It has been raining continuously since the school reopened. Inside our house is a maze, there were atleast 10 clothes line criscrossing across the rooms and the clothes were hung inside to dry. When ever you go from one room to another, you have to navigate in such way that you don’t touch the clothes. The house was damp and smelly and dark.
Outside too was not better in anyway. The trees that longed for the rain, now looked like they are weeping. The rain water dripping down the leaves looked like tears. Every now and then the rain takes a moment of rest and my hopes to see the sun gets high, only to have them dashed in the next downpour.
There was nothing to do, outside or inside the house. To me it felt like a forced hibernation.
I woke up early on saturday morning. Appa was getting ready.
“Where are you going?” I asked him
“Chengannur”.
“Why?” I asked him
“To see my mother”.
I ran to my room to change my clothes and get ready. I didn’t even waste my time to brush my teeth. I put a bit of paste in my tongue, swirled it around in my mouth, rinsed with water. I went to Appa, as he was just about to leave the house.
“Where are you going young lady” he asked me
“Chengannur”
“Why” he asked me
“To see my grandmother” I replied
He laughed. “Did you brush your teeth?”
“Yes” I nodded my head
“Open your mouth” He commanded
I did, and he did a sniff test. Fresh smell of Binaca toothpaste emanated from my freshly cleaned teeth!
Everyone except Akkachi was still asleep
Akkachi called me to approach her, and told me “Nina, ask Appa, if he wants to eat break fast.”
I hoped Appa would say no. I wanted to eat Appam and egg curry at the bus station canteen.
Appa shook his head and said”No”
I was so happy.
We walked slowly, holding the umbrella and trying to keep our body dry. As I walked on the road, my hawain slipper was painting the back of my legs and dress with mud. There were puddles of water everywhere and we had to walk carefully as we didn’t know which one is a pothole and which one is a puddle. In some of those major potholes, strangers( most likely the ones who had fallen in it) have planted banana plant as to warn the others of the danger.
By the time we reached the bus station, my legs were dirty, my dress was dirty and I hated the rain.I tried to command the clouds to take rain back to spain. At that moment a lightning flashed across the sky, kind of mocking me and asking’ did you say something?’
I was angry and hungry and looked at my father. He too looked at me and without saying much he walked to the bus station canteen.
We sat on the bench and the waiter placed the banana leaf infront of us
then he rattled
“Dosa, uppuma,idli chammanthi,appam, pazham pori, puri, paratha…”
“Stop”, my father raised his hands like a police man.
“4 appam and 2egg curry, 1 coffee and 1 milk”
“Why can’t I have some coffee?” I asked my father
“Because you are too young to have coffee”
I was just about to tell him, Ammachi gives me coffee with ghee, then I remembered my promise ‘not to tell anyone’ about it. I kept quiet
The waiter placed 2 glasses of water infront of us.
“Don’t drink that water Nina”. Appa ordered me
“Why not”
“Because it is ‘finger’ water, look at the way he carries the glasses”.
I looked and that is when I saw, the waiter holding 5 glasses, dipping each of his finger in a glass. It looked yucky and I understood why my father forbade me from drinking the water.
I looked at all the people sitting around me and having their breakfast. Everyone looked weary, it was obvious that the much awaited monsoon has begun the destruction.
Our waiter came again, this time holding a big aluminium bowl. he scooped a boiled egg from the bowl with a spoon and placed it on appa’s leaf, then he scooped another egg for me. he then placed the gravy on top of the egg for appa and walked away.
I asked Appa”Why no gravy for me?”
“You want some?” he asked me
I nodded my head and said “yes”
Appa called the waiter and asked for gravy for me
“Sir, it is spicy”.
‘what spicy, I wanted to tell him, I am Nina Thomas, grand daughter of Methran Thambi and I eat spicy food, just like my grandfather and my father’
“I want gravy” I told the waiter
he grudgingly gave me some gravy.
When I got my appam I was eager to show the silly waiter that I can eat spicy food. I took a big mouth of gravy with the appam and placed in my mouth.
Sudenly everything stood standstill. I felt smoke was coming out of my nose and my mouth and my ears. My tongue burned and I desperately wanted a glass of cold water. The food in my mouth was stuck in the middle of my tongue, as though my throat refused to accept and my lips refused to reject.
My father was watching me all the while and with a grin on his face, he advised
“You can spit it out”.