She was an important part of me since my childhood without being a part of my life. She was a precious reason why I remembered every silly incident of my memory as a kid.
The gift for her was still lying safe in my cupboard and the apology for her...
In the next few seconds, her sack was empty and there was a heap of trash on the ground. The heap was appearing taller than her. Her tiny hands were ripping the skin of that heap to find that repairable ball.
He could see the sparkling tears hooked on her eyes and the pours formed on her chin due to the wobbling lips which were tilting down. Her dirty palms were brushing the tears from her candy-like pink face then again parting the waste.
After minutes she repacked the things in the sack and flinched it on her shoulder. She walked ahead. The large loaded sack compared to her little body was walking along with her putting friction on the ground. Her cries were not halted. She was wiping her cheeks with one hand then quickly clutching the chocked neck of the sack before it would slip out from the other hand.
He was in guilt since that day. Only that day he realized he had seen her before. Then he recognized she was the ghost living in that broken house situated a little far from their backyard. But then he knew that cute cotton candy face couldn't be the mask of a ghost. Angels are also real, right? Though she was a filthy angel. Walked barefoot and never combed her two pigtails head whose rubber bands were also as dirty as her frock.
He had even bought a new football for her yesterday asking his father as a prize for coming first in his school sports.
His thoughts snapped when he heard the soft noise coming from the next house. He stood on his tips on the stool to more looked through the broken window.
She placed her puffed-out sack on the floor and wiped her dirty hands on her frock. Ehwee! Then she tore a small packet of cream biscuits and started licking the cream first. He giggled, she ate exactly like him.
He straightened himself when he marked she was walking towards the window. He smiled widely when she stood on something to reach the height of the window. Her forehead furrowed at him. She didn't smile at him. Disappointed he again smiled bigger and waved his hand to her. Dumbly starting at him she looked to her back then again at him.
He screamed a 'hii'. She didn't respond to anything. Didn't she speak? "I have a football for you." He screamed again.
Her face lit up instantly. Her lips parted and she smiled brightly. He quickly counted there were some vacancies near her front two teeth. Then abruptly her smile hampered. She got down and walked inside the room and never came back. He tried to lean more outward and peek inside the room but the shadow on the sky was in a darker shade and the girl inside that house was in more darkness.
Parth looked at his wristwatch. It was about to strike two. He shut down his laptop. He looked at the sky throwing back his head to relax his now aching neck.
There must be someone's birthday in the sky today. Fairylight stars were appearing more than the normal days. He wished that day also someone should have celebrated their birthday in the sky and he could have peeked more inside that house. At least he could have apologised to her which was pending yet.
There was not a one per cent chance that he would meet her again and even if he would find her out accidentally then it was a remarkable question whether he could identify her or not. She would have forgotten him for sure and it was a one hundred per cent chance. If he would identify her then what would he say? Apologising for stealing your repairable football fifteen years back?
He sighed. He didn't know why he was revising this silly incident. People came and made their way out of his life like Malini, just like that and here he couldn't forget that rag-picking girl who looked like a Rag Doll.
