CANDID OBSESSIONS

Window to a child’s heart.

Places ridden by poverty are saved only by hope. The children living there can’t differentiate desire from despair, rich from poor; they are fascinated only by the unknown. Mysteries of life; what attracts one would be redundant for the other. This was one such place and Mohini was one of the many children living in those places. She smiled as she saw her dolls dressed in wedding attire and made them walk down the aisle hand in hand. A sparkle caught her eye which distracted her and she followed the reflection in search of its source.  She tracked a glittering piece of object; not knowing what is was got her enthralled.  Mohini wanted the piece as its sparkle would enhance the beauty of her dolls, but got scared as it was in the possession of a stranger. Mohini picked up her dolls and followed the stranger.

Mohini kept her distance and watched the stranger talk to a woman; their conversation turned aggressive and the woman started to point fingers at the stranger. The stranger tried to placate the woman but to no avail. The woman threw something to the ground and walked off leaving the stranger stranded. After shouting and gesturing animatedly in her direction he stormed off in the opposite way.

Mohini had lost track of the gem in their melee. She looked for her glittering piece from her hiding place but found no success. Mohini remembered that the stranger had held it in his left hand, but on inspecting she found both of his hands bare, no twinkle adorned his hand. By now the stranger had walked far away, so sensing her chance she summoned all her courage and walked to the spot where the stranger and the woman stood. She searched left, she looked right but that object eluded her, she heard a wow!

 A boy from the neighborhood was looking towards the ground. Mohini saw him pick up the glittering object, and placed it in his pocket. The boy was bigger than Mohini, she walked to him, “it’s mine” she said. The boy pushed Mohini to the ground and ran from the spot; she rolled on the ground wailing.

On reaching home, with her clothes soiled, Mohini received a slap for her negligence from her mother. Mohini stopped smiling; even her cherished dolls couldn’t bring light to her face. At first Mohini’s mother and sister tried to question her, but she remained silent. Her family got worried because of her change in behavior. But with the passage of time they all lost interest.in Mohini’s thought still centered on that mysterious glittering object. She wanted it but in her heart she knew she had lost it.

Many days later, Mohini sat outside her house making hole in the ground with a stick; a light glittered on her face. Mohini jumped to her feet and saw the same boy holding the mysterious object. The boy extended the object towards Mohini. She remain rooted to the spot, the boy took a step towards her and extended his arms holding the object. Mohini looked the boy in the face, feeling confident she walked towards him and took the object in her hand. She looked at her precious possession and cradled it in both her hands. Tears began to roll down her cheeks, the boy started to leave, Mohini hugged him with her mysterious object clutched in her hand, “thank you” she said. The boy hugged her warmly.

A smile adorned Mohini’s face.