*Kolkata*
*2009*
A man in his thirties is walking towards an apartment building. In his hand is a white cardboard box, which probably has a cake. He enters the building and takes a flight of stairs. After rushing up 3 floors, he comes in front of an apartment and rings the bell. The door is opened by a woman in her late sixties.
"Acha hua tu aa gya, dekh teri beti muh sujaa ke baithi h."
"Ohho ye kya meri rosmalai ne rosogulle jaisa muh kyu bana rakha h."
He came towards his daughter hiding the cake behind his back.
"Baba, aap aa gaye. Acha hua. Yaha to koi mujhse pyal hi ni karta. Kisi ko kucx yaad nahi h. Aap bataiye ma aur dadi ko aaj kya h."
"Aaj kya h? Aaj 20 February h. Usme kya?", he said biting back a smile.
Bondita looked at him with big eyes. "Bas itna hi baba, aul kucx ni h aj?", she asked while pouting.
"Arrey haa! Aaj to Friday h. Aaj raat ko meri important meeting h." He diverted his attention towards his wife. "Chaitali suno, mera suit nikal do aur wo red tie bhi. Mein haath muh dho leta hu."
That was the last strand for Bondita. She started crying, big, fat tears.
"Yaha sab bhot burle h. Koi mujhe pyarl ni krta h. Kisi ko mera badday nahi yaad.", she yelled as she cried, her stutter making the speech cuter.
Her parents' eyes melted at the scene. They had not thought it would go this far. They did not want their daughter to cry, especially on her birthday. Her father came near her but she pushed him in anger. It was not a very forceful push, just a light shove, but his leg hit the edge of the table and he stumbled, dropping the cake in the process. She started crying even more and hugged her father.
"Sowwy baba, mene jaan bujh k ni kia. Apko choti lg gyi." She cried bitterly as she saw her father was hurt because of her. "Sooooowwwyyyy baaaabbbaaaaa.", she cried while hiccuping. They calmed her down.
"Arrey beta, koi baat nahi dekho baba ko kuch nahi hua. Awwlee, mera baby chup ho jaa. Tum to mumma ki good girl ho, h na shona. Good girls roti nhi h. Chup ho jaao. Mumma papa bure h na. Apni princess ko uske birthday k din rula diya." She nodded innocently at her mother's sweet talk.
Her father sat on his knees and held his ears. "Sorry baccha, baba sorry h. Kya shona baba ko maaf nhi karegi."
"Nhi baba, ma, aap dono sabse ache ho. M naraaj nhi hu." She hugged them.
"Hey dugga ma. Meri poti to apni dadi ko bhool gyi h.", her grandma said dramatically. She ran to her and hugged her. "Ni dadi, ap bhi sbse besht ho.", she said, her nose still red from crying.
"Happy birthday, shona.", the trio said.
"Aap teeno ko yaad tha?", she asked. "Haa bhala apni pyari Bondita ka birthday bhul sakti h mumma."
"To fir mela cake kaha h?", she asked.
Her father's smile dropped as he looked at the cake. Bondita followed her father's eyes and ran away from her mother's embrace to the box on the floor. She opened it and saw a cake or atleast what looked like the remnants of a cake. She looked up and sobbed.
YOU ARE READING
Love in Time
Lãng mạnIn 1919, after being called out by a Britisher, 20 yr old Anirudh returned back to India after completing his studies to improve the condition of women. Meanwhile, in 2019, a 15 year old orphan, Bondita is struggling to live a lonely life. What wil...
