The Memoirs of Meenakshi Menon (#wattys2016)

Four Year Old Meenakshi Menon

     Four Year Old Meenakshi was in kindergarten as of now. She was finding it difficult to make friends, however. Her non-existent social skills were her biggest liability, leaving aside her awkward mannerisms. She always looked pissed and angry at the world – therefore leading to no one approaching her to have a chat. She didn't look all that friendly too, according to her: cheap clothes, gap-toothed, frizzy hair, the "I WOULD RATHER READ MY BOOK THAN LOOK AT YOUR FACE" default expression she managed to wear. She knew she had to change her asocial behaviour, so she added 'making a friend before completing Where The Wild Things Are picture book' to her to-do list. 

     One fine day, after a few weeks past her first day, as Four Year Old Meenakshi was seated in the bus staring outside the window as always, she heard a voice from behind her. She turned around to find a girl who she saw quite a few times in the corridors during break.

"Hi." she repeated.

"Hello." Meenakshi returned the greeting.

"Could I sit here, if you don't mind?" Four Year Old Meenakshi was shocked, to say the least. Finally someone who spoke to me! She thought. She placed her bag on her lap to make place for her to sit. Should I ask her if she liked reading? What if she doesn't? How should I make small-talk? Would she get angry if I talk to her? Those were the questions brewing in Four Year Old Meenakshi's mind. She then thought of just looking outside the window as that required no stress. Almost a month had passed now and every day, that girl would sit next to Four Year Old Meenakshi, open her tiffin box and eat her biscuits while Meenakshi would stare outside the window. One day, she finally asked:

"Why do you always keep staring outside the window? Don't you get bored?"

"I like how everything outside looks so different when in motion – the trees, the vendor's mango market, the child playing around with his balloon, the lady running to catch the bus. It's all slightly blurred and rapid, just like the dreams we have when we're sleeping. It's fascinating"

"Oh. But don't you like to talk?"

"Of course I like to talk." And then they began to talk. And by that, I mean Four Year Old Meenakshi talking and her listening.  Four Year Old Meenakshi spoke about a lot of things – about her favourite Bollywood actress who was Aishwarya Rai, about her love for potato preparations, about how she hated it when people laughed at her sometimes because of the gap between her front teeth, about her love for reading books, about why she found eggs to be the worst thing ever on the planet and also about her rough relationship with her sister. She listened to it all, nodding sometimes. Soon it was time for Four Year Old Meenakshi to leave as her stop was arriving. As she was about to stand up, the girl swiftly gave Meenakshi a peck on the cheek and said goodbye.

"What's your name, by the way?"

"Anamika."