Mridula was busy watching her favorite cartoon when the shrill ring of the phone disturbed her. She ignored it at first, hoping for it to die down. But she had to admit, it was one persistent caller.
The big red receiver felt heavy in her little hands, but she managed to put it up to her ear.
"Hello," she spoke dragging the 'o' a little longer.
"Good morning Mridula," she recognized her fathers voice instantly.
"Papa!" she exclaimed giddily.
"What is my little princess doing so early in the morning?" her father sounded happy today.
From the last couple of days he was sitting beside her mom in the hospital. Whenever he called, she could always sense tension in his voice, but he sounded genuinely happy today.
"Nothing much papa, just doing my homework," she lied.
Though her father was in tension, she was enjoying this times in the morning. There was no one to stop her from watching her favorite cartoon in the morning.
"Haha Mridula, you are such an innocent child," her father laughed on the other side, "Go; watch your cartoon. Just give the phone to dadu."
She was caught, and yet papa wasn't angry. She wondered why? Mridula ran to the bedroom to wake Dadu. Her grandfather was snoring loudly. She stroked his shoulder, but he didn't wake up. She did it again just to hear the snoring become louder. Finally, she whistled in his ears. That did the trick, as her dadu woke up startled.
Mridula chuckled watching him like this. "Papa is on the phone dadu," she told him.
Dadu didn't need to listen anything else, as he ran to the hall as fast as his old legs allowed. Mridula ran and stood beside him, trying to listen what her father was so happy about, but she couldn't hear anything.
When the phone was over, Dadu looked at her with gleaming eyes, and revealed the happiest thing she had heard so far. "You have a brother now, Mridu."
Mridula jumped up and danced in joy. The moment had finally come. Since eight months her Mama and Papa had been waiting for this day. But more than anything, she was happy that her mother would finally come home. She hadn't seen her this whole week, and she would be home.
---
As she entered the hospital room holding her Dadu's finger, she saw her mother lying on the bed. Mridula rushed to the bed and trapped her mama in her tiny embrace. Her mother was equally delighted to see her. Tears of joy flowed from both their eyes as Mridula got down from the bed.
"Here Mridula, meet your brother," papa said keeping a baby beside mama on the bed.
All the way to the hospital, she wondered how he would be. And now when she saw him, her heart fluttered. He was a tiny thing lost in a bundle of blankets. He little red nose looked so cute.
Mridula warily brushed his fingers, careful not to wake him up. He woke up anyway. Big round globes stared at her with amazement. They were blue, just like her mother. She felt as if he was trying to decide whether to like her or not. What if he didn't like me? She got scared a little.
She was lost in his eyes when a tiny thing touched her fist. She opened her fist, and his tiny fingers instantly wrapped around one of hers. He had accepted her.
And in that one little moment, Mridula knew she has had the best brother of the world.
***
cchinu (07/05)
This story is inspired from a sweet little drabble written by 025AmethystRose
"They zap the life out of you,
And destroy the world you know,
With abilities you can only dream of,
People like them are very few."