365 DAYS 365 TALES

My Birthday

Today is my birthday and unlike other years, I want to celebrate it without my friends and my boyfriend. I'm contemplating between going for a hiking trip with my brother and painting my room with my dad when a sudden jolt of energy kick started my brain. Suddenly I know what I want.

My brother is musing at me for making it late for him and it is afterall quarter to five in the morning. Oh gosh! I'm not a morning person and he wake me up for making some decision with half drooped eyes, in between a continuous yawns.

"Let me go back to bed," I grumble, hanging my head, my chin touching my chest.

"Don't be such a whiny baby... This is one time offer. Take it or leave it." He is going on rattling about how the hiking trips are always exciting and challenging. And how much I am going to like it if I go with him.

Clearly, he want me to go on that trip but I am too sleepy to get anything past my external ear. I look up at him, his eyes desperate for hearing my 'yes', came too close.

"Arjun, I'm definitely leaving it. I'm going to do something really stupid today. You have fun," I tell him, before sprawling on my bed, hugging my teddy bear, Clara.

I hear him teasing me for my bad morning breath which I pay no heed to. I mean who in the hell can think about morning breath, at five in the morning. I snort mentally, before continuing my blissful slumber.

The sunrays is harsh and rudely interrupts me again, like my overly affectionate brother does a few minutes ago. Now what? It is so annoying, not only to interrupt my slumber but also the dream, drinking champagne at Mt. Everest with my boy friend. I couldn't achieve my will of climbing mountains even in my dreams, I scoff at the sunrays playing peekaboo with me, hiding behind the window drapes.

I look up at the clock which shows, it is way past nine and I correct myself it is not a few minutes gap between the two disturbances I face in my sleep, but a good few hours. Dammit! I cuss myself, before taking off to the bathroom to start my glorious day.

After having a quick bath and slipping on my new summer floral dress, I run downstairs, taking two steps at a time. My dad is the first one to greet me with a 'good morning' and 'happy birthday', kissing me on my forehead.

Quickly thanking him, I tell him about my plan for the day. Eventhen he gap at me like I has grown horns, at first, later he accepts and promise me to drive me to the spot.

Evening gets down sooner. I kill my time watching TV and chatting with mom. In the evening, we drive to the spot. I get down from the bike, my dad beside me, infront of a worn out building. What kind of building is this? I ask myself, as I step into the building.

The pavement that lead to the hut like front area, is made by dirty broken tiles which should have been yellow colour once. It is slippery with all the water running down the pavement, along with the dirt, forming the slimy mud. Why do they have to pour the water in front of every house, every morning and evening? I question myself with a slight irritation.

As we walk in further, clutching onto our slippers in the slippery path, I note that a little girl about nine or ten years, is drying the clothes. That's one annoying chore... I thought, never once paying attention to the height of the girl, or how she struggles to put up the wet dresses on the rope.

As we walks past the girl, we face a man, with a dark complexion and little bit of salt on his pepper hair, wearing a white shirt and dhothi. The white is not like the pure white and crisp kind, but an old and yellow kind. He smiles at us, wide and thankful, as we approach him.

"Welcome sir!" he invites my dad, passing a little smile towards my direction.

"Arshi, this is Mr. Ragav. He owns this orphanage," my dad introduces the man who passed on a namaste with a smile and I reciprocate it.