1. Hello Genie
23 years ago
“Rohit, not again!”
Veena Sippy ran behind her five-year-old son who had run away with her passport for the third time in a row while she was packing her bags. She was already running late for a meeting and she also had a flight to catch after that. So, one would think playing hide and seek with her son was the least of her worries but what choice did she have when her child took her passport for a toy?
“Mumma you promised,” Rohit reminded her ruefully hiding her passport behind his back, lurking from the opposite side of the dining table while Veena tried to corner him.
“Rohit, mumma has work to do,” she replied panting. “Be a good boy and give mumma’s passport back,” she added getting impatient with each passing moment. For every second lost translated to loss of business for her.
Veena Sippy was a busy woman who had taken over Sippy Enterprises after her husband Naren Sippy’s untimely demise four years ago when Rohit had barely been even a year old. She had never had time to mourn her husband, never even had the time to ponder over what will happen to their son now. All she knew was that she had to restore her husband’s sinking business to ensure her son’s future was secured. She threw herself into the world of construction business and took it new heights which even Naren had not envisioned. But all of this had come with a price – in the process of securing her son’s future, she lost out on watching her little boy’s growing years. But she had made peace with that.
After what felt like an eternity, finally the butler managed to corner Rohit from behind and snatched the passport as he kicked and wailed. Veena heaved a sigh of relief and took the passport from the butler thanking him. Rohit eyed the passport sourly.
“But mumma you said you will come!”
“Not today but I promise sweetie. Mumma will come next time for sure but now she needs to go out for some important work.”
“But I told Karan and I told all my friends that my mumma will come today. They will all make fun of me now. Everybody’s mumma is coming today but my mumma never comes with me,” he told her tearfully tailing behind her as she ran back to her room and shifted her attention back to her bags.
“Baba, I don’t have time for this,” she told him in a rush not sparing him a look while Rohit left the room, head hung low, a lone tear cascading down his chubby cheek. He had told all his friends that his mother would come to see him in today’s fancy dress competition, but they had teased him saying that was what he said all the time though his mother never turned up. Not now or ever. He had been defiant and vowed to prove them wrong this time but as always, they had been right.
*********
“Bad Sona!”
“Aww…. Dida it hurts….”
Sonakshi Rastogi was getting an earful from her grandmother, Krishna Rastogi whom she fondly called dida and getting her ear pulled too. For an onlooker it might seem sheer cruelty being meted out to an innocent child. But little did they know that innocent was probably the last word that could be used to describe four-year-old Sonakshi who was a live firecracker. Always up to playing some or the other prank, she literally took the roof over her heads with everyone in the neighbourhood at her heels. And today she was being scolded by her dida for plonking an ice cream on Samar’s head who happened to their landlord’s grandson.
“Mummyji let it go na? She is just a child,” Suman, Sonakshi’s chachi pleaded her mother-in-law to let go of her.
“Suman not this time!” she said glaring at Sona who threw an innocent I-Don’t-Know-What-You-Are-Talking-About look.
“This little devil is getting out of hands I tell you. Poor Samar is down with fever and she throws an ice cream on his head!”
Suman gave Sonakshi a tired look while Krishna was fuming but in response all Sona did was flash her cute little smile.
“But dida his head was hot no? So, I put the ice cream to make it cool,” Sonakshi tried to justify her act blinking her large doe eyes innocently but her grandmother was not the one to be fooled by it.
Krishna slapped her palm to her forehead in frustration looking upwards.
“Mata Rani! What am I to do with this child? Suman, you pamper her too much!”
“Mummyji please? I will apologize to Mr and Mrs. Chadda on Sonakshi’s behalf,” Suman promised Krishna.
“But please let her go this time. I need to get Sona ready for the inter school fancy dress competition too,” she added and dragged a reluctant Sonakshi away from her dida to get her ready.
Today happened to be the inter-school fancy dress competition in Dehradun and Sonakshi was shortlisted to participate from her school. Sona had already thrown a fit over taking part in the prelims held in her school, but it had been mandatory. Being the brightest kid in her class, it came as no surprise when she cleared the prelims but the real challenge lay ahead. Suman somehow managed to get Sona to participate and clear the prelims but clearly Sona was in no mood to participate in the main event today. She had already created a ruckus to ensure her dida locked her in the house today so that she didn’t have to participate but if she did not, her school would be unhappy too. Suman had convinced her mother in law to let go of Sona this time but now she was tasked with getting Sona ready for the competition. She kept her little niece distracted with Tom & Jerry cartoon that was playing on their old CRT TV while she got her into her genie outfit.
