Part 1
"Catch"!!!
All the broods, scattered in the small quad in chandangarh, clamored in unison, their eyes fixed on the cheap rubber ball flying in the air.
A man stood there in blue faded denim and a black shirt, his both hand holding the bat, still hanging in the air due to the force he had applied to strike the rubber ball.
The man looked at the flying ball. The ball started cascading down, proving the age old theory of gravitational force true and the kids ran towards the ball, in a hope to catch it but the ball traveled above them and collided with a white chunnari, spread on egress in front of the veranda of one small house. His eyes traveled towards the door. The door wide open and then as a flash of light, he saw her, his eyes instantly colliding with the big hazel eyes of that girl. He saw her eyes, wide with shock.
She crossed the veranda and came in front of the egress, her eyes giving a close inspection to her favorite chunnari. Her lips pursed and the hands on their own accord traveled to her hips. Turning away from her chunnari, after giving a close inspection, she eyed the broods.
"Hey Bhoolenath! What have you all done to my chunnari?! You naughty kids! " the girl chided the kids in front of her. Her one hand traveled to her forehead and the other still on her hip, lamenting on her favorite chunnari being spoiled. She turned away from and kids and took the chunnari in her hand.
"See this" she pointed towards the muddy spot on her pure and clean Dupatta. "see what have you done! You spoiled by chunnari! Ab manne phir se isse ghiss ghiss ke dhona padega" She again chided in her sweet voice, wanting to sound strict but failing miserably.
The kids looked at the girl standing in front on them. It wasn't something new for them. They have done worse than this while playing here but the look that girl was giving them, made them feel little guilty. All the kids looked at the girl but a timid boy nearly 8 or 9 years old, wearing a muddy cloth came in front.
"We are very sorry, jiji. We were just playing. We are sorry for spoiling your chunnari" the boy apologized.
The girl looked at the boy's cute face and listening to his equally cute apology her expression softened, which she was trying very hard to make stern.
"Hmm...it's ok! Don't repeat this next time, ok? " the girl asked, pointing her finger at the kids.
In return, all the boys nodded.
Smiling at the kids, the girl turned around and disappeared in her house.
"Bhai-sa, aren't you playing?" one of the kid from the group asked to their Bhai-sa, who was looking in front, mesmerized. Their Bhai-sa stood there, unable to utter a word. Who was she? A Goddess? A Goddess in blood red ghagra choli with a green chunnari doing a futile attempt to hide her pearly and tiny waist. He had captured all the kinesics of the girl he had just seen. Her glowing cream skin, peeking from the multicolor glass bangles adorning her slender wrist whilst she chided the kids, pointing her fingers at them. How her big eyes went wide with shock when she saw her chunnari, the way she kept her hands on her hips, the cute and heart melting smile she gave to the boys apology, everything. He snapped from the Shangri-la, he was in when he felt a tug on his Shirt and he looked down.
"Bhaisa aren't you playing?" the small boy asked, tugging at his Bhai-sa's shirt.
The man shook his hand and handed the bat to one boy.
"Chhotu, who was that girl?" the man asked.
"Who? That jiji, who was scolding us?" Chhotu asked, to be clear.
"Yes! That one!" the man made clear.
"Oh! She came to live here yesterday. You know that Kaki-sa who married her daughter, Nandini jiji last month? She had come to live with her. I don't know her name. She is new here" Chhotu supplied to his Bhai-sa, who was again looking in front, desperate to get one more glimpse of that beautiful face but that never came. Ruffling Chhotu's hair, he turned on his heel to leave.
The beautiful face imprinted on his heart and soul.
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