A Rainy Day

It was a bleak, rainy day........some 30 or odd years ago. The sky was overcast and everything looked bleak and grey. The sky poured out like a torrential waterfall cascading down a mighty mountain. The little girl was lost in thoughts, looking once at the sky and later at the emptiness of her small home. She wondered about the whereabouts of her mother and suddenly missed her warm presence. Her consternation soon gave way to some respite as her father came to dress her up. She was happy that she was being taken out. It did not matter where but, at least she can a have nice outing now. And the rains suddenly made her very happy, as she loved the pitter patter. It was better than being holed up inside the house and she can play in the water too. She quickly put on her frock and shoes and was ready in no time. Her father looked very excited and she wondered what was it all about. He held her little hand and down they went the stairs into the compound. The rain was lashing wildly and the streets were badly flooded. It was one of those years when there was a non-stop downpour for days in the month of July.The rains and flood did not look so nice now, as it seemed from her fourth floor house. It looked menacing and the water swirled about her. From where they were walking, it started getting more and more deep. At last her father took a firm grip of the girl's hand and lofted her up onto a concrete cemented area, which was at least 2 feet higher. There they stood, father & daughter, hand in hand. Her father was looking for a means to get out of the swirling water and go to the place where he was planning to go. Meanwhile, the little girl was fascinated by the vast expanse of water everywhere. The roads and alleys were all full of water and one could only see water everywhere. Transport was scarce and there were hardly any humans around. As the little girl fidgeted and was getting bored of the spectacle, she suddenly noted something bright beside her. It caught her fascination on this grey day, as it was bright blue and just lying beside her, on the concerete. She looked at it carefully. It was a plastic bottle but, with its head neatly cut off, so that it looked like a small container without a handle. It seemed as if she had something to cheer about on that dull day. She was getting tired of just standing there looking into the vacant waterspace. She started extending her leg towards the object and with one expert kick, she let the blue plastic container fly across into the water. It landed with a gentle splash in the swirling and meandering water and bobbed around quite a bit. She could not contain her glee, as it gently went on its way in the water. She could see the blue in the vast grey & dirty water and it gave her lots of happiness. Her happiness was short-lived, as a large menacing man who seemed no less than a giant, suddenly appeared before her. He was so furious that she suddenly felt very frightened. He pointed a finger onto the plastic thing and thundered, asking her to fetch it back. This man was a roadside barber and the blue container was an asset to his profession, as he stored soap water in it, which he lathered onto so many faces. Now, he had to find another good container. He had taken pains to cut the top off neatly and it was light enough to be carried around. Naturally, the man was furious. The little girl's father face clouded and she was given a harsh stare. But, precisely at that moment a cab appeared from somewhere and her father hailed it. She was bundled into the cab and she heaved a big sigh of relief, of having been saved from that menacing giant. She was left with no doubt that had she been still on that concrete, the man would have made her wade in that dirty water and made her bring back his blue container. She shuddered to think of it, as she would have surely died as the water was deep enough to cover her from head to foot. And to add to her woes, she did not know how to swim. She looked happily at her father as he had saved her by hailing the cab, just on time. Soon, they were at a huge white building. It was silent and cool inside. She padded along with her father. Now they were in a small room with a bed, with white sheets. Suddenly, the little girl ran forward. Her mother was reclining on the bed and she had a strange, happy smile on her face. Her father took her hand and guided her to a small, hanging bed beside her mother's bed. She looked inside and was surprised to see a small, creature with puffed up eyes and scaly, reddish skin lying on that bed. She looked at it in amazement, as the little baby moved a bit. Her parents now encouraged her to touch the baby. The little girl extended a spiny, little finger and touched the baby's hand. Soon, the baby had wrapped her finger in its own. The connection was complete. The family was complete. My sister was born that day.