It
was a Friday and Zoya was pretty excited to go to school. The excitement was not
about school but the departure that followed. Departure towards home. Home for
her was her grandma. All she had to do was wake up, else her mother would shout
at the top of her voice, no wonder the whole neighborhood knew her name! To protect
her precious ears she got up.
She
had practically to do nothing, all of her chores were done to her, as in, she
was stripped, bathe, brushed, dried, dolled up with her plain blue uniform,
which she always hated, her hair parted and tied into two perfect pony tails,
her white socks and the worst was those dull boring black shoes which she
dreaded. They made her feet smell and she did try to reason with her mother. She
hated this, she hated that she couldn’t choose to keep her hair wild and free. She
loved the way how her hair flew when she ran, like they were her personalized
wings. The blue uniform gave her the blues, she adored baby pink. It made her feel pretty.
She
was wrapped up like a present ready for school and pushed to her spot light. The
place where the bus picked her up. Before she reached her spot light, like an
artist yet to perform she was showered with kisses. She never understood why
people who loved her so much were ready to send her away and the worst MAKE HER
WEAR THAT HIDEOUS UNIFORM.
But
she was grown up and being wiser now, after all the fighting and the crying in
vain, she had learnt who the boss of the house was, the hard way. It was always
her mother, even though her father let her, have her way, he instantly jumped
ships when he had to choose between her and mum. This made her angry. He always
said she was his princess. Then how could he betray her?
All
this forgotten as soon as she saw the face of her beloved friend and rushes towards
the van, where her seat near the window had been reserved. After the short
catch up with her friend, the loud singing at school, the boring alphabets,
playing in the sand and just like that, another typical day at school was done.
Like
the first rains that arrives to quench the thirst of the dry soil, she rushed
to shower everyone at home with her love. It was Friday eve, and this meant all
was packed, all her favorite dresses and shoes in her beautiful pink bag. Like a
bee, she rushed from car to home and home to car, untiringly verifying if all
things are set perfect. She then got to remove that plain uniform with so much enthusiasm,
such she felt like a mutiny was won. The joy was immense when she saw her darling
dress waiting for her and rushed to wear it.
All
was set for the journey, she occupied the back seat behind the captain’s place,
that was her seat, made sure then don’t forget her. She had promised grandma to
definitely arrive and she didn’t want to risk it. Her determination to go was, mightier
than the Himalayas. While she was sitting determined here, the whole house was
reshuffled for her, not unless her mother bellowed for her, that being how they
found her.
As
her father settled to take the wheel and mum beside him. She enthusiastically waved
bye bye to her dogs, tiger and thunder, her house, her rose garden, her
sugarcane plant now taller than her, waiting to ripen, and her kitchen set. She
wondered how that got there. Then it struck her, she had played with it
yesterday. Now she prayed hard that her mum doesn’t see it and promised she
will remember to put it away as soon as she comes back.
She
just wanted to escape now and if possible fly to her grandma that instant, but
she had to wait for 5 hours. She knew not time but that’s what her mum told. That
doesn’t mean she couldn’t enquire persistently about it till the destination
was reached. She waved madly at people, saw the trees fly by, the sun paint his
sky and was in immense need of candy, felt hungry, and the urgency to relieve herself.
When her ship stopped for a break she rushed to mum and got her tummy emptied first
and later filled.
The
finishing touch was her candy, for her dad doesn’t share his candy. Candy with
which he could blow clouds, she wanted to do that, but nada. In UKG now, she
vowed one day she will. She got what she could, her candy, she then rushed to
resume her seat and played the journey that was paused earlier.