For a childless Suman, Sonakshi had become the center of her little world. Ever since Sonakshi’s father had disappeared two years ago leaving behind his wife who was suffering from Early Onset Alzheimer’s at a young age of just 32, Suman had taken care of Sonakshi who had filled the void of children in her life. Dida doted on Sonakshi and both the women had left no stone unturned to shower their unconditional love on little Sonakshi. While dida took on the role of a strict disciplinarian, Suman pampered her.
Suman got Sonakshi ready in fifteen minutes and dragged her along as she threw one of her tantrums again.
“Chachi I don’t want to go……”
“Sona, bachcha? For your chachi please? And remember chachi’s promise? Chachi will take you to see the new cartoon movie this Sunday but for that my bachcha needs to be a good girl. And promise me you will remember your lines and tell them all correctly on stage?”
As an afterthought, Sonakshi nodded, her high ponytail bouncing about her tiny face and Suman gave her a quick kiss. They had reached the premises of the venue where a shamiana(tent) was spread across the grounds and the stage was set.There was a buzz of excitement in the air as ecstatic parents poured in entrusting their children to their respective school teachers and took their seats among the audience.
“You remember what chachi has told you? You will always stay with Sheila Miss and not leave your group….”
“And I will be a good girl, I will not pull anyone’s ears, I will not tie their shoe laces up and I will not throw an ice cream at anyone,” Sonakshi recounted her chachi’s words for the hundredth time, counting it off her fingers.
“Badmaash,” her aunt chided her pulling her cheeks lightly and wishing her good luck she departed from there to join the other parents. There was still a good one hour to go before the competition commenced and the kids were getting assembled in lines according to their grades.
Sonakshi began to get restless with each passing minute since she had nothing to do but wait. And patience was not exactly her best virtue. The moment she realised nobody was looking her way, she snuck out stealthily. Well that’s Sonakshi Rastogi for you! If you can keep her in one place for more than five minutes, then you had managed to achieve the impossible.
Out in the backyard, she turned around to see if anyone was around but she saw none. Picking up a stick lying nearby she paddled through the ground dragging it along with her making patterns on the mud when a makeshift tyre swing hanging by the branch of a tree caught her eye. She ran towards it, a broad grin plastered on her chubby face. She tried to hop onto the seat which was a little high for her tiny frame, but she managed to hoist herself up.
“You should not be here.”
Sonakshi was startled to hear the voice.
She peered to her right and sure enough she was not alone anymore. A boy of around her age was sitting on the swing hanging by the opposite branch and now he was looking at her curiously. Sonakshi looked him up and down. She had not seen this boy before probably since he belonged to one of the rival schools.
“Even you should not be here,” she pointed out to the boy defiantly and turned her attention back to her swing. Gathering as much momentum her tiny body permitted her to, she began to sway back and forth to get the tyre to swing.
Sonakshi waited for the boy to speak up but when he did not, she continued.
“Why are you here? You should stay with your miss na?” she asked him.
“Ummmm… yeah,” the boy replied staring at his shoes.
“I don’t want to go inside. My friends are there too,” he told her in a sad voice hanging his head down.
“So?” she asked him in morbid curiosity.
“They will boo at me.”
Sonakshi frowned.
“But they are your friends na? Why will they boo at you?”
“Because my mumma does not love me,” he told her morosely.
“You are stupid!” she replied sticking her tongue out while he glared at her for being chastised.
“All mummas love their babies,” she told him firmly and added, “chachi says that.”
“So, your mumma has come here na? She loves you but my mumma has not. She does not love me!”
“No, my mumma has not come,” Sonakshi replied matter-of-factly.
“Then your mumma does not love you too. Only those mummas who stay with their babies always love them,” the boy argued back.
“No silly. My mumma loves me and your mumma loves you too. But my mumma does not stay with me and she does not talk to me. She does not talk to anybody,” she said staring at the sky which was now beginning to get dark and stars were shining on the horizon.
“Your mumma does not talk to you? But why? Is she katti with you?”
“No. She just does not talk. So,” she said turning to look at him changing the topic.
“So even you are in fancy dress competition? What part are you playing today?”
“A rockstar!” the boy replied self-contentedly and flaunted his red jacket that was a miniature replica of Michael Jackson’s famous Thriller Jacket. But Sonakshi looked confused.
“What is that? A star made of rock?” she asked him puzzled.
“No, you dumbo!” he teased her laughing at her innocent question.
“Rockstar go everywhere and they sing on stage. They play the guitar and they are famous. When I grow up, I will become a rockstar,” and as he said those words, dreams of a faraway future danced in his almond shaped eyes making them twinkle like stars which were now beginning to show in the sky.
