Download - Picture Perfect by Vibha Sharma

8/9/2019 Picture Perfect by Vibha Sharma

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Picture Perfect

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While cooking dinner, I heard something - has it arrived already? Did my ears

hear the correct sound, or was it just the imagination of my mind? I ran out tothe balcony to check and yes, the sky was overcast and it was actually the

thundering that I had heard and soon enough big raindrops started plopping from

the heavens above. The first showers of the monsoon - the irresistible sight.

There is something magical about the first rain of the season which brings me

out to watch. So continuing with this lovely routine, I left my cooking in the

middle, quickly made a big cup of tea for myself and took my easy chair out in

the balcony. It didn't take long before I got completely immersed watching the

raindrops washing the dust off the leaves, landing on the metal railing, falling on

the parched ground where the dry soil seemed to just hide the raindrops in its

folds as if it was not ready to exhibit its possession to the world. It will do so, butnot yet, it needs to soak the drops in first, to quench the thirst of the

innumerable creatures inside its layers that have been waiting for this day.

While sitting on the easy chair, umpteen memories of such rainy days went

through my mind and I was just relishing everything - the time, the tea, the

thoughts and most of all the rain.

I was so deeply immersed in listening to my own thoughts that it took a while to

register that a big group of little children had come in front of my balcony and

were dancing and playing in the rain. Their loud peals of laughter interrupted my

chain of thought but nothing seems to bother me when it is raining and soon I

found myself relishing the little children getting drenched in the first showers.


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These were the same children who occasionally came to me to ask for some help

in their studies when their parents were not around or to just talk, or if nothing

else some of them just came to sit on my computer chair - the big chair which

gave them an emperor kind feel, the wheels gave the mobility and spin, in short -a mini merry-go-round thrill. But that day none of them wanted to be indoors.


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While completely soaked up in watching them, suddenly my eyes fell on a

window of a home which was in front of my balcony, normally the doors and

windows of which are closed, but that day, there was somebody sitting near the

window and watching the dancing children. It looked like a small girl of 5 or 6

years. I saw some from the group of playing children waving to her while dancing

in the rain, which meant they knew her. Then why was she not joining her friends

in the rain? This thought crossed my mind but did not bother me and I soon

forgot about it.

All of a sudden the playing children made a circle and joined their heads together

as if brainstorming on some issue, perhaps thinking about a new way to make

their playtime more interesting. But I saw them running inside the building and I

heard a loud knock at my door. I opened the door and saw all of them standing in

front of me. All of them together started requesting me to allow them to take the

computer chair out - the big chair with the wheels. I was not happy with their

demand of giving them my chair in this kind of weather and I was wondering why

even they asked for that. But something (the rain I guess), made me not decline

their peculiar request and to my own surprise I permitted them to take the

computer chair for a little while. I thought they would take turns in sitting on it

and the others would spin the chair to have more fun. But they actually did not

come back in front of the balcony and disappeared somewhere else. I was

silently scolding myself for having giving in to the irrational demand of the

children for such a nice and expensive chair and was a little apprehensive that

now I would get a spoilt soggy chair which would not be usable for many days.

But once again I was startled by even louder cheerful cries of the children and

what I saw was unbelievable. The child sitting on the chair was the girl who wassitting in her window watching the playing children a little while ago. But this

time she had a bright captivating smile on her face. After looking closely at her, I

noticed that she had a very heavy boot on one of her feet and some metal rods

were going up from that boot. The purpose of earnest need of the computer chair

now dawned on me.


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The scene was complete and the pictu


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re was perfect now! No yearning on any side, no guilt on any side and I thanked

God that He did not make me think miserly while agreeing to the demand of the

children. And my computer chair found the best use that day.

Download - Picture Perfect by Vibha Sharma

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