Being the family baby ,made me the easy target for a lot of pranks, most of which I do not remember or forgave . Some are burnt into my memory, branded with the red-hot iron of embarrassment, never to be forgotten or forgiven either.
Once we were exploring a derelict room of an old family mansion. There were lot of such rooms . This particular room had crumbling bookshelves , termite eaten books and a tall dusty window, with a pretty window seat, cool and inviting. Once the thick layer of dust had been wiped off by eager hands , I requested a tall cousin to place me on the seat. He ignored me . I must have pestered him/thrown a tantrum, for he grimaced and hauled me up. I sat there , holding the cool rusty , window bars, seeing the wildly overgrown garden outside. Thrilled , I must have been too immersed in the sights and sounds outside , to not notice when the room turned dark and silent.
The entire retinue of siblings , cousins had disappeared without a trace . The little devils had even switched off the lone yellow bulb, latched the door shut and abandoned me . Too terrified to even jump off the seat, I clung to the window bars, and let out a series of blood -curdling howls . I assure you , it was one of the most terrifying moments of my life.
What seemed an eternity later, I heard the latch turn , and saw , with relief and anger , the grinning visages of all of them .They had been hearing my agonised wails standing right outside the door, all this while .
I don't remember who let me down . What I remember is sulking for an entire week.
Once we were exploring a derelict room of an old family mansion. There were lot of such rooms . This particular room had crumbling bookshelves , termite eaten books and a tall dusty window, with a pretty window seat, cool and inviting. Once the thick layer of dust had been wiped off by eager hands , I requested a tall cousin to place me on the seat. He ignored me . I must have pestered him/thrown a tantrum, for he grimaced and hauled me up. I sat there , holding the cool rusty , window bars, seeing the wildly overgrown garden outside. Thrilled , I must have been too immersed in the sights and sounds outside , to not notice when the room turned dark and silent.
The entire retinue of siblings , cousins had disappeared without a trace . The little devils had even switched off the lone yellow bulb, latched the door shut and abandoned me . Too terrified to even jump off the seat, I clung to the window bars, and let out a series of blood -curdling howls . I assure you , it was one of the most terrifying moments of my life.
What seemed an eternity later, I heard the latch turn , and saw , with relief and anger , the grinning visages of all of them .They had been hearing my agonised wails standing right outside the door, all this while .
I don't remember who let me down . What I remember is sulking for an entire week.
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