OS: Babies' Day Out
#It'sNotWhatYouThink 😉
It was a bright, sunny day. Parul walked ahead purposefully, as she called out, "Kunal? Kunal!" The first few lines of worry had just started creasing her face when she heard a familiar voice.
"Watch it!" it yelled as three children ran, laughing and kicking a ball. "These kids, I tell you. Maasi, Inko bilkul apne aap ko behave karna nahi aata," exclaimed an annoyed Kunal. Parul Maasi looked stunned for a second and then burst out laughing at the child standing in front of her. All of eight, the boy who stood in front of her spoke more like a cantankerous old man. Kunal wore an expression of irritation, dressed unlike no other child in the park. His shirt was fully buttoned, right up to his neck and he had on formal pants that boys his age would hate wearing, playground or not. She suppressed her laughter with her hand as little Kunal's expressed soured further. "Maasi, maine koi joke toh nahi crack kiya. Aap has kyun rahi hai? Anyway, mere paas iske liye time nahi hai. Mujhe padhayi karni hai. Iss hafte class mein test hai aur mujhe top karna hai," the eight-year-old declared in a strident voice. Parul Maasi smiled and nodded. "Theek hai, Kunal. Hum thodi dair mein chalenge ghar. Waise bhi park mein ghoomne se tum zyaada achche se padh paaoge. Tumhi ne toh padha tha na yeh?" said Parul, smoothing his hair back.
Kunal nodded reluctantly and sat on a bench. He was an ever careful kid and had prepared for the park. He had read that sunlight helped the human brain process information so he had allowed himself to be dragged out of self-imposed exam exile and to the park. He sighed, looking at all the idiots wasting their time kicking a ball around. He knew he had his priorities straight. He was gonna make Maa proud. He stuck his tongue out and started reading in earnest. He had just begun to get in the zone when he felt a hit to his head- THUMP! His hand immediately clutched his head and the book slid out of his grasp. "OUCH!," he yelled.
"Oh no! Sowwy, sowwy, sowwy! I am so sowwy. Main khel rahi thi aur galti se tumhare sir pe lag gayi," a squeaky voice yelled at him. His eyes were watering, he couldn't see the person yet. He wiped his eyes to be confronted with hair. Lots of it. Curly, kinky hair that coiled around like a spring. His hazel eyes met big chocolate brown eyes and his eyes refocused to reveal a girl, as old as him. She wore a bubblegum pink top and a denim skirt and now, he could also see the colourful clips in her hair. It was like a rainbow had settled in her hair. He was offended to learn she was probably an inch or two taller. Kuhu stared at Kunal anxiously, her face twisted in worry.
"I'm sowwy....I mean, sorryyy...Actually, mujhe mamma ne abhi abhi sikhaya hai ki sorry hota hai aur sowwy nahi. I'm still learning you see. Anyway, my name is Kuhu. Actually, meri behen matlab not really behen, Mishti ne challenge kiya tha ki main ball ko kick nahi kar sakti toh maine bina dekhe usse kick kar diya. Waise toh main aise games nahi khelti kyunki I hate dirt par Mishti ka challenge tha toh--"
"SHUT UP!" came a strident voice, ending Kuhu's monologue. Kuhu stopped, shocked. It was Kunal's turn. "Tum kitni stupid ho. Isliye main park-wark nahi aata. Tumne mujhe injure kar diya. Mujhe hospital jaana padega, samjhi? Stupid girl!" said Kunal, rubbing his head.
Kuhu's bottom lip quivered. She wasn't used to being spoken to like that. "Kya samajhta hai yeh ladka apne aap ko. Bilkul uncle lagta hai. I am sure iske saath koi apne toys nahi share karta hoga." She knew she had made a mistake and Mamma had taught her to always apologise but this boy was being so mean. For her Mamma, Kuhu decided to try again.
"I'm sowwy na. Ab itne nakhre mat dikhao, please? Let's be friends," said Kuhu, batting her eyes at him. She put out her hand, confident that he would accept. "Main tumhare saath apni favourite Barbie or Hot Wheels car bhi share karungi. Tum waise bhi yahan pe akele baithe huye ho. Lagta hai tumhare koi friends nahi hai. I can understand, tum uncle lagte ho--" Kuhu bit her tongue as she looked at Kunal.
Kunal had been listening to Kuhu, considering her proposal. It didn't sound so bad. He was curious about her Barbie doll, purely for research purposes. It wasn't like he spent ages playing with Ketaki's Barbie dolls when she wasn't around. Not at all. He had also reluctantly noticed that she was cute, like a doll. Her big brown eyes widened when she was excited, her nose scrunched up at times and her curls swung about with the force of the wind. She could be a doll herself. Just when he was entertaining these thoughts, he heard her say, "I can understand tum uncle lagte ho--" and it seemed like the throbbing pain in his head returned with a vengeance.
"Excuse me? Tum hoti kaun ho mujhe uncle kehne waali?" he barked. Kuhu shrank bank. "Tum jaisi stupid ladki ko toh main uncle lagunga hi. Tum stupid, tumhare ghunghrale baal stupid aur tumhe toh theek se sorry bhi nahi bolna aata. Please, main tumse kyun dosti karunga. I hate people like you," he shrieked, drawing himself to his impressive height of 4 ft 2 inches.
