It was getting dark. Nila was quiet and deep in thought. She is a two and half year old kid and was travelling in car from her home town Vellore to Chennai. She was recollecting the happenings in her life for the past one week at her home town. Dawn to dusk she was at the pinnacle of joy. She likes being with so many people around. She likes being with her grandparents. She likes being with her aunt and her kids. Playing under sun and on mud was so fun for the past one week. She enjoyed even eating the food cooked with her least favourite vegies. Sharing toys and sometimes fighting for it has been a day to day activity. Outings together on car felt like heaven for her. Getting off from bed has never been that easy with her at the same time going to bed has never been that tough with her in the past one week. Anything and everything has a beginning and an ending too. Nila has done with her holidays and now on her way to Chennai with her parents all alone.
Nila was doing things to keep her off from the nostalgic thoughts. She was counting stars. She asked her mom for something to eat. She felt so hard to forget her grandparents place. While she was immersed in thought, her mom was talking to her about her next day schedule.
“Nila you will go to play school tomorrow. Your teacher will be waiting to see you. Nirjith and Kushi will be eager to see you at school. ”
Nila kept quiet. Her mom asked,” wht happened kutti?”.
NIla could only give a neutral stare at her mom. In another five minutes they all reached their home at Chennai. Nila got off the car quietly and maintained her silence while her dad was unlocking the door.
The home of loneliness welcomed her. Her mom got busy preparing the dinner and dad started creating the to-do list for the upcoming week. Nila took her toys and started playing with them. She assigned each toy a role; one was assigned the role of her granny, the other one got the role of her grandpa, the rest got the role of her aunt and her kids. Nila got upset after a while as the toys could not fill her loved ones place. Her parents tried to make the situation vivid by taking her to the shopping mall nearby and got her many toys and ice creams. Slowly Nila was coming out of the box and started accepting the reality.
The next day morning she knew she can’t escape reality and started going to school thinking of her school friends Nirjith and Kushi with a little smile on her face.
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