Janet’s
Hope
She sat at the window
smiling. Watching the little children playing and giggling is a source of great
joy. Tears fell down her cheeks as Janet recollected her childhood memories of
her playing with fellow schoolmates under the shadow of the same tree seven
years ago where now the little children are playing.
What fun! We all used
to wait impatiently for the last bell to ring and when it rung all hell would
break loose. It was like a stampede to get out from the school. Licking the
sweet ice-cream from the nearby Raju Chacha’s house was a great source of
relief from the sour experience of our teacher yelling at us for no reason.
Whatever, we proceeded our march towards our adda – our playground.
Cool breeze refreshed
our minds as we walked down the road singing joyfully at the top of our voices.
The honking of the truck – driver was very annoying. We never understood what
joy he got honking in that stupid rhythm. Was he trying to impress someone or
Had he lost his mind?
At last came our
battlefield beside the road where our huge banyan tree stood proudly near the
lake eagerly welcoming us. She was very large-hearted. She always protected us
from rain as well as from torturous sunlight. Running around the tree, Janet
could never be caught as she was as sprightly as a deer.
Kabaddi – was the game
we all looked forward to. Whether you were a boy or a girl, no one were spared
from the dirty clutches of Janet’s hand. No one dared defeat her. Defeating the
opposite team was a cakewalk for her. In short, she was a pucca rowdy.
All this continued till
that fateful day arrived. We were all playing football. As usual, the ball was
in Janet’s control. When she hit the ball, it missed the goalpost and went off
the road. Infused with energy, Janet ran quickly to get back the ball. As she
crossed the road, unmindful of our shouts and screams, she was immediately
knocked down by that cruel honking truck – driver.
Now, after seven years
as both of us were talking of that harrowing experience, Janet said , “ I will
definitely walk again Sophia. My hope is still burning strongly. I want to run
around the tree. I have to go down there right away and feel the water with my
hands…
