little girl

she was like a little butterfly.

flying from here to there. stopping briefly as if to smell a flower and then moving on. dodging her grand dad hands and circling around him teasing. 'daadu vely slow' she exclaimed. 'im the plincess of lighth. fastel than lighth. u can nevel cath me..' her speech was getting clearer as days went by, a hint of baby talk left now.

they came to the park almost everyday. i used to sit and watch them. espcially the little girl. she would discover new things bring them to her grandpa and occassionally get scolded. she would then sulk and sit on the lawn until grandpa said it was ok and that she would get a small choco on the way back home.

some time back when she was little, her grandpa would hold her and take her around wherever she pointed, only allowing her to step on the grass if she insisted and threatened to cry. slowly she had mastered the art of walking steadily without need for support. now she was free, exploring under the watchful eye of her grand dad. as the sun would set, daadu would tell that it was getting darker and start asking her to come home. that would begin the chase. she had one of those shoes that make a silly sound while walking. one of shoes had stopped making the noise. the other one was still painfully functional.

i wondered about the parents of this little bundle of sweetness. why werent they part of her growing up? were they missing her? did she miss her parents not being there? maybe they were working to ensure a bright future for her. but was missing all of this worth it? tough questions which i would not want to answer.

sometimes one felt that life made the choices for them. that to be born in a certain family, to have affinity towards certain skills, to have encountered certain kind of people, to have made certain kind of friends. all part of what one is today and what one prioritizes in ones life. most of the time a persons past impressions were the ones that decided his impression towards the present.

she did not seem to be thinking about all this. her attentions were taken up by a decent sized worm. squatting to take a closer look, she took a small piece of wood lying nearby and was poking the insect. 'look daadu.. it was stlaight like this, when i touched him with this stick it became lound. how do i open him up again? why does he become lound.'

'sweetu dont poke little beings. wouldnt it hurt you if i poked you with that stick? wouldnt you do boo hoo and start demanding a choco? the little worm is hurt now and he is crying. after sometime when the hurt stops he will stop crying and become straight again. shall we head for home now?'

'naaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.. little mole time daaddduuu please please please..' she pleaded.

'ok ok.. baby doll, its getting darker.. and you know who comes out when its completely dark right? also mummy will be home soon. she will worry about you if we are not home by then'

'mmmm.. ok daadu.. i will check again if the little tweety bilds have come out of theil eggs. you said they will come soon.'

'yes yes child.. patience... everything has to happen when the time is right. dont you worry.'

she ran to the tree where the sparrows had built a tiny nest and laid their eggs into it. she peered on her toes and twisting her neck to get a closer view. she could see the outside part of the nest. satisfied with her observation she looked around in the fading light.

'lets go home daadu... today i want 5-stal'

'ha ha ha. ok my dear angel.. 5-star it is. but eat half now and keep the other half in the fridge.'

'today i will eat little mole than half. tomollow i will eat less.'

'as you wish little baby.'

and they walked out slowly hand in hand. she telling him about what things she had found today, asking him about when the sparrows would hatch, inquiring about whether they would be buying a 10 rupee 5 star or a 5 rupee one.

i leaned back on the cold cement bench. watching the trees swaying gently in the wind. life was about perpetual motion. constant change.