“Hmmmm.”
“What about you?”
Sonakshi got down, twirled around and flaunted her outfit. Keeping her arms crossed in front of her in a typical genie style she replied, “I am a genie.”
“No, you cannot be a genie. Genie is always a boy, not a girl. I have seen in Aladdin,” he pointed out.
“No, I am genie,” Sonakshi replied defiantly.
“Then where is your lamp?” he challenged her.
“You are such an idiot!” she scoffed at him. “If I was in a lamp, I would not be out na?”
“OK, if you say so,” he told her shrugging his shoulders and turned to gaze at the sky. He stared intently like he was waiting for something to happen.
“What are you seeing?” Sonakshi asked him following his gaze and turned to look at the sky but found nothing unusual.
“I am waiting to see a shooting star,” he said peering at the sky and scrunched his face.
“You know Karan tells me if you see a shooting star and ask for a wish, it will come true,” he added but the very next instant his face fell. “But I wait for it every day and it never comes in the sky,” he told her gloomily.
“Hmmmm. But stars will always be in the sky na? How will they listen to you? They are very far and they can’t hear us,” Sona pointed out like it was the most obvious thing. For a moment the boy pondered over her words but few seconds later he shook his head.
“I don’t know but Karan told me they do. So, they do,” he told her resolutely like Karan would always be right and she was a fool to even question that.
“Hmmmm,” Sona said thinking and suddenly an idea struck her. “Leave the shooting star. You said you want a wish na? You can ask me. I am a genie no?”
“You are not a real genie. How will you give me my wish?” the boy asked her.
“Offo! Why do you ask so many questions? Just do as I say and I am better than your shooting star,” Sonakshi retorted haughtily.
“How?”
“See you can ask a shooting star only one wish but you can ask a genie for three wishes.”
“Hmmmm,” he mumbled. “OK, let me see,” he replied tapping his chin with his finger thinking hard.
“OK, so here is my first wish. Hmmm…. I want my mumma to be always with me like Karan and Rishi’s mumma. Like everybody’s mumma. Can you do that?” he asked her eagerly.
Sonakshi was in a fix for this was not what she had expected. She was assuming he would ask her to perform a trick or two which was up her alley. But this? She had no clue what to do.
“You said you are genie na? Then make my mumma be always with me,” he insisted.
“Hmmm…..”
Sonakshi scratched her tiny head not knowing what to do, looking utterly confused.
“What happened? You cannot get me my mumma na? I knew it, you are not a real genie,” he told her, disappointment written all over his face.
“OK what if I do this? I promise you, your mumma will be with you one day and she will never leave you. But I will give you your wish later. Right now, I don’t know how to bring her to you but she will be with you, I promise” she told him earnestly but the boy did not seem to be listening.
He was staring straight ahead, terrified. Without a warning he jumped off the swing and ducked behind the tree while Sonakshi was baffled by the sudden change in his behaviour. A moment later he dragged her with him too.
“What are you doing?”
“Shhhh. Don’t talk loudly. He will hear us,” he whispered to her.
“Who?”
“Shhh.”
Sonakshi did not understand what was happening but she was quick to grasp the gravity of the situation and lowered her voice too.
“What happened? Why are we hiding?”
“Sameer,” the boy whispered and clearly, he was petrified at this sight of the other boy before him. “Oh no! What is he doing here?” he moaned.
Sonakshi peeped from behind the tree and she could see a big beefy boy striding towards them with a burger in one hand and half eaten chocolate in another. He was chomping on the burger but his mouth was smeared with chocolate. He looked like one of the bullies straight out of any child's nightmare.
“Why are you scared of him? What will he do?”
“He is in my class and he is a very bad boy. Very mean. Every kid is scared of him. He beats them all and he always eats my food from my lunchbox.”
“But why do you give him your lunchbox?”
“If I don’t give it, he will beat me and if he sees me now he will ask again and I have nothing to give him except for this banana that kaka had given me,” he told her in a horrified tone showing her the banana he had.
“Nonsense!” she sneered.
“You should beat him back. Teach him a lesson. I would do that,” she mocked him like it was the easiest thing to do which he probably should have done himself. But the boy rolled his eyes at her.
“Why don’t you do it if you think you are so clever?” he snapped at her but then he got a thought.
“Wait a second. You said a genie could give you three wishes na? Well you did not give me my first wish,” he muttered sarcastically.
“I told you I will give it but not now. But promise I will,” she told him in an irritated voice glaring at him.
“Forget that. Here is my second wish,” he told her, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
“Teach Sameer a lesson today. Make him run away.”
