An hour had dragged past,hot and humid with all the leftovers of yesterday’s rain leaving the green garden path a mix of mud and a smell of the first rain.Slushy.
It was not unlike for her to cling to the grimy window sills staring into the long day ahead.Born into a joint family,and no where to spend vacations, this was a routine affair.Just normal for a 10 year old.She watched the sun rise and set through the very same window panes streaked with white paint and dirt.The low branch of the jackfruit tree swayed to a silent symphony,coordinating with the rest of the unseen band.
The sun had risen long before,leisurely approaching mid noon,she thought she heard a fleeting chord of music.Startled,she looked around.It was not natural,Lunch was not due any time near,that was the only time she heard the creaking notes of the archaic bedroom door open.Again.And Again,the music played on.She was mesmerized,forgot all about her holiday assignments,that teacher who had her thrown out of the classroom,the new pencil box her classmate showed off,her collection of sweet wrappers,the monster in her nightmares,the injustice she witnessed day after day,evil grins,shattering glasswares,scattered sugar crystals over the mosaic floor,the blood on the nails…everything she wanted to do forget,everything she thought that mattered to her,slipping into a bottomless hole,the wind rushing through her hair,flailing hands,mesmerized .She didnot care where the tunnel ended,in fact she cared for not a soul in the wide world,no thoughts.Pleasant oblivion.Down.Further down.As long as those notes played on.
.
It was afternoon,tea time when her aunt came looking for her,mother as ever was busy in the deep dark hollowed kitchen in that giant maze of a house.She down the window sill, eyes partially closed,her spotted frock adorned with nandiarvattom,at her feet a few feathers of a peacock,and on her lips that rare smile.
Grande sito!!