M E E R A (On Hold)

CHAPTER 2

contd...

Meera slowly pushed the door open and peeped in. She saw a man and a woman sitting, talking to Sister Annie. The man was in a light grey shirt, and the lady wore a bright yellow kurta. Anjali gave Meera a gentle push encouraging her to enter the room. The door opened with a small creak sound; all the heads turned towards the door. Meera came in.

Sister got up from her chair and stood by Meera. She brought the latter to her parents by her shoulders.

-"Meet your daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Collins." Sister said with a smile.

Throughout Meera had her eyes glued at her 'parents'. She tried to understand their emotions in their eyes.

Amber got up and moved to Meera. She cupped the little girl's cheeks. Meera noticed tears in the latter's eyes. Meera hated it. She hated whenever anyone cried in front of her—first because she couldn't control her tears seeing the person in front crying; and second, Meera was very bad at consoling. (The last time she saw a young girl crying near the temple, she offered the girl her pencil box.) Well, that was four years ago!

Meera knew she couldn't afford to do it now. Because that was extremely stupid of her. But before she could think any further, something took on her and she hugged the woman in front. Amber cried out silently. Meera felt her shivering. It was gradually growing impossible for Meera to not start crying. Her eyes had already started to water. Meera felt something she has never before- a kind of warmth. She loved her smell.

Is this how you feel when you hug your mom? She thought to herself.

Anjali knew what was coming. She quickly signaled Mr. Collins to help his wife gather herself together. And thankfully, things worked. Amber wiped her tears away and even helped Meera. Meera still had her arms around Amber. Robert came and stood behind Meera and placed a kiss on the back of her head.

-"You're so beautiful." Meera heard him say.

Meera slowly brought her arms to herself and wiped the tears away. She turned towards her 'father' and mumbled a "Thank you" smiling.

Sister requested them to sit to which they obliged. Amber pulled Meera between her and Robert. Meera had a small smile plastered on her lips. She looked at Anjali who in turn gave her a "told ya!" look.

-"Well, Meera was excited for today. But I guess she was more nervous." Sister Annie said.

-"Trust me, I was more nervous than you." Replied Robert smiling at Meera. Meera felt happy realizing that she wasn't the only one going through this emotional ride.

-"You know a lot of things about our Meera. But there's one thing which he had kept away from you for today." Anjali paused for a second and continued, "Meera is a beautiful painter too. Let me show you."

Meera slapped her forehead, "Noo!" she said aloud. Meera didn't like attention. She was already very confused with the overwhelming response her singing has been receiving.

Amber rubbed her back and laughed.

-"Calm down!" She said.

Anjali got Meera's notepad along with some two other pages out from the drawer and handed it to Robert. He was surprised. They were splendid. He handed the pages to Amber, who herself is a fashion designer who had a better sense of art. She was mesmerized to see the precision with which Meera had blended the colors. From nowhere it appeared to be paintings drawn by an eleven-year-old.

-"This notepad is new. She has recently started her venture with mandala art." Anjali sounded proud.

Robert opened the notepad and said in a surprised tone,