“Huh?"
“Yes, run away. Maybe scare him off like he always scares me,” the boy challenged her.
Sonakshi furrowed her brows trying to think of a plan biting her finger nail concentrating hard.
“Hmmmm…..”
A while later the familiar mischievous smirk was back on her face and she winked at him pulling out a cupcake from her pyjama pocket.
“Idea! And give me that banana.”
Sonakshi had seen an abandoned kite tied to a string. She pulled out the string and tied it around the cupcake. She dragged the boy who tagged along reluctantly behind her, following Sameer who had just then made his way to the backstage where the other kids were standing in line waiting for the competition to begin. To their luck Sameer was standing last in the line. Through an open window Sonakshi shot a pebble aimed right for his back using a hand catapult which she always carried with her and ducked down immediately. Sameer turned back and looked around to see who had dared to hit him but could not find anyone. Ignoring it he shifted his attention back to the chocolate in his hand when a second pebble struck him. This time he decided to teach whoever it was who was throwing stuff at him a lesson and strode out like an angry bull. When he came outside, he looked around wildly but no one was to be seen and then his beady eyes fell on the cupcake lying innocently on the ground wrapped in plastic waiting to be unwrapped. Licking his lips, he made his way towards it when a third pebble hit him in the back.
“Argh,” he huffed and turned around but before he could catch them Sonakshi had dropped down hiding behind a garbage bin and gave a thumbs up to the boy who was standing behind a bush and he hastily pulled the cupcake by the string back towards him.
“Who is there?” Sameer called out but he got no reply and when he turned towards where the cupcake lay a moment ago, it was now nowhere to be seen. Agitated, he ran away in the opposite direction to see if the prankster was hiding from him. Meanwhile Sonakshi and the boy made their way towards a tree they had spotted a while ago besides which there was a muddy puddle. Sonakshi placed the cupcake a little ahead of the muddy puddle and placed the banana peel just behind it. She prayed fervently that her plan work for she did not want to look like a fool before this boy who had challenged her as Sonakshi never lost a challenge thrown her way. She was certain she would have come up with a better fool proof plan if she was back in familiar territory, but she had to make do with what she got.
“Now, we get onto the tree,” Sonakshi instructed the boy pointing to the ladder that was propped against the tree. The boy looked flabbergasted at her suggestion.
“Are you mad? How can we climb a tree? No,” he replied stubbornly refusing to budge when Sonakshi tried to pull him.
“Shut up and do as I say!” she ordered him.
Grumbling the boy followed after her on the ladder and Sonakshi easily slid onto the thickest branch and helped the boy as well who was mighty impressed with her skills right now and looked at her in awe as she executed her plan. Holding one end of the string in her hand she waited patiently for the bully to get back and he did few minutes later.
Sameer was panting from the run when he spotted the cupcake once again. Having run a round of the grounds in pursuit of his attacker, his larger than life appetite seemed to have taken over him yet again and he decided to appease it by munching into the cupcake that had finally made its grand appearance right on time. Without seeing where he was running, he made a go for it slipping on the banana peel falling head first into the puddle.
Meanwhile on the tree top the twosome seemed to be enjoying Sameer’s plight suppressing their giggles lest it gave them away. Sonakshi pulled the cupcake swaying it gently upwards as Sameer looked thunderstruck at what was happening. In the dark he could not make out the string and it looked like the cupcake was floating on its own. Sameer tried to get back but fell back into the puddle.
“Who…. who is there….?” he asked hoarsely not daring to look up. He was trembling from head to toe squeaking like a rat caught in a trap mumbling words that were barely audible.
Sonakshi hiding behind the thick foliage of leaves rustled them making it sound eerie in the silent night. This only made it more spooky.
“Boooo…………………..” Sonakshi tried to make her little voice sound as scary as possible trying to imitate the various sounds she had stealthily heard from Zee Horror Show that her chachi watched on Sunday nights. While her chachi assumed she was tucked safely away in her bed, Sona would occasionally sneak out to watch that show. Somehow those monstrous figures had only made her want to laugh hard rather than bite her nails nervously like her chachi and now she was having fun at the demented boy’s expense.
It was not long before Sameer was running away deranged, shouting for the ghost and on his way, he stamped the tail of a stray dog that was sleeping in the grounds and soon he was not alone. He ran a marathon with an angry dog at his heels, chasing him all the way out.
The boy laughed like he had never laughed before, his melodious fun filled laughter echoing in the deserted grounds while Sona was grinning ear to ear, proud at her accomplishment. She had successfully granted him his wish as a genie and now she could proclaim she was better than his friend Karan’s shooting star.
