The falling seasons

Part 14

The winter was coming to an end and the snowflakes were getting mellower and were melting the moment they touched anything on the surface of the earth. The wind wasn't as harsh as it used to be, but it persisted and occasionally made Haruni shiver. She was wearing a white frock that looked like the froth of the milk flowing from her neck to shin and a white-collar band over her neck that had faint glitter. Her hair was left naturally flowing. Her dark grey eyes shined with strange amusement today. Haruni was standing at the backstage and was waiting for her mother.

The evening sun was shifting away into the darkness making way for the stars to shine and the moon to scatter light with elegance. The stage was being made and Haruni was the first to enter the school campus. She was there an hour before the program began with Yuktha. Her dance teacher had resisted going so early but Haruni had made her best attempt to get to school before her mother, as she wanted to give ample time for her mother to get ready and did not want to be a hindrance. The moment Yuktha saw the plain sight with no people around she had whistled and had said with a sheepish grin.

"Damn it I forgot my bag in your home, I shall bring it..."

"Aunty..." Haruni had interrupted her "Bring mama with you!"

"It will take time dear, she needs to get ready and..."

"Don't worry aunty!" Haruni had that impeccable smile on her face "I will wait!"

Yuktha absently nodded as she turned back towards the humongous gates of the school. She then again turned to say something but the words didn't leave her lips.

What would you do all alone here?

Yukthta knew the answer that Haruni would give. So she kept her steps towards Haruni's home as she remembered what the little girl had said when Yuktha had asked Haruni in her room while practicing for the dance

"I have always seen you all alone, won't you ever feel bored? You either stay in this room or you are in the hall room. Apart from school, do you meet your friends somehwhere?"

Haruni had turned around and said with an indistinguishable smile that didn't signify whether she was happy or sad, and that's what she always did

"I have a best friend called Maya and No aunty... I don't meet any friends outside the school. We both meet each other only in school"

"Then won't you feel alone?"

"I can be all alone and that is no problem aunty because I don't know how it's like being in the crowd, being with people, because I have always been this way!"

That was what she had heard and she knew Haruni would answer something similar now too. She felt bad for the girl, as she never got to be with her mother too. Even the dance practice by her mother was done separately and her mother also didn't allow Yuktha to stay for longer periods.

'I kind of dislike that woman...' Yuktha breathed out the smoke of air as she zipped in the jacket tight around her neck.

And she threw one last glance at the white frail thing that was walking towards the empty stage

I must watch them dance... For Haruni's sake...

Yuktha walked back towards home.

***

People were slowly filling the ground and Haruni was tired of standing, but she wasn't for waiting. Because she knew, the more she waited the more surprises her mother would bring with her. She hadn't even looked at the dress that her mother had bought for herself, as she wanted to see her in the dress rather than the dress itself. She had loved the white frock that she was wearing and as always she felt her mother knew everything about her without even speaking with her for longer periods of time. So she naturally also didn't inquire about the dance progression and she somehow knew, even with all the practice she had done, it wouldn't account for anything if her mother danced. The stars had appeared in the dark blue sky with darkness still kept at bay.