A 'SPECS'TACULAR SURPRISE | ONC 2021

12 ¦ The Warm House

The entire morning was whisked away on the ride of time as Aalo’s mind continued to loiter on the possibilities. The image of her Baba was almost engraved on her mind, and she couldn’t get that picture out. Juhi muttered something as soon as Aalo had settled in her seat, but she ignored her completely because her mind was preoccupied.

The bus stopped at various places and picked up one kid after the other. Aalo stared blankly at the door, seeing them move in as the bus got packed one by one.

Just like every other day, Roshni Madam climbed in, swishing the golden border of her saree, and a silence fell like a curtain over the chattering kids. A sweet ping rang out. Roshni Madam whipped out her phone and pressed the button on the side. Her screen lit up and in that briefest second, the cloud on Aalo’s mind cleared up. She was staring at the guy she had seen in her dreams. This gentleman was on her teacher’s phone. It puzzled Aalo for a second.

Was it possible that she had mistaken?

There was no way to know, however, or was there?

Aalo’s brain was working fast on an idea. Surprisingly, she knew exactly what to do, but she would need a little help. School seems extra-long when you have a plan to execute back home.

Ao, after fidgeting for the entire day, when Aalo boarded the school bus, she carefully chose the window seat and tried to memorise the roads and the location of Roshni Madam’s house. It wasn’t very far from her own, and in their small town, it wasn’t really difficult to go places if you had a bicycle. Aalo, fortunately, had a small one, which she sometimes used to take herself to swimming classes.

Her mother suspected nothing when she insisted that she’d go to swimming lessons alone. The pool was just two blocks away. But Aalo had no intention of stopping at the pool.

She cycled all the way further, pedalling and pedalling till the familiar lane came into sight. She skidded to a halt outside the peach coloured building. Her heart was hammering in her chest. Her legs tottered as she tried to gather her courage and drag herself to the small front porch. The calling bell was higher, and Aalo couldn’t reach it even on her tiptoes.

She looked around at the garden for any clues. It was a small bushy garden. It looked neglected. Wildflowers and bushes were clumped at places, and bald patches of no vegetation dotted the ground. 

Her eyes caught a small rusted iron stool. It was lying on the ground, half-buried in the earth. Aalo stepped into the bushes cautiously and trotted to where the stool was lying. Then she dragged it to the porch, the iron making grunge on the soil and blowing more dust. It also caused more noise than she had expected, but it was perfect.

Aalo placed the rickety stool beneath the bell and put one foot on it, hoping that it could hold her weight. The tool wobbled a bit. Aalo however had no choice but to put the other foot on too. Then she put her palm against the wall and reached up on her toes.

But the bench shuddered before she could ring the bell. She tried to spread her arms and rebalance herself on the broken thing, but her weight caused it to wobble more. Losing her balance, she yelped, bracing herself for the impact, but someone had caught her arms. She felt her back being supported by a soft round belly as someone was dangling her by her arms

Aalo craned her neck to see the face of her saviour and saw a pair of brown eyes smiling at her. The man in her dreams was holding her for real. Her Baba, the man who had only been a legend all her life, a man who had been that sore spot, that topic which the adults spoke about in hushed whispers.

Aalo blinked twice. The guy put her down gently. “Be careful there.” he picked up the tool and tossed it back into the bushes.

“Did you see me from inside the house?” Aalo asked.