It's about the first year of my school after the nursery classes . My friends keep talking of days back then , I hardly have three incidents to remember .But those incidents are more vivid than most of the fresh memories . The clarity is such, that sometimes I doubt if they are but stories that I've been weaving in my head since all these years .
Wishing on the Dandelions - The one with the dragonflies.
It's the lunch break . While everybody seems to be playing in the playground , which is conveyed through the shouts and shrieks and cries and laughter , I happen to sit in this aloof zone , invisible to the others . It was just an extended part of the playground where others didn't come, and not some totally different territory I then thought. Sitting beside me is a girl. We aren't friends yet , reason being - unlike me , am not the only one she knows here .Our parents knew each other , and we were asked to stay together , probably why she's here and not with the new people she had just met. I am staring at these dragonflies around me ,why I love coming to this place. They aren't colouful like the butterflies . But what I am seeing is far more beautiful and beyond the flies. These dragonflies remind me of my brother and my friends back home , and how every afternoon we used to chase them. Stopping as they did , trying to be motionless, patiently waiting for them to settle and then swift would go our fingers on their tails. It was not often when we got hold of them ,even less frequent for me , but if we did , we would go boasting about it and telling tales of our huge accomplishment to all the elderlies. I hated my school , and this used to be my escape zone. I was , and still am , bad at ganging up or even making friends. I take time to open up , and so did the school to open up to me.
Making your presence felt - Recognition is a huge word !
Our teacher has asked us to draw a boy from our textbook. I am no artist , but just like others am giving my best shot to impress her . (Oh how much it mattered to be the Teacher's Favorite then ! ) Everybody's looking at each other's drawing , commenting on them as also giving their expert advises , while the nasty ones don't forget to showcase their supremacy over others. Politics is everywhere. Even in a kindergarten school! This reflected in how most of them had praises but for the Popular's ,those that also happened to be the teacher's favorites. I try to peek at one of the likes , the one's who used to sit in the same group as I did. Mine may not be as good as hers,I think , but there are a lot others , going unrecognized , that can give her a tough competition . Mine is not bad either.I am upset.Not for the fact that nobody has praises for me , but because no one even bothers to check my drawing. It's time for submissions , headed by The populars , I am called by my teacher as are the