Silence sat heavy on the air , as the water boiled and she watched the pot . The hush was not usual, neither natural. She had always been talkative .
That , and chirpy. So , what had happened ? Scared of the hush, the kid quietly tip-toed in and switched off the stove. The water stopped boiling . She absently lifted the pot off the stove , not even acknowledging the presence of the kid. That was the sign of danger. The kid should have moved away , while time presented itself. She didn’t.
Desperate to re-establish a contact, she said ” I got 18.5 out of 20 in my last weekly”.
Silence.
The kid licked her lips and continued.
“Yes, and Sonya got only 16.” She was brave .
Silence again.
She had finished making her cup of tea, and pushed open the door to the balcony. A beautiful and bright morning greeted them .
Now , the kid was miserable . She racked her brain. She didn't seem to do any thing right , for her mother . What did she want ? Even the grades had improved , and the lying too.
It would be better if she would rant and rave and call her names , like earlier times and get it off her chest. This silence was killing.
The kid kept wringing her hands , staring at her mother's back.
Next moment , she looked into her mother's eyes and asked ," what happened mama?"
The mother looked sadly into her daughter's eyes , and said "Look into the dustbin."
There sitting in midst of egg-shells and empty wrappers and fruit peel, were the parathas , her mother had made for her dinner last night. Uneaten, rotting away, emanating the faint sourness of fermented foodstuff.
That , and chirpy. So , what had happened ? Scared of the hush, the kid quietly tip-toed in and switched off the stove. The water stopped boiling . She absently lifted the pot off the stove , not even acknowledging the presence of the kid. That was the sign of danger. The kid should have moved away , while time presented itself. She didn’t.
Desperate to re-establish a contact, she said ” I got 18.5 out of 20 in my last weekly”.
Silence.
The kid licked her lips and continued.
“Yes, and Sonya got only 16.” She was brave .
Silence again.
She had finished making her cup of tea, and pushed open the door to the balcony. A beautiful and bright morning greeted them .
Now , the kid was miserable . She racked her brain. She didn't seem to do any thing right , for her mother . What did she want ? Even the grades had improved , and the lying too.
It would be better if she would rant and rave and call her names , like earlier times and get it off her chest. This silence was killing.
The kid kept wringing her hands , staring at her mother's back.
Next moment , she looked into her mother's eyes and asked ," what happened mama?"
The mother looked sadly into her daughter's eyes , and said "Look into the dustbin."
There sitting in midst of egg-shells and empty wrappers and fruit peel, were the parathas , her mother had made for her dinner last night. Uneaten, rotting away, emanating the faint sourness of fermented foodstuff.
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