I woke up in the morning hearing the birde chirping. I sat on my bed and opened the window. I adjusted the pillow and leaned back on the bed.The morning after a rainstorm is beautiful. The air is crisp, the sky is clear, the trees have that shiny healthy glow after losing all the dead and nearly dying leaves in the storm. I could hear my parents talking in the kitchen. I didn’t feel like getting up from my bed. Today is the last day, I get to sleep in my bed at my home. Tomorrow I will be on my way to my new life in Bangalore. The moment I waited for all my life has finally arrived and I felt scared. How am I going to cope alone in a strange town, when I don’t even speak the local language! Will other students laugh at me, because I speak very little english?
In a way, I was glad Appa was home. Atleast I can speak to him about all my worries. I got up from my bed and walked to the living room. My parents were sitting at the dining table, reading news paper. Appa was reading the main news and Amma was reading the obituary column. My mother reads the obituary column first everyday even before she reads the main news. Somehow for her dead people were more important than what is happening around the world. Appa looked over the newspaper, when he heard my footsteps. He looked extremely funny with his bifocals at the tip of his nose. I walked to where he was sitting and pushed his spectacles back to the top of his nasal bridge
“eh? Why are you pushing my spectacles?” He asked me. Before I could speak, he looked down and the spectacles dropped to the tip of the nose.
“You look like an old man” I pushed the spectacles back.
“What do you think? You think your father is still a young man?” Amma asked
I glared at her. A look that kind of asked ‘What is your problem?’ Amma went back to the obituary column.
“What is for breakfast Amma?” I thought I will help her to cook
“See! Look at her! She is old enough to get married and have a baby in 9 months. She still expects me to cook for her!”
It was unbelievable, how my mother could twist and turn the facts. How could she speak like that, when all the while I was the one who was cooking?
“Nina, this isn’t how you treat your mother. She is growing old. You should help her in the house. How can she do everything all by herself?” Appa spoke
I looked at my mother. Her face looked as though she was really sad and her eyes were twinkling in delight. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come. I couldn’t wait to get out of this mad woman’s clutches.
“Ofcourse Appa.” I agreed knowing very well,my father would get angry if I showed any sign of defiance. I was just about to walk off to the kitchen and I heard Appa speaking
“Don’t I have to reserve the train ticket to go with Nina and drop her at the medical college?”
“Achacha, I was thinking about that” Amma spoke
Goodness gracious, she called my father ‘Achacha’. That is what my father wanted her to call him and Amma never called him that. I knew she was up to something.
“I was thinking Achacha,you look like a foreigner and speak english with a British accent. Her seniors will know that we are not Indians. They rag foreign students more. I was thinking that, let Maria drop her to the college and she can also stay with Nina for few days to help her settle down. We will visit her later, may be by the end of this month.”
Appa looked at me. I stared at him. ‘Oh, Appa for heaven’s sake use your brain. Your wife is lying. Nobody is going to rag me more, because you speak english with an accent’
Appa looked at Amma and nodded his head
“You are right. It is better that, she stays as a local student. I don’t want her to get ragged unnecessarily’
I so very badly wanted my father to come with me. I looked at Amma. Her eyes were still shining. I hated her. I hated every bit of her.
“Maria, come here” Appa called
I watched Maria running to the dining room.
“What is it Appa?” Maria asked
“You have to go with Nina to Bangalore tomorrow. Stay with her for a week and make sure nobody rags her”
“Ofcourse” My sister looked excited
“I will go and pack my bags” Maria was grinning and I wondered why is she so excited?
I followed Maria to her room. I still had one more favour to ask from her
“Maria, will you teach me, how you tie the saree like Sonia Gandhi?”
“Nope. It is a trade secret. You will just have to learn that by yourself”
“Why Maria? Why can’t you ever be nice to me?”
“Am I not dropping you to college tomorrow? How can you say that I am not nice to you?”

Some how each and every member of family was giftd with the ability to twist words to suit their needs. I went back to my room.

“Nina, come here” I heard my father calling me.
I walked to the dining room. There was a big bowl of steaming hot puttu and kadala on the table
“Set the table Nina. It is time you learned to help your mother” Appa spoke with a raised voice.
I looked at my wonderful father. Does he know that I am the one who cooks most of the food in this house?Does he even know, that his wife’s idea of dinner is kanji and payaru(porridge with green gram curry) each day, every day? In fact I couldn’t even remember when was the last time my mother cooked kadala curry(chickpeas). I wanted to tell my father my side of the story. But how to when his wife has already blind folded him?
Silently I set the table. I took consolation knowing that I will be out of this house in matter of hours.
By the time I finished setting the table, Amma came out of the kitchen. She looked at me and spoke
“ennu kakka thalakuthy parakkum” (crow will fly upside down today).
I looked infront of me. There was a heavy yera glass on the table. I contemplated doing a David’s stunt on my mother. I have taken enough from her. Amma saw the way I was staring at her and she spoke to Appa
“You look at her.. Look at the way she is trying to burn me with her stares.”
I looked down. I didn’t want another fight.
“Nina, be nice to your mother. Don’t you forget she gave birth to you”
“Ofcourse Appa” I replied and spoke silently ‘ yeah just by giving birth, you don’t become a mother! you need to act like one!’
After the family breakfast Appa got up from the table
“Nina I have something for you” I watched him going inside and coming out with a pen in his hand.
“This is for you. This is a waterman pen. It is a very expensive pen. So don’t lose it.” He handed the pen to me.
“Why are you giving her such an expensive pen?” Amma asked
“She is going to be Dr, no? She can write all the prescription with that pen”
“Are you crazy? She never takes care of any of the things you bought for her. She is so irresponsible. Infact she didn’t even have a pen to write her SSLC exam. I had to give her money to buy one the day before her exams!”
“What about me Appa? How come you are not giving me a pen?” Maria asked
“I only got one pen. I got it as a farewell gift from my boss” Appa replied
“I also want a waterman pen Appa” Maria spoke
Appa looked at the pen in my hand and at Maria
“I think you better give the pen to Maria. Atleast she takes care of her things” Amma spoke
I put the pen on the table and walked away. I heard my father speaking, “I will buy you a waterman pen when I come next time Nina”
I didn’t bother to reply. I couldn’t understand, why am I the only one in this family, who never gets anything? Why does my mother still love Maria even after all the things she did? How come nobody ever stand up for me? Why is it so hard for anyone to love me? I didn’t know. All I ever wanted was someone to love me. Even that is a luxury.