They say you find happeeness in the unlikeliest of places.
At the corners. Or the turns. Nooks and crannies.
And sometimes, right under the vast open sky with soft grass underneath your feet.
College was over. It was around 6-ish.
I called my friends to find out where they were.
One of them, who took the call, asked me to walk past the construction site.
I asked her what she was doing there. Nobody goes there.
She told me to hurry up and come.
Tired, I walked past the cement, dust and the barbed wires.
And beyond all of it, I saw my two friends sitting.
On a lush green field.
Surrounded by a dozen kids who were playing.
Instant smile on my face.
Smiling, I went and sat with my friends.
Noticing a new person, all the kids came running to greet me.
None of them seemed more than 10 years old and each one of them had smiling faces.
Most of them I noticed had their hands cupped, hiding something that I couldn't see.
Noticing my curiosity, one of the girls came up to me and said,
"Didi, spread out your palm."
Without asking questions, I obeyed.
Gently and with a lot of care, she gave me what she was holding in her hand all along.
A Butterfly.
Blue in colour. With Golden spots.
Beautiful it was.
But.
It was dead.
Proudly, she explained how she had caught it.
How she had caught two of them, and the others had managed only one.
Soon, all the kids flooded around us to show us the butterflies they had caught.
Interestingly, each of the butterflies were dead.
But, all the kids were still proud of their achievements.
With pollen all over my fingers, I laughed and played with them.
The elder ones brought their younger siblings to say hello.
Some of the kids were so young, that they needed help to walk.
In those few moments, I managed to forget about assignments and submissions, college and deadlines.
It was sheer bliss to be enveloped by childish play and innocence.
Toddlers, with their underpants falling off their bums laughed and played peek-a-boo.
Childhood has along with it innocence and warmth.
The genuine joy and happeeness that it has is contagious.
It acts as a Nepethe.
We laughed.
We joked.
We sang.
We screamed.
We ran.
We danced.
And when it was time to leave and get back to work,
Reluctantly, they bid adieu.
However, they had one and only one request.
That we went back the next day.
At the corners. Or the turns. Nooks and crannies.
And sometimes, right under the vast open sky with soft grass underneath your feet.
College was over. It was around 6-ish.
I called my friends to find out where they were.
One of them, who took the call, asked me to walk past the construction site.
I asked her what she was doing there. Nobody goes there.
She told me to hurry up and come.
Tired, I walked past the cement, dust and the barbed wires.
And beyond all of it, I saw my two friends sitting.
On a lush green field.
Surrounded by a dozen kids who were playing.
Instant smile on my face.
Smiling, I went and sat with my friends.
Noticing a new person, all the kids came running to greet me.
None of them seemed more than 10 years old and each one of them had smiling faces.
Most of them I noticed had their hands cupped, hiding something that I couldn't see.
Noticing my curiosity, one of the girls came up to me and said,
"Didi, spread out your palm."
Without asking questions, I obeyed.
Gently and with a lot of care, she gave me what she was holding in her hand all along.
A Butterfly.
Blue in colour. With Golden spots.
Beautiful it was.
But.
It was dead.
Proudly, she explained how she had caught it.
How she had caught two of them, and the others had managed only one.
Soon, all the kids flooded around us to show us the butterflies they had caught.
Interestingly, each of the butterflies were dead.
But, all the kids were still proud of their achievements.
With pollen all over my fingers, I laughed and played with them.
The elder ones brought their younger siblings to say hello.
Some of the kids were so young, that they needed help to walk.
In those few moments, I managed to forget about assignments and submissions, college and deadlines.
It was sheer bliss to be enveloped by childish play and innocence.
Toddlers, with their underpants falling off their bums laughed and played peek-a-boo.
Childhood has along with it innocence and warmth.
The genuine joy and happeeness that it has is contagious.
It acts as a Nepethe.
We laughed.
We joked.
We sang.
We screamed.
We ran.
We danced.
And when it was time to leave and get back to work,
Reluctantly, they bid adieu.
However, they had one and only one request.
That we went back the next day.
