My daughter came home after school. It was a tiresome day. She was exhausted. She came to me while I was lying on the bed outside under a mango tree. She came to me and she rested her head on my pillow while having a glance at me and I knew that she had got something to tell or request.
‘Appa, can you hear me?’
I pretended as if I was deaf to make her angry as usual. She kept silent for a while. She called out to me again.
‘Appa, can you hear me?’
‘Of course, I can. What’s the matter?’, I asked her while holding her hand tighter. She maintained silence for a while.
‘Have you got money? I mean a large amount of money?’
‘Of course. What can I do for you?’
She kept silent for a while again.
‘Appa, every girl rides a bicycle to school except me’
‘So, what?’
‘Hmmmmm . . . Can you . . . buy me a bicycle?’ she asked me, showing great sense of politeness. I could realize her nature. I knew that she would get it for sure.
‘Ok, but on one condition.’
‘What’s the condition, Appa?’, she asked me impatiently.
‘Well, you’ll have to wait for another week because I must reap my harvest first.’
‘One week? It’s alright. I’ll wait, Appa’, she was overjoyed and thrilled. She left the place.
‘Can you reap the harvest within one week?’, asked my wife while she was walking to the kitchen.
‘Since September is going to be dry, I guess I can.’
I went to the paddy field and I walked along every ridge. I looked up at the sky. There were no signs of rain or dark clouds. It was too hot outside either. It was unbearable. I knew that there would not be any rain.
‘No worries, brother. You can reap the harvest next week’, said Ramesh while he was passing by me. Of course, he was very good at prediction.
I went outside. I felt as if the whole paddy field was swaying. Two of them were asleep. I locked the front door. I sat on the bed in the corridor. I was looking for any elephants for a while. There had been a huge herd of elephants last September. Now that I was sleepy, I too fell asleep.
At once it started raining heavily. I was helpless. I could do nothing at all. It was lightning and thundering. The rain was unstoppable. It rained throughout the night. She too came outside. She was highly worried and sad. She looked at me. I could utter nothing.
‘It’s ok. We just can’t go against nature’, she said while consoling me. I nodded. I was highly worried over my little daughter’s request which was full of innocence. I had totally forgotten the harvest and paddy field.
The rain was over by morning. I rushed to the town. I went to the bank and it was crowded. I had to be in the queue for a long time. I withdrew money which was saved to buy a plot of land before the next rain. I went to the only shop which sold bicycles. I looked for the best bicycle. I took it home. She was looking for it with enthusiasm. She was so thrilled to see me that she ran to me.
‘Wow!! You’ve got it for me, Appa’, she said while giving me a big hug. She was overjoyed and her happiness could console me so badly. She kept riding the bicycle here and there.
‘How did you buy it?’, she asked me with bewilderment, but I said nothing.
‘I never thought that it would rain in September. Did you go there?’, she asked me. I kept silent and looked at the way she was riding the bicycle.