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W i n n i n g Yo u
Part One
Arnav Singh Raizada walked to the most secluded corner of the playground, away from the laughter of the other little kids cheerfully playing tag and building forts and swinging into the air. Nearly everyday, his mother would leave him in the park for hours at a time... telling him to stay put until she finished her appointment at the parlor and came to pick him up. Arnav didn't understand the obscure concept of "fun". He didn't know how to laugh without being forced. Happiness frightened him, as did everything foreign and unknown to the small seven-year-old boy.
He sat under the shade of the neem tree and tried to entertain himself by aiming gravel at the wooden post sticking out of the ground. The pebbles flew in every direction, landing in the grass and the mud, but refusing to hit the designated mark. He was living up to the name his father gave him, he realized with a small frown - a failure. A loser. In anger, he grabbed a handful of the small stones surrounding his shoes and chucked them at the stake, trying to be a man and not succumb to the tears he knew were begging to break lose.
"Don't give up, silly"
Arnav looked up at the voice that caught him in a moment of weakness, a small scowl marring his features as he saw the tiny girl who had approached him in his hiding spot. She looked, literally, like a bundle of joy. Her hair was plaited into two small braids, with big, fats ribbons adorning her curly, brown locks. She was dressed in a frilly, yellow dress, matching the sunshine that reflected off her gaudy, metallic hair clips. She wasn't the cutest little girl at the park, her big hazel eyes too large for her face and her tiny legs too scrawny, but she was surely the kindest, extending her tiny, muddy hand to befriend even the grumpiest little boys in the park.
Arnav instantly concluded that he didn't like her. Because she embodied everything foreign and unknown. Kindheartedness was something he did not understand and friendship was something he did not wish to. So when the little four-year-old plonked herself next to Arnav without invitation, he shifted a bit to the left, trying to maintain distance from the far too friendly weirdo. She was unperturbed as she began to animatedly ramble.
"You know what? When I got my first wiggly tooth, I twied so hard to get it to come out. Lala had towld me that the tooth faiwy would give me a shiny coiwn after I put in under my fluffy pink pillow. But my amma said it was being... what was the word... oh yeah, stubborn. Just like me. But I kept twying and twying and finally, I pulled it out! And the tooth faiwy left me three shiny coiwns!"
The babbling idiot opened her mouth and proudly showed Arnav the missing gap in her mouth, only to put her hands on her waist and huff out her chest in pleasure at her success.
"You know what? I dint even cwy at all when I pulled the baby tooth out. Amma said I'm a bwave little girl and bought me mangos. I lau mangoes. Do you? Anyways, I just came here to ask you why you were cwying cause you look like a big, strong boy who would play a big boy spowt. Do you play any spowts? I pwomise. You'll hit the post if you keep twying, just like I did."
Arnav felt rage at this little chit of a girl trying to teach him life lessons. He looked her way with the most loathing filled snarl he could muster. It didn't deter her.
"What happen? Did you get dwirt up your nose? I can get you a tissue if you want. Maybe then we can try togeth--"
"SHUT UP. Don't you get it?! I CAN'T HIT THE POST. CAUSE I'M A LOSER. I'm a failure! I CAN'T DO IT. SEE?!"
With rage, he picked up a small stone and flung it back in the direction of the wooden stake, only to quickly put his head back between his knees in an attempt to hide his stupid tears from the little girl who wouldn't leave him alone. To his frustration, he felt small pokes on his shoulder and heard the chirpy, high pitched voice sounding too loudly in his ear.
"Excoose me. You know what? You did it. You hit the powst"
Arnav looked up with a jerk, catching himself a bit off guard when he found her eyes so close to his. They were a very pretty color. Green speckled with grey and brown. And a bit of gold as well. Wait. What? What was he thinking? Girls were gross. He tried to regain his sanity and told himself that her eyes were the color of brussel sprouts.
Arnav then turned towards the tiny stake stuck in the ground remembering her exclamation, his eyes widening as he saw it slanting with the impact of the stone he had hit it with.
"I... I did it?"
The small girl clapped her hands in enthusiasm, standing up and jumping happily for his success. No one had ever done that for him. He realized he liked it, and felt a small smile spreading across his face.
"You did it! You won! You know what? Maybe now your amma will buy you mangoes!"
Arnav shrugged, quietly admitting he liked grapefruits more than mangoes. His new tiny admirer crinkled her nose in disgust, completely blown away by how someone could like something so sour.
"What's your name?", Arnav asked curiously. She hesitated.
"Well. Bau ji towld me to neber tell a stwanger my name. But... I wanna be your fwend. What are we gonna do?"
She tapped her head for an idea, sticking out her little tongue cutely in concentration. Arnav could not help but lightly chuckle, thinking she looked just like the little dolls that his sister was so enamored with. Her face broke out in enthusiasm as she stuck her tiny finger up into the air.
"Euweka! You gib me a name and I'll gib you a name. And then we can be fwends, right?"
Arnav did not have the heart to say no to that expectant face. And for some strange reason he wished to ignore, he really did want to befriend this chit of a girl.
"How about Sanki?"
Her face broke out into complete shock, her tiny mouth dropping to form a small "o" at hearing the common nickname used for her by her Bua ji. She looked kind of cute, Arnav mused.
"Haww. That's not vewy nice... but I guess it's vewy true", she admitted with a causal shrug of her small shoulders. She wracked her brain for an equally good and appropriate nickname for her new friend, frowning when nothing clever crossed her mind, only to snap her pudgy fingers with a brainstorm.
"I know! I'll call you Bhuda! Cause you remind me of my gwumpy old gwandpa!"
"What the?!" Arnav looked at the little kid in astonishment, laughter rumbling in his body as he saw the wide, delighted smile splashed across her tiny face. Her threw his head back in contagious merriment, his laughter growing louder as his new friend joined him in his revelry.
And he let her drag him to the swing sets to meet her other playmates and friends, smiling as she introduced "Bhuda" to the rest, nodding with a smirk as Chulbul, Meethi, Pataka, Chumchum and Ravan waved hello.
PART TWO: PG 7
PART THREE: PG 11
PART FOUR: PG 18
PART FIVE: PG 26
Kumkum Bhagya
Anupamaa
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