Kuhu blinked at him. She had been trying to suppress her tears. She didn't want this boy to see her cry, the mean boy she had so kindly offered her toys to. Kunal took in the girl in front of him. Oh no, he thought in dismay, he seemed to have overreacted. Her mahogany eyes swam with unshed tears and she had pursed her lips, willing herself to not cry. He knew that look, he had done it many times himself when Maa went on her 'Ambe Maa Ki Saugand' rants. Finally, Kuhu couldn't keep up the pretence and the she let out a sob, and her tears flowed unabated. She got up from the bench and started speaking bravely through her tears. "Actually, tum nahi deserve karte mera sowwy,ya meri Barbie ya meri Hot Wheels ya meri dosti. Tum mean ho. Tum koi friends deserve nahi karte kyunki tum badtameez ho. Mishti theek kehti hai, ladke annoying hote hain. Tum Mishti se bhi zyaada annoying ho. Dekhna, tumhe...tumhe--"Kuhu paused, thinking of a good enough baddua. She sniffled, having thought of one. "Haan, tumhe abse kabhi bhi apni pasand ka gift nahi milega kisi bhi birthday pe," Kuhu finished triumphantly. She turned away from him.
Kunal felt bad. He was sure he hadn't felt this way in his eight-year-long existence. Here was a girl who wanted to be his friend and he had just told her off. Traitorous tears started pricking his eyes too. He knew he had messed up. Abir bhai had recently taught him to say sorry when he was wrong. He had told him confidently that he would never need to use it. "Main kabhi bhi galat nahi ho sakta bhai," he had told an amused Abir. It seemed he had been wrong about that.
He took a deep breath and went to Kuhu. She turned away as soon as she saw him. He hurriedly switched sides, brought his hands up and held his ears. "Kuhu, please? I am sowwyy," he began. "Tum mera mazaak uda rahe ho?" Kuhu asked ferociously, turning to him. "Nahi, honestly, mujhe sowwy hi achcha laga. Kuch problem nahi hai isme," Kunal offered tamely.
"Ab main tumpe yakeen kyun karun?" Kuhu folded her arms, "Tumne kaha main stupid hoon aur mere-mere--ghungrale baal stupid hai," she stuttered. Kunal felt a sense of dismay that he had never felt, even when he had come second in a test. "You know, mujhe kuch mean bachche bolte the ki mere baal ugly hai," Kuhu recalled, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. Kunal felt his heart beat against his chest, in anger. Who were these idiots, he thought. You're one of them, idiot, his brain replied back. "No Kuhu, actually, main stupid hoon. Woh maine aise hi bol diya tha. Actually, tumhare baal bahut pretty hai. Bilkul doll ki tarah," he said, blushing furiously.
Kuhu smiled at him brightly, her smile shining through her tears, "Really? Tum sach bol rahe ho?" she asked. "Haan, sachchi. Aur woh bachche dumb hai. I will be your friend," he declared. "Toh tum meanly nahi behave karoge mujhse?"
"Nahi"
"Promise? Pinky promise?", Kuhu held out her pinky finger.
Kunal looked around. Normally, he wouldn't be caught dead doing these things but he wanted to this time. He wound his pinky finger with Kuhu's.
"Pinky promise!" he smiled.
"Kuhuuu....Kuhuuu...," called a female voice. The children turned. Kuhu turned around at the voice echoing behind them. "Achcha, mujhe jaana hai abhi. Mamma bula rahi hai. You know, aaj se tum mere best friend ho. I am so happy, I have a better friend than Mishti. I mean, not ki Mishti meri dost hai par phir bhi," she babbled. "By the way, tumhara naam kya hai? Mamma says ki agar kisi ka naam na pata ho, toh woh strangers hote hain. Par tum toh mere best friend ho," she flashed a toothy grin at him.
"Kunal," he bit out, reddening even further.
"Okay, since humne yeh decide kara hai, I want to give you a gift. Mere paas zyaada kuch nahi hai par yeh hai..." she fished out a glittery thing from her pocket and stuck it onto his arm. Kunal peered at it. It was a sticker, a unicorn sticker. It glittered and shone in the sun. "Aur yeh bhi...." said Kuhu, as she engulfed him in a hug and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Kuhu.." he blurted out, shocked.
"Bye BFF!," she waved and ran away, exiting as noisily as she had entered.
Kunal felt his cheeks heat up. He had never had a best friend apart from his Bhai. It felt nice to have one.
He looked at his book. It lay forgotten, the pages flipping in the wind.
"Kunal, tum taiyyar ho chalne ke liye?"
Parul Maasi's voice broke through the Kuhu-infused haze that had settled around him.
"Haan, Maasi, chalo," he replied.
"Kunal, tum theek toh ho? Kya hua?" Parul questioned as she saw his beet red face. "Aur yeh kya hai?" she turned his arm around to inspect the sticker.
"Woh maasi, dhoop ki wajah se laal ho gaya aur yeh sticker--" he stammered. Parul smiled. "Main samajh gayi. Tumne ek naya dost banaya na?"
"Haan, kuch aisa hi, " he answered.
"Theek hai. Chalo ab ghar chalke nimbu paani pee lo," Parul grinned good-naturedly.
Kunal let himself be led out of the park. He had made his first best friend that was not Bhai. He would tell Bhai as soon as he got home. Or maybe not, he would keep this best friend to himself. He smiled and walked ahead, with a noticeable skip in his step.
I call that the golden age of Kuku because it was the ONLY time their relationship had the space to develop without any external pressure. Even then, Kunal kept trying to be that cynical guy who was only taking Kuhu to be in touch with Mishti, but she made him so happy in spite of himself. And he was SO flirty that you definitely see why Kuhu rankled when he tried to pass them off as "just friends" later on. 
It's also hard to know how much people (who aren't being paid) actually want to hear about this, but I fully second the sentiment that I am a PM away if you need to talk more! 
