Fireflies at my window - II

His parents were going somewhere, so could we kindly give him breakfast, dinner and lunch. Yeah- throw in a bed and a shower too! There were innumerable houses in the colony, then why us, I asked Valiamma a thousand times.

“No one likes him”, I told her.

“I do.”

I looked around horrified. I hoped no one from the other houses heard that.

“I do too”, my 17 year old cousin added.

I was living with a family of traitors.

“He doesn’t wash himself”, I hoped that would turn Valiamma’s mind against him. She didn't react.

“No one in his school talks to him. He eats lunch all by himself. He just doesn’t have any friends” I wrung my hands in frustration trying to get the point across to my just turned terrible family!

I continued, “He even steals books from the library”. That was a total lie and I don’t know to this day why I said something like that!

He never rang the calling bell, that day I discovered. I saw him stand at our door with the newspaper in hand. I wish I was an ostrich or something- so that I could have buried my face into the sand!!!

He slunk away as he slunk in. But I saw him. And he knew I saw him.



“Go and call Anoop for breakfast”, Valiamma told me next morning.

I acquiesced. The feeling of guilt was larger day by day and my shoulders stooped with the burden!

His house was locked. I walked back home and told Valiamma, “He’s gone to the library”. I had no clue where he was, but I knew a specific answer would help with the fact that I didn’t have to go Anoop hunting.

He didn’t turn up for lunch too. When asked to go and call him, I found the house locked still. I walked back home feeling terribler!

“He must have gone to his friend’s place for lunch”, my cousin reasoned.

He didn’t have any friends.

I walked slowly to the library in the afternoon sun. I walked past all the racks laden with books, down to the rack that was left unvisited by everyone. I found a lot of good books neatly arranged, waiting for me… waiting for someone who never came to take them.

I went back home and promptly told my cousin that Anoop had been kidnapped.

“Umm hmm…”, he replied busy preparing for the Kerala entrance.

I went and told Valiamma that Anoop had been kidnapped.

“Umm hmm…”, she replied busy pounding on the dough for dinner that night.

He didn’t have any friends.

I went and peeped into the old well in the backyard of his house. I saw a few old leaves floating on the water and walked back home.



Evening came and still no sign of Anoop. Only I was worried. I went into my room and opened the closed window.

That’s when I saw Anoop. He was sitting in his room. I stood by the open window and pressed my head against the cool rods. He was there.

He caught me looking at him. There was no reaction from him at all.

I went in and came back to the still opened window. Stretching out my hands through the narrow bars, I offered him a book.

I stood there holding the book out. He didn’t budge for a few minutes. My hands ached, but I still held it stretched out. He slowly got up from the bed he was sitting and walked towards the window and stretched out his hand.

My hands were too short. His hands weren’t long enough. Our windows weren’t arms distance away.

“I’m coming there”, I told him.

I rushed down with the book in hand and yelled to whoever cared to listen that I was going over to Anoop’s house. And walked over to his house. He opened the door before I could even ring the bell.

We sat on the steps in the terrace.

“Do people in Pondicherry talk French?”

I started on hearing his voice. “There are French people in Pondicherry”

“All of them don’t speak French?”

“No”

“But you do”

I didn’t. But I didn’t have the heart to contradict him- ever again.

“Yes I do”.

I mentally promised myself to pay more attention to Miss. Tapashi in French class.

The whole colony plunged into darkness. Daily power cut. We sat there in the dark.



“I watch the fireflies too”, he said.

I always left my windows open for the fireflies to come in.

“A European legend says that if a firefly flew in the window, someone was going to die”

I hastily made a note to myself that I better shut all the windows and not tempt those flies inside.

“I don’t steal books”

He almost killed me.

Thank god it was getting dark and he couldn’t see the tears. Tears that stood on the brim of my eyes hesitantly… like a bride… hesitant to cross the threshold and yet would…

“I like William”, I said as the tears fell down onto ‘Lila: An Inquiry into Morals’ that was on my lap… that being my way of saying a 'sorry' and a 'thank you'...