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Srishti-2022   >>  Short Story - English   >>  SEA you soon

SEA you soon

“See, my name is Riya Rose Thomas. But I liked to be called Rose. Only Rose,” said Rose stressing the last word. The listener, Aardra who is Rose’s new friend, looked confused. Rose continued, “Also, ROSE means the past tense of rise, not the flower.” Aardra looked even more confused and asked, “But why? I love Rose flower.” Rose replied without a second thought. “I like the thought of rising up. I rose from the ashes. I am SuperRose,” she finished with a giggle. Aardra, however, looked disinterested.

The 11-year-old duo has been waiting in the lawn of a ramshackle building for quite some time. Rose, the impatient one, kept checking her watch. “What is taking so long,” Rose asked looking skyward. Aardra let out a gasp. They were hoping for pleasant weather, but the morning has been unusually hot. “I am starving,” Rose could not help but say, though she had breakfast just an hour ago. “I got snacks. I am a bit snacky type. But I am saving them for the trip,” replied Aardra.

Cutting their conversation, a tall young man holding a bunch of papers came looking for ‘Riya’. Rose, furious over calling her ‘Riya’, looked away expressing her displeasure. Aardra intervened, “Hello chetta, she is Riya. But she doesn’t like anyone calling her by that name. She prefers Rose.” “Ok ok, I got this. So you must be Aardra. I am Ashish. Why are you two sitting away from the group?” he asked the wheelchair-bound girls while glancing through the papers in his hands. He pointed towards a KURTC Volvo stationed in front of the building, where other volunteers wearing similar T-shirts as his are helping other differently-abled kids to board the vehicle. “Let’s make a move?” he asked the girls.

Rose started counting in her mind. She could only see 10-11 children, most of them with prosthetic limps. There is another boy in a wheelchair, too. She turned at the group of parents assembled nearby. Her Mama, who is talking to another woman, waved at her. Mama must be so tensed, Rose thought. Even she started feeling butterflies in her belly and looked at Aardra who is being helped to board the bus by some chechimar. Rose wished that she be seated near Aardra.

It’s Rose turn now. Before the volunteers could push her wheelchair along the ramp of the bus, Rose heard some commotion. Many people wielding cameras and microphones surrounded the bus. Rose could barely see her Mama now. The same woman, who interviewed her when she enrolled for the trip, walked in. She adjusted her glasses and started explaining about the trip. She talked about things Rose already knew. Some of the photographers asked the woman to stand beside Rose for a click. She put her hand around Rose and posed.

It all started when Mama received a forwarded test message about the trip. This is supposedly the first-of-its-kind, one-day picnic for special kids like her. Though Mama herself discussed about the trip with Rose and encouraged to sign up for the same, she was quite unsure about it. Mama, more than anyone else, knows that it was Rose’s dream to see the ocean. Mama had promised to take her. But never said when she would.

Suddenly a reporter pointed the mic towards Rose and asked, “Hi, what is your name.” Rose was startled at first. Then she slowly said. “Rose.” Then came the second question. “Are you excited for the trip?” Rose said yes. Then the reporter proceeded to other kids who are already inside the bus. The volunteers who were waiting for the crowd to disperse finally helped Rose board the bus and anchored her wheelchair.

This is Rose’s first bus ride. And the first outing without Mama. She wished that Mama could come along. She could not tell apart her mother from the sea of parents waving at the bus. Rose felt like crying. Mama’s eyes might have welled up, too, Rose thought. Other kids in the bus also waved back.

Rose kept looking at the glass doors throughout the ride. She can see other vehicles and pedestrians. The kids kept waving at everyone on the road. They cheered when the bus stopped at signals.  Aardra, who is seated beside her, kept talking to her and the other boy next to her. However, Rose didn’t feel like listening. She was immersed in her thoughts already.

She kept thinking about the beach. The globe. The sky. Everything blue. What if the water of the sea just spill over to the land, she thought. Rose just could not digest the idea that the whole of the oceans is put on a ball like structure. How can a sphere hold water? It should be a bowl. The earth, she loved to believe, is a huge bowl filled with water to the brim. A slight tilt of the bowl will spill the water onto the land. The thought of the sea submerging the bus scared her as much as it excited her.  She fancied floating to and fro, up and down. I won’t need my legs anymore, she thought and looked at her feet.

