engrossed in her thoughts. Spotting her deeply engaged, Amma told Milind that she sometimes gets worried as to what this girl is thinking because she never tells anything to anyone. Piya was still looking out of the window and she kept checking the time. It was 4.30 and she saw Acha coming back from work. She was overjoyed and opened the door, something Piya did every day. Acha loved curling Piya's hair with his tiny comb, he made sure he did it everyday. She played with him for a while and went back at her window to see the world outside. The clock struck 8.30 pm and she ran inside her room. Acha was comfortably watching a cricket match which was the one thing that the entire family was crazy about. Piya said nothing and made a puppy face. Acha knew it was time for Popeye the Sailor man so handed over the remote control to Piya and made a huge sacrifice. Halfway through the cartoon show, Piya heard the doorbell ringing. Something struck her and she ran over to the door. When she opened the door, there was this beautiful dusky woman with a big red bindi and a nice smelling perfume, beautifully painted long nails and a wedge heeled shoes. This woman lifted Piya in her arms and gave a peck on her cheeks. Amma came out of the kitchen and said “This is nice. You come and Piya forgets our existence.” Everybody gave an affirmative laugh and a warm welcome to the woman. Amma quickly served dinner for everyone. The dinner was typical vegetarian simple meal which belonged more to the culture of Mumbai city where they lived since 2 decades than from Kerala which was their native place. The food was made keeping Piya in mind. Food was less spicy, less oily and off course tasty since Piya was a big foodie. After having a sumptuous meal of dal,rice,salad,curd and papad, Piya would be fed at least one spoon of rice again turn by turn by every member of the house. Only then everyone else would start eating their meal. When everybody else was busy eating dinner, Piya served water and passes around papads or pickles for everyone. She was a typical girl who wanted to learn everything that her Amma did.

Piya is aware that this woman is going to leave after dinner. She felt a lump in her throat. But she knows she can’t leave Amma and go. So what will Piya do now? What is this endearing dilemma as to who she loves more? Next chapter will reveal it all J  

Next Chapter 2: - The Long Red Bindi