A 'SPECS'TACULAR SURPRISE | ONC 2021

7¦ Busy Morning

"Get up, honey. It's time to go to school."

Her mother's voice jolted Aalo out of almost dreamless sleep. She opened one eye to find her mother scuttling about the room, busy in finding her school dress to press. Aalo groaned and closed her eyes, flipping on her stomach again.

"Get up." her mother said strictly, turning her over and forcing her hands from over her eyes.

"Nooo," Aalo wailed.

And then she felt the tickles. Her mom had a unique way of getting her up from bed every morning. No scolding or beatings. Tickles would do the job. Her mother's long fingers were poking into the sides of her belly. She giggled and wrestled with her mother still she was forced to drag herself out of bed and to the bathroom.

She heard her mother tinkling in the kitchen as Aalo put on her school dress and drew up the brown socks.

"Perfectly smart," she remarked, fixing the necktie all by herself. She had learnt a lot of things that children of her age would falter at. Aalo learned because she had to. She couldn't possibly depend on her mother to do the little things like dressing her up for school, which all mothers did.

"Don't forget your glasses," her mother warned from the doorway, holding the ladle in her hand. Aalo was going to start another whining spree, but she resisted seeing the oily ladle in her mother's hand. Disturbing Maa in the morning hours could lead to the hot ladle potentially falling on her bum.

She crawled over to where her spectacle case lay. Immediately the dream from her last night came back to her. She smiled on thinking about that extraordinary dream with the strange creature. As soon as the spectacles alighted on her nose, she heard a scurrying noise.

"Good luck for school, Aalo," A familiar tinny voice sounded from near her. She looked under the bed and the green Gyppie waved at her.

"Wait, what? You weren't a dream?" she blinked.

"Did you wanted me to be a dream?" Pompom pouted at her.

"No, I didn't," Aalo said quickly. "You're my friend. It's just that..." Aalo trailed off.

"That?" Pompom fluffed up his feathers.

"That I don't have many friends and you were like a dream come true. So I thought you were a dream too," Aalo explained.

"Aalo, come down fast," Maa called out from the kitchen. A loud hiss of the pressure cooker interrupted her voice midway.

"Coming," Aalo shouted back, turning to Pompom.

"Well, I'm here as long as you wear your glasses," Pompom gesture towards her face.

"I'm still afraid that people will make fun of me," Aalo whispered.

"People that make fun of others are insecure about themselves. Always know that. The ones that are going through something, are the ones that tend to take out their anger on weaker targets or people that don't bite back," Pompom said in a serious voice.

"Aalo, you will be late for the bus," her mother warned again, over the beeping sound of the micro oven- a sure sign that breakfast and tiffin for both mother and daughter were ready.

"But I feel dreadful..." Aalo mumbled to Pompom.

"No one can make you feel bad until you let yourself feel it. How you react to something and perceive something is under your control, Little Aalo!" Pompom shook his head.

"I'll try not to get sad," Aalo said finally, waving goodbye at him.

"What are you doing under the bed?" Maa's angry voice sounded at the door.

"Nothing, Maa," Aalo straightened up immediately, "Just trying to find my hanky."

Her mother raised her eyebrows but didn't comment as she held her hand and dragged her to the breakfast table. She had made Aalo's favourite bread and omelette.

"I packed luchi (A fried bread) for lunch with aloo bhaja (French fries), just like you like," Maa gave her a smile, still running from the fridge to the sink and back to the table where Aalo dangled her legs from the chair, munching on her toast. Maa's tea was getting cold as she tore off pieces of her own bread and stuffed it in her mouth, tidying up the titbits from the kitchen. Aalo's mother never sat down to eat. She was a whirlwind in the morning, a storm of strength, which ensured that Aalo was happy and fulfilled in all ways.

"Hope it all goes well," Aalo mumbled through a mouthful of egg. Her mother didn't seem to hear anything as she zipped Aalo's bag noisily. Then she stuffed her own till the bag seemed to burst at seams. Maa's bag always had loads of titbits. Everything from spare earrings to band-aids and tissues, lipsticks, combs, toffees - Maa's bag was a treasure chest for Aalo.

The bus honked right outside their door, followed by the sound of shuffling feet on gravel as the driver rang the bell.

"Quick, baby." Her mother hugged her tightly, kissing her on both cheeks. Aalo gathered up her satchel and rushed out, clambering up the steps of the yellow school bus.

A collective gasp sounded from the gang of her friends. She realised every single person's eyes were glued to her new glasses. A few expressions were horror, a few were admiration, and most of them were a plain curiosity.

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