Tears had sprung in the boy’s eyes as he doubled over holding his stomach hard.
“You know,” he told her through a fit of giggles that racked his small body, “you are not bad for a genie. You were right.”
“See I told you,” Sonakshi replied smugly.
As the laughter died down, the boy seemed to get down to business once again.
“OK you gave me my second wish. But a genie will give three wishes na?”
Sonakshi seemed to think over her words before nodding her head.
“What about my third wish?”
“OK, what is your third wish?”
The boy tried to think hard about what he wanted from his little genie but he could not think of anything right then.
Just then a loud worried voice boomed in the grounds followed by loud footsteps.
“Sona, where are you? Sona?”
“Oh no, chachi will catch me now,” Sonakshi whined. “I have to go!”
“Wait, don’t go. Please!” he begged her.
“You said you are my genie na? You promised!” he reminded her.
“OK, quick! Tell me what you want. My chachi is looking for me and I have to go!” she told him her voice laced with a desperate urgency.
“But I don’t know what I want now,” the boy told her helplessly.
“Offo! If you don’t know what you want how can I get it for you?” Sonakshi pointed out the obvious hoping he would let go of her then.
“If I ever get to know what I want and if I ask you someday will you give it to me?” he asked her eagerly.
“OK,” Sonakshi replied preparing to get off the branch and down the ladder but the boy stopped her again.
“What is it now?” she asked him frantically glancing at her chachi who was searching the grounds for her.
“Promise?”
“Huh?”
“Will you promise to give me my third wish when I ask you?” he asked her, extending his right hand towards her.
“Sona beta, please come out! Chachi is getting worried. Sona…..”
Sonakshi turned back to see her chachi striding towards the tree atop which she was perched and then at the boy who waited eagerly for her word.
Flashing him a dimpled smile, she placed her tiny hand in his little one and vowed solemnly, “Sona promise!”
P. S - Ok, so here ends the first chapter and next chapter will take you fast forward to the present 😉 So what happens next? Watch out for this space to know more. Please do like it and share your thoughts with me.
As I read this... I felt like I was with little Rohit and little Sonakshi ... Seeing them with my mind's eye ...
Beautifully written .. two small kids ..this is an awesome way to start ... We connect with them from their childhood
I felt sorry for Rohit that his mom was leaving him when she had promised him
I was laughing along with Sonakshi for that ice cream prank ...
Loved it Mandy ...please continue
How many chapters are there in this story ?
This was such a cute one, Mandy 😘
I was totally in awww mode when Rohit was being a sad baby and couldn't stop smiling reading about Sona's masti😂 They r so adorable!!
Rohit's stupid logics are so cute😂 and Sona's no non sense attitude is chummeshwari😙😂
I m so eager to see how these two grow up to keep that promise❤️
Veena seems to be a strong lady...woman handling a construction business is really commendable👏
Love Sona and chachi's bond. (I'd prefer calling her chachi rather than suman to avoid confusion). Just one request, please give Sona some other nickname...when chachi calls her baccha, I remember siyappa aunty's naagin eyes and her over grown bacha raima🤣
Btw narenika se itni nafrat, story shuru hone se pehle hi maar diya bechare ko🤣
Very interesting concept..loved it specially because you started the story from their childhood.Curious to know how Sona will keep the promise she made to Rohit.
Please update the next part soon.And thanks for the PM.
Wohhhoooo what a start mandyyy😘😘
I just luved the fact how you just made a role reversal for Rohit and Sona.. I mean seeing a complete different couple here (well not a couple till now)..
You nailed it with the description of their childhood.. That unspoken friendship between these two little innocent souls was like awww ❤😘
I luved how you kept Veena and Suman completely different from the show in your world of imagination. Looking forward to read more about them😇
Lastly as you mentioned it was a manan story first I did find some resemblance like shooting star rockstar niyonika manik's relation nandini's childhood.. So for me it's double bonanza😆 Reading one story about two couples in my favourite reel couples list
Good work babes. Your writing is really commendable 👏
You are a surprise, girl!!! Really!!! You have vibrant skills when it comes to writing,doesn't matter whether the genre is dark or lighthearted. Also the number of books you have read till today can be utterly surmised as it is thoroughly bounced back in every write-up of yours, though I haven't read much😅
Every advancement you made with the two leading characters multiplied my resonation level. That was the best part. I was relating to them. My plastered smile turned into grin when their bowling part arrived and at the same time,some points of the story escorted melancholy. I have turned into an admirer of your writing-craft! Sorry about the whole rant😅
Update asap!
Love you 😍
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