A Pocketful Of Sunshine

Chapter 15

'Ouch! Ahh! Mary, mother of Jesus!' Selena winced in pain as Siyah quickly worked like an artist on her bushy eyebrows to give them shape.

'And we are done! Huff!' Siyah sighed as she plucked the last strand of hair from her brow and put down the tweezers. 'Now, Mademoiselle, are you ready to see yourself in the mirror?' Siyah beamed, looking at Selena, who nodded her head in excitement. Siyah swung the swiveling chair on which Selena was sitting to face the mirror.

'Tada! What do you think?' Siyah asked Selena as she sat in disbelief, looking at herself.

'Siyah, is this really me? I look so different,' Selena beamed, admiring herself in the mirror.

'And beautiful,' Siyah said, patting Selena's shoulder, 'next time, we can work on how to do a quick makeup. What do you say?' Siyah folded her arms to her chest and raised her eyebrows.

'Sure, whatever you say, Ma'am. I am your humble student,' Selena replied, and both girls burst out laughing.

A visit to the Pandit's house was always pleasurable for Selena as she found a new friend in Siyah, and Siyah found a new muse in Selena. Selena learned a lot about dressing and styling from Siyah and a lot of necessary social etiquette she never learned in the convent. She also started taking music lessons from Siyah, which she found pretty exciting. Being a quick learner, Selena handled the violin and played a few tunes in a few sittings.

Mr. Pandit instantly liked Selena, and sometimes when he was not sleeping in the afternoon, he spent time sharing his books and stories from his younger days with her.

Shyam joined them whenever he was around. He normally sat in a corner, mutely admiring Selena when she was busy playing the violin or talking to Siyah. Like everyone around Selena, Shyam took notice of her transformation thanks to Siyah and fell in love with her more. He always found an excuse to spend time with her by volunteering as her official tour guide. Shyam showed Selena all the offbeat sights in and around Ooty on a few afternoons when Siyah had to go down to the hospital to check the progress of her fractured leg.

The Alexanders appreciated whatever Siyah was doing to their lovely granddaughter, and they never minded her frequent visits to the Pandit's house.

A few days passed, and it was time for Selena to leave for Madras as Sophie's engagement date was nearing. She took leave from Siyah, Mr. Pandit, and Shyam and promised to be back sooner to be a part of Siyah's marriage celebrations and celebrate the New Year, followed by her seventeenth birthday.

Along with Selena and Mayamma, the Alexanders started early morning for Madras. The drive down from Ooty to Coimbatore and Madras was beautiful. Selena got lost in admiring the scenery filled with hills, meadows, tea gardens, lush greenery, farms, small villages, small towns, buses, etc. At the same time, Mrs. Alexander and Mayamma dozed off during the entire journey.

Mr. Alexander was a treasure trove of knowledge as he narrated a few stories from history and his younger days relating to a few sites and historical buildings that were quite amusing for Selena. She also learned that her mother, Marianne, often took the same route to visit Madras, where her films were filmed in the studios while she worked in the movie industry.

Soon they reached Madras, and it was quite a different place altogether. It was a big city in the true sense as she could see long and wide roads, shops, significantly tall buildings, trams, buses, and cars running around, and the people seemed to be in a hurry and had no time for anyone. She was amazed by the city as she compared Madras with Goa and Ooty.

After a long nine-hour drive, they entered a small alley that opened to a quiet, posh neighborhood in Anna Salai with huge mansions and houses. The car stopped near a massive house with a small front yard. As soon as the family got out of the vehicle, the front door opened, and Sarah rushed toward them. The first person she greeted and hugged was Selena.

'Oh, Selena, I am so happy to see you again,' she hugged Selena and jumped with joy.

'Me too, Sarah,' Selena replied with equal excitement.

'Hey, girl, have you forgotten us in your excitement to meet your cousin?' Mrs. Alexander mockingly asked Sarah.

'Come on, Granny, how can I forget you and Grandpa? I was impatiently waiting for you all to arrive since morning,' she hugged her grandparents and led them and Selena inside, followed by Mayamma and Selvamani, carrying the luggage.

The house looked beautiful from the inside as it was from the outside. The living room was large and had huge leather sofas and beautiful cushions. Beautiful paintings and curtains covered the walls and windows, and Turkish carpets covered the floor. The house was very silent and cold, like its inmates.

'Where's everyone, Sarah?' Mrs. Alexander inquired as she picked up a glass of cold water offered by the maidservant.

'Sophie is out with her friends, Mamma is taking a shower, and Papa has gone for an important meeting, so that leaves you guys with me for entertainment till Mamma comes out, which I don't think will be before an hour,' Sarah replied and everyone burst out laughing.

In a few minutes, Martha joined the group in the living room, and she got busy talking to her in-laws while Sarah took Selena to her room upstairs.

'So Selena, how was your trip? Did you miss me at all?'
'The trip was good, and what do you mean I missed you? Of course, I missed you, silly,' Selena hugged Sarah.

'Gurl, who are you, and what have you done to my sweet little cousin?' Sarah gasped, noticing the change in Selena's dressing style and how well-groomed she looked.

'What do you mean?' Selena replied with an amused look.

'You look so different. Your clothes. Your hair. Your face. Where have you hidden those bushy eyebrows and thin girly mustache? And what is this? You have even applied makeup?' Sarah said in disbelief.

'Ah, blame it on Siyah,

' Selena dismissed with a laugh.

'Who, Siyah?' Sarah asked curiously.

'Our neighbor Mr. Pandit's granddaughter,' Selena replied.

'Oh, okay. I have met her a couple of times at the clubhouse in Ooty. All said and done. She has done a great job with you, Anna,' Sarah smiled, admiring Selena.

Soon both the girls got chatty catching up on all the things they missed in the last few weeks they were apart until their talks were interrupted by the maid who called upon them to join the family for lunch.

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