so there she was .. sitting in the street corner, rite outside my school gates .. i musta been in my first grade when i first saw her .. she looked a li'l scary to me, at that age .. now i know better than to go by looks .. but then, i was jus a kid and first impressions were the looks .. and i was a bit intimidated by her appearance .. so i hadnt approached her for a long time ..
one fine day, i mustered enough courage and staggered on to the place she was sitting .. she looked up at me and asked wat i wanted .. i ddint answer .. i focussed my range of view on the big round earrings she wore ... she asked me again wat i wanted .. i opened my mouth to say s'thing but couldnt think of anything to say and closed my mouth .. she turned the attention to some other customer and that gave me a chance to look close at her .. she had shrivelled skin .. coffee brown .. large hands with metal bangles .. small ears with large round earrings .. and small green eyes ..her eyes !! .. the source of attraction for me .. those green eyes had a kind of strange sadness about them, giving her on the whole, a meloncholy look ..
the customer had left and now i was the only one near her cot , wre she sold an array of odds n ends .. she turned her attention once again to me .. i hurriedly looked down at my feet .. dont know wat she thought , she kept quiet .. i remained lookin at my feet for a few seconds .. one min .. two .. a few min .. then, not hearing any sound, i slowly looked up, half expecting her to ve packed up n left for the day .. she was lookin at me kindly with a half smile playing on her lips .. dunno y, but i was reminded of gran ... i ran away from there with tears in my eyes , on being reminded of gran ..i missed her so ...
i didnt go near her cot for a few days again .. but as fate goes, i was forced to go to her cot again .. mom was late that day and the school gates wre closed by 6 .. it started raining and not knowing wre else to go, i went and stood near her cot , which was protected by the shelter of the big banyan tree .. she recognized me and smiled .. i slowly smiled back and looked about me .. there was jus the two of us .. she didnt talk .. i didnt either .. each wre lost in her own thoughts .. it stopped raining and it started gettin darker .. i realized t'was past her closing time .. but she didnt seem to b in any hurry to pack up .. suddnely, she said "u remind me of my grandson" ... tears glistened in her eyes .. i kept quiet, as that was the best i could manage to do .. mom came .. and i climbed into the front seat .. she was closing shop when i peeped outta the car while mom reveresed.. she waved .. i didnt wave back ..
i waited for mom the next day also, standin near the old lady's cot .. she gave me a toffee from her spread on the cot .. i refused .. i left when mom came, but i waved back to her ..
this became a routine .. v never talked much, but v felt each other's presence like the closest of buddies .. she alwayz had a smile for me when i went and a wave for me when i left, with that wistful look in her eyes ..
then dad got transferred .. and i had to go with him .. i told my old fren that i was leavin and 'll not come from the next day .. she jus looked .. and nodded .. when i was leavin , i saw tears sparkling in her eyes .. she pressed her hands into mine and when she withdrew 'em, i saw a small stone carving .. s'one had done an amateur job of carving a li'l kid .. i dont know y, but i started crying too .. mom asked wat was wrong .. i ddint tel anything ..
i started school in the new city .. but i coudlnt help missing the old lady who had become a close fren ... i felt withdrawn and mom n dad assumed t'was caz i missed my old school .. but i missed the old lady and the comradeship v shared ..
after many many yrs, i still had the same feeling for the old lady .. when dad got transferred back to the old city again, i was more than ecstatic bot it .. i ran to school , as soon as v shifted in.. but much to my dismay, the tree that sheltered the cot was no longer there .. so was the cot - missing .. in itz place, there was a rusted board saying 'govt property' and the place was strewn with garbage .. i recalled the tree, the clean clearing under it wre the cot stood .. and the old lady sitting in a low stool rite next to the cot .. with her sad, green eyes which never failed to brighten up when they saw me .. i remembered her teary eyes lookin at me on the day i left .. i felt a pain stab in my heart .. i jus blinked away tears and went back home .. back to being the boy who longed to see his long lost fren once again .. knowing , it wud never happen !!!