Born In Apathy

A pile of clothes had been collecting on the bed for the past hour.

The red one doesn’t fit anymore.

The yellow skirt has been worn so many times. 

I don’t feel like wearing jeans and a top today. 

The violet dress is too frilly. 

Oh, this pink one is simple but pretty. 

Now choosing her favorite off-white ballet shoes was easy. Tina thought of the new hairstyle she had seen in a magazine last week and loved it so much.   

Should I ask mummy to do my hair like that?   

But she knew what her answer would be. So, she settled for her usual hairstyle. She smiled at the mirror.  

Oh no!

Her teeth were too yellow as she hadn’t brushed them in days. She dashed to the washroom and brushed her teeth.  

“Mummy, I am going to Vicky’s birthday party.”  

“Hmmm.” She didn’t look up from the sweater she was knitting.

Tina took the gift bought for him and left hurriedly.  

Music was blaring from the house two blocks away from her home. She rushed into the living room, a little self-conscious. The room was well decorated with a big birthday banner, lots of balloons, streamers, and confetti. The strong fragrance of the room freshener mingled with the light aroma from the kitchen. But there were no children in the room.  

“Namaste Rita Aunty! Where is Vicky?”  

“Namaste beta! Everyone is in the yard. Go meet him there.”  

She cringed a little while entering the yard full of children, mostly boys. She knew a few of them as they were from her school. It took her a while to find him among the bustling crowd of children of various ages.  

“Happy Birthday Vicky!”  

“Thanks! You are always late.”  

“If the birthday cake has not been cut yet then I’m still on time.”  

“We are waiting for my dad to come home. Let’s play musical chairs for now.”  

The chairs were arranged for the game. All boys and girls participated. The winner was Sudha. Vicky and a few children clapped for her but everyone else became quiet. They huddled into smaller groups and started whispering to one another.   

“She is the servant’s daughter.”  

“Look her younger sister is also here.”  

“They smell weird.”  

“Why are they playing with us?”  

“Stop it guys!”, implored Vicky. 

Overcome with shame, the two sisters disappeared inside the house. Their mother, Shanti, was helping with the preparations for the party. They hugged her.   

“Arre, let me do my work.”  

Sudha stormed off while Suman was still clinging to her.  

“Arre, what happened?”  

A teary-eyed Suman told her everything. Shanti wiped the little one’s tears and went to find Sudha. She was hiding under a babul tree near the entrance. Her face and eyes were red with anger and tears. Shanti sat down near her with Suman.  

“I know how you feel. We cannot control others’ behavior, but we can choose to look at the good things in life. I brought you both here because of Rita madam. She dotes on you both as she always wanted a daughter, but God gave her only a son. We couldn’t even give Vicky baba a suitable gift. Let’s not embarrass our hosts and help them in whatever way we can.” 

“We can have a better future with God’s grace and hard work. Some people may start being good to us, but others may not. We can’t let others dictate our attitude and conduct. The only asset we have is ourselves. You both are a blessing from the Mother Goddess, my brave little goddesses. Muster your courage and let’s go inside.”  

“Ma, you go first. We will come in a while.”  

Shanti kissed them both on the head and rushed off.   

Sudha sighed and wiped off her tears. After a few moments, Suman gestured to ask her if they should go inside. They got up and walked a few steps when they found Tina looking at them from a distance. They stood there awkwardly.

Tina walked up to them.  

“Your mother is so sweet. It seems she cares for you both.”  

“Yes, she loves us and works hard for us. And we can’t let others spoil what we have.”  

“Rita Aunty has scolded Vicky’s friends for their behavior. Vicky is waiting for you inside with the prize for the game.”  

“We did not anticipate things would turn out like this.”  

“Vicky had told me how good you both are at mathematics. Can you please help me?”  

“You can afford to have tuition. Why do you need our help?”  

“My tuition teacher doesn’t help me with my problems. She just makes me copy the correct sums from somebody else’s notebook. She happens to be my class teacher too. I think she will promote me to the next class to let my parents think that she has taught me and that I have passed the exam due to my efforts.”  

“What a teacher! And your parents, haven’t they asked you about your studies?”  

“They are busy.”   

Sudha and Suman looked at each other. 

A car pulled over near the entrance. Sid came out with a big gift in his hands.  

“What are you girls doing here? Let’s go inside and cut the cake.” 

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