A volunteer chechi started distributing small packets of Tiger biscuits and Frooti satchets. Another volunteer chechi got up and started talking at the top of her voice so that everyone could hear. Asking the children to start talking to each other, she said group interaction is as much important as sight-seeing. Aardra quickly glanced at Rose and smiled.

Rose wanted to talk to Aardra about the sea but she kept her thoughts to herself fearing that her new friend might make fun of her. The volunteer chechi asked everyone to introduce themselves to break the ice. She made a girl who sat in the front seat sing a song. Another volunteer came up to Rose and asked why she looked lost. Rose didn’t know what to say. She smiled at the chechi and shrugged. The chechi patted on her shoulder and gestured to smile.

Aardra asked why Rose is so silent inside the bus. “I thought you were a chatterbox,” she said. Rose smiled again. The thoughts of Mama and the sea kept bothering her. She started feeling lonely. By the time Aardra started quizzing her. “Tell me what your favourite colour is,” Aardra asked. Rose said it is blue. Aardra asked about her favourite food, movie, time of the day, room, etc, etc. Rose answered mechanically. The volunteers started playing music and she cannot hear half of what Aardra has been saying.

It was Rose’s turn to introduce herself. She was feeling exhausted already. The volunteer chechi asked whether she needs water. Rose denied politely. “My name is Rose,” she started saying. She was suddenly reminded of Mama again and the day of interview for the trip. Rose had rehearsed her self-introduction over 50 times, sometimes in front of the mirror, sometimes before Mama. However, she was never asked to introduce herself at the interview. They checked her medical records, made Mama sign some papers and gave her some instructions.

Rose continued: “I study in Class VI at Jeevodaya Vidyalaya. My hobbies are painting and reading.” She wanted to add writing but she did not say that. And her favourite pastime is something else. She loved thinking. She thinks about things around her. She thinks about people around her. She thinks about roads and vehicles, animals and birds. She imagines herself living in an igloo, flying a kite, running after her imaginary dog named ‘Shadow’, splashing around in a pool, skipping like her neighbour Veda and wearing Mama’s blue saree.

The bus came to a halt. The volunteer chechi came and asked if anybody wants to go to the loo. Aardra raised her hand. So did some of the other kids. Rose remained seated. After the 10-minute break, the journey resumed. The children continued waving at the people on the road and those standing at bus-stops. The volunteers started some word game and then proceeded to play anthakshari. Rose is still immersed in her thoughts.

Some 20 minutes later, one of the volunteers announced that they are approaching the beach. Rose kept looking at the door. She don’t want to miss the first glimpse. All she could see is the road and a long wall. One of the kids yelled, “Plane plane aeroplane.” Everyone cheered. Rose did not see the aircraft. She touched the bottle she kept in her bag to take home some sea water. She has two more bottles at home, one to collect some cloud and the other to take home some snow.

The bus came to a halt, again. The volunteers helped the children alight. Rose was the last one to get down. Where is the sea, she started looking around. She felt a burning sensation in her eyes because of the heat outside. Rose listened. Yes, I can hear the sea. One of the volunteers started pushing her wheelchair forward. The sound grew louder as they moved forward. It is exactly as she had imagined.  The sun, a few clouds and the vast blue mass. However, the heat seemed to bog her down. As they moved forward, she started seeing the foaming waves. Rose felt like screaming.

Rose looked around. Other children were waving at the sea. Rose smiled at them. The volunteers started clicking their pictures. Rose smiled again at the cameras and phones. There are media people there too. Rose hoped they won’t come to her. Aardra was far away.

Suddenly she saw a pastel blue saree-clad figure at a distance. “Oh my god,” Rose’s heart skipped a beat. “Mamaaa!!! That is Mama,” Rose let out a shriek. How did she come, Rose thought while waving at her. The mother waved back. Mama did not come near her. She stayed at a distance. The mother-daughter duo stared at each other for a few seconds. Tears rolled down their cheeks. A huge mass of cloud hid the sun, bringing in a little relief. Rose turned around and moved towards the sea as Mama looked on. “See you soon,” she said, looking at the waves. “I mean SEA you soon,” she giggled.