Aashna didn't realise that she had been skimming the pages for a long while now. She suddenly felt a subtle tap on her elbow that made her turn to find a kid smiling and waving a 'hi' at her. She leaned down to his level and returned his smile.
<Hello there! How are you? Studying hard for school, huh?> She signed.
<Fine. School is fun!> he signed to reply.
Kush, a 7-year-old boy, was from the rehabilitation centre where Aashna was interning. He was preparing for a new phase of life at school, after years of sign language training. He only got hearing aids a year back when he had decided to catch up with kids his age and someday attend a school. However, he still preferred signing most of the time and used the hearing aids only in school.
He kept looking at Aashna and finally signed, <I want to be with you today...!> with the brightest excitement one could express.
<Sure! Just a minute.> She looked at the encyclopaedia she was holding. The next page she flipped was the last one. Merrily, she decided to get it, too, along with the other 6.
"I'll borrow these 6 for a week and buy the encyclopaedia." She said, setting forward the books and her membership card at the issue desk.
- X - X - X - X - X -
<Have you been sleeping well?> She signed to Kush before holding the ice cream cups and then thanking the vendor.
<No. I need to study more. I am already lagging behind with the syllabus of school.> Kush clarified and took his cup after a quick <Thank-you> sign.
At the rehabilitation centre, Aashna would usually stay busy, leaving her less time to have leisurely conversations with others. Accordingly, she tried to grab all the opportunities to talk to them outside the premises. A lively park with many children playing around cheerfully was one of the perfect spots.
They sat on a bench with some distance between them to keep the books and ice cream cups.
<You smell like C-A-M-P-H-O-R again today. I love it!> He didn't know the sign for camphor so he spelt it out.
<Do I? I love it too, thanks! Would you like a camphor diffuser this birthday?> She introduced to him the signs for both, 'camphor' and 'diffuser' knowing that he would grasp them quickly.
<YES!> He couldn't be happier. He took the last bite of his ice cream, kept the cup down and took out something from his pocket. <I wanted to show this to you earlier, but you haven't been coming to the centre lately. One of my hearing aids is not working, please check it. I didn't want anyone else to do it.>
Aashna started looking into it while Kush picked up the empty ice cream cups and went away searching for a dustbin. The tubing of the machine had a few droplets of water in it. He might have dropped it in the water... Aashna took out a tool and a soft, dry cloth from the side pocket of Kush's bag and cleaned the aid.
'It should work now,' she thought and looked out for Kush to hand it over. A few gazes here and there and she found him lying on the ground, on the other side of the park. The crowd of kids surrounding him was barely audible to her. Worried, she ran across the playground towards a trembling Kush trying to stand up with the help of someone.
A seemingly older child said, "He was standing near the dustbin... We shouted and warned him but he didn't move. Our football hit his head, and he fell... We are sorry..." Other children joined him and simultaneously chanted a few apologies towards Kush, who kept rubbing his now-red ear. It was clearly his ear that was hit and not just his head.
Aashna sighed and slowly said, "He can't hear you." She sat down on her knees to face Kush and signed, <They are sorry for injuring you.>
Hesitantly, he first nodded at her and once again at the kids around him, indicating that he had forgiven them. Aashna stood up with a helpless expression and turned to the children. "Please be careful next ti- every time." It was all she could say at that moment. She gently held Kush's wrist and walked away from there, towards their bench.
Kush only forgave them because that was all that he could do. Other kids weren't at complete fault, either. 'Only if he had functional hearing...' Was it really okay to ignore these kinds of mishaps and move on so normally? Even if it was a minor injury, she could not keep her thoughts away from it.
Kush tugged her sleeve for her attention and signed, <I am fine. See! It is good now. My hearing aid?> Aashna gave him the machine along with instructions to clean and maintain them by himself, in case she wasn't there to check on them someday.
Kush insisted on staying there a little longer, so they practised some hearing and signing till evening.
<Okay. Good job today! It's goodbye time now. How are you feeling?> Aashna signed.
<My head hurts. Not much. Just a little.>
Aashna wasn't sure if it was because of the prolonged practice or that wound. She hoped for none. <It's okay. Go and rest. If it persists, let me know. I'll drop you home.>
- X - X - X - X - X -
Aashna pulled an all-nighter studying one of the books she issued the previous day and freed her schedule for the ChaiScript reopening day. By the time she reached the cafe, she was expecting to see everything and everyone already at work. She entered and saw 3 customers sitting with their drinks and books. Abeer's seat was taken. 'He isn't here today...' She thought and turned towards the payment desk just to see Aditya, an employee there, and Khushi struggling with the computer. They saw Aashna and called her for help.
"We have a problem... here..." Aditya said. "The ERP software isn't working well. The glitches are out of control, probably because of the blast that day. There might have been a problem with network services. Ugh, I don't know what this is!!" His head dropped down in embarrassment. Aashna had a confused look on her face, but nevertheless, started checking the system. Even after minutes of trying, she couldn't resolve the issue. She looked at the other two, in the hope of some idea clicking to her, or them.
The bells of the cafe door chimed.
"May I try looking into it?" A male voice said, from the direction of the entry door.
__________________________________________
A/N: Soooooooo who might that be?
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Extra information on my Instagram: @thechaiscript. Happy reading <3
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General Fiction*MATURE BECAUSE*: It contains serious, sensitive and triggering topics like self-harm, unhealed trauma, assault, murders, etc. Reader discretion is advised. We are all flawed in some way or another, aren't we? How far can we go into our real persona...
