I knew who it was the second she sat down next to me. I was filled with joy. It had been so long since she had come to me. Whenever I enquired about her, my son used to tell me that she had gone somewhere far away for college. I still don’t know if that is the truth. The days she spent with me were the best days of my life. She used to sit on my lap every evening and keep me up to date with all the neighbourhood events. I never felt left out. In return whenever my son screamed at her for being naughty, I used to jump to her defence. We were a team. Her small hand in mine, we were both complete. But, as years went by, we grew apart. She started going to school, and I was soon left to amuse myself, again.

Over the years I have become an expert at entertaining myself. When I was young, most of the boys in school used to leave me out. The few who bothered to come and talk to me used to get frustrated quickly as I couldn’t relate to most of the things they referred to. So, most of the time, nature used to keep me company. I used to enjoy the sound of birds chirping, the smell of the moist soil, the touch of the breeze and the taste of mulberries. As I grew older my connect with nature strengthened. I used to spend most of my time out in the garden, with creatures who loved me the same whether I could see them or not. Life was beautiful. Yet, her entry into this world meant an extra spring in my step. Honey was sweeter and flowers more fragrant.

And till today, I believed that those days were over.

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