The Not So Middle Class Girl

Painful Yet Sweetest Memories

          She was so frantically crying, blood oozing through her tougue, scared at the thought of getting stiches to recover from such a deep cut. Had the cut been a little more deeper she would have lost her tongue and would sound like her best friend from school, or I should say her only friend from school. Neighbours gathered around her and her equally scared mother who was making her clean that cut by gargling blood out of mouth. She might be cursing her bad luck for such thing happening to her daughter. She was more frightened by the thought of what her husband will do with her after he sees their daughter in such condition.
          One of the neighbourhood lady said, " Lets take Aahna to hospital and get stitches as soon as possible." Both Aahna and her mother shivered at the same time- Aahna thinking how doctors put stiches and her mother for what will happen to her when her finds this out.
          Aahna has the best father in the whole world, that is what she thought of him, and he still is a very good parent. He never shouted at her, forget about giving her a beating. However he loved his daughter so much that he might fight or for that matter even beat her mother for not taking good care of their daughter. His life had changed after their daughter's birth. He always wanted a daughter and here he has his flower like daughter.
          Now her mother was sweating profusely as someone declared that this message has reached Aahna's father and he is hurrying to see his daughter and to take her to hospital. "God help me today, as Aahna was just playing outside when this incident happened and kids keep hurting themselves by falling down. How am I supposed to be blamed for all this God. Do something and let this pass away" her mother was praying in mind while tending to her daughters wound.
          This is a story of seven year old Aahna, who lives with her parents in a very small town called Diyapur. Her mother is a home- maker while her father works as a social worker and help people in constructions of factories. Almost everyone know each other in that small town. Her father earns good money and also lot of respect due to his helpful nature.
          Her father had come on his motorcycle and now Aahna was being carried on that along with her mother. Few neighbours and friends were also accompanying them on their respective motorcyles. She had almost stopped crying due to numbness and was sleepy too. As soon as they reached hospital her father had warned doctor of treating the cut through medicines and not by putting stiches. He could not see his daughter in pain as simple as that. Doctor had also checked Aahna's tongue and decided that it could be treated with medicines and proper care. It was a relieve for her mother as her father hardly had paid attention for even getting angry on her. Doctor discharged Aahna home only after giving them all care measures which included not eating anything spicy or hot for almost a month and eating ice cream as much as Aahna can! Now that was something Aahna had interest in- who said ice cream!! There was an innocent yet painful smile on her face now.
          That afternoon Aahna was playing with her equally old neighbourhood boy Nayan, who had his uncle visit his house. His uncle was cleaning his bycycle outside their 3-storied building when he realised that he forgot something inside their house. Uncle asked Nayan to fetch it but he did not listen. Aahna readily agreed to fetch it and here running competition between Aahna and Nayan started to fetch the thing first. Unfortunately Aahna was running with toungue out, her leg caught on her long gown and she fell on her toungue on stairs. That is how a deep cut on her toungue. Rest all you already know.
          After coming home and for the next whole month she had the best food- ice creams of all flavours and her favourite khichdi (rice cooked with split chick pea and blanche to taste). There was no school for 2 weeks and she could read her favourite story books (obviously which she does not recall now). There were no fights between her parents and hence she was more than happy for that.
          All her neighbours had visited her, talking to her sweetly and promising her ice-cream!  She was all dreaming about ice-cream for the next few days. Medicine made her sleep for most of the time. She had dreamt the most during this period, how she wanted her life to be, how she will grow up to be a doctor or a pilot, she was already flying through clouds and tending to people in her dreams. She knew she would have the perfect life; hardly did she know life has planned something very different for her!!
          This painful memory happened to be the sweetest memory for Aahna because she hardly has any childhood memory now after her life had turned topsy-turvy due to many mishappenings in life.