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Welcome to Unfazed - the story of people who deal with life every day and still look at adversity in the eye and give it a wink and a smile. Sometimes, when no one is looking, they cry too.
Join Deeksha Bhalla - AKA Dee - a girl with si...
After a marathon of Big Hero 6 and Lion King, when Papa, following his usual schedule woke up at 6 am the next morning, found us the next morning, Ma was asleep on the sofa while Harsh and I had fallen asleep on the "carpet bed" as we called it. Not one to wake us up intentionally, Papa, as per custom, bent to give each of us a kiss before leaving for the day – and a working Sunday was no different.
As either timing would have it or thanks to a slightly stiff neck just as Papa came over to me, I shifted and was greeted by a whispered "Good morning Beta!" Getting up as quietly as possible so as to not wake Ma and Harsh, we tiptoed out of the hall and onto the porch, before saying another word. "You're working today?" I asked, not fully registering everything this early in the morning. "Mr Batra was in New York for a month and just got back yesterday. If I don't get the updated files from him and present the next quarter's financial strategies, it will be too late to get any tax benefits", he explained. "Hmm thik hai" (It's Okay)I said before realizing, "So.. Varun Mama's picnic is a no-no."
Laughing at my slightly childish mental capabilities at 7 am on a Sunday morning, Papa said, "I'll meet them some other time. We can invite them for dinner sometime during the week." Nodding and stifling a yawn, I wanted to go back and sleep and clearly, my parent knew that too. "Go – sleep. I'm heading out. Ramu made my porridge and juice so when she wakes up, tell Rohini not to worry about my breakfast. Okay?" Nodding as he pulled me into a hug, I said, "Have a nice day, Papa." With that, I waved as he drove away and without once looking back, went upstairs to crash into the warmest, cosiest place in the world – my bed.
I regretted leaving it while bumping along on an off-road track to the chosen picnic spot, four hours later. Ma had called shotgun and having just woken up and scrambled around getting ready in a hurry, I had only gotten to have my cup of hot chocolate before leaving. "Are we there yet?" I asked for the seventh time. Used to my crankiness now, when neither Ma nor the driver – I mean Harsh – replied, I looked out of the window and said to no one in particular, "Oh look! An old goat is overtaking us!! Good going, Harsh Bhalla!"
While this cracked Ma up, a well-intended slam of the break sent me flying forward in the back while Ma went ahead to whack Harsh on the arm. "Ma, all your new staff are extremely impolite and very rude" I said, rubbing my shoulder where I had hit the driver's headrest. "Look at this guy for example" I continued, throwing in a wince, for dramatics. "Dee – you're crossing a line", warned Ma and when I saw Harsh watching me in the rear-view mirror very close to letting out a laugh he was struggling to hold in, I stuck my tongue out at him threw on my shades and went back to sleep.
I woke up to the sound of the whispering of a young voice. "She's so pretty" it said and while one half of me assumed it was for me, the other half scoffed at the first saying "As if". What I didn't expect were the next words that flew out of the same mouth, which were: "But why is she dressed like a lady bug?"
I opened my eyes and at the same time, I saw a little girl – around five years old – looking down at me with the most surprised expression ever. She shrieked and ran out of the car and I realised that the car was parked and Ma and Harsh were nowhere to be seen. Groaning, I heard an older feminine voice saying "Wakey Wakey Chubby Bunny!"
The use of that name only meant one thing. Sneha was here. Letting myself out of the car, I ran to my cousin whom I hadn't met in years. When we were younger, after her mother passed away, Sneha would spend most of her vacations with us. She was elder to me but younger than Harsh and together, there was a time when the three of us wouldn't attend a function without one of us.
Of course, though we went our own ways over time, she was someone I could always rely on. As I ran to hug her, so did she. After a full five-minute hug, sprinkled with squeals of "Oh my goodness, you've become so pretty!!" and "I've missed you so much!" and "How have you been" and everything else we usually scream about in such situations, when Sneha and I broke apart giggling, I said, "I want to hear everything. Ev.Ry.Thing"
"But first, Selfiieeee" screamed Sneha, making me go into a fit of laughter – because in the recent years, every time Sneha and I met, we would land up talking so much that we always forgot about taking pictures to commemorate these meetings. And since this was often, selfies were now a running joke between us. But when we heard "Ladybug" being screamed by the same girl from before, little did I expect her to be in the arms of Harsh, who was said to be "allergic" to children.
I think I can tolerate them as long as they don't cry and don't dirty their clothes. Oh also, specifically so long as they are not my responsibility. Yeah no. No thank you.
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What do you think of the goat that overtook Harsh? (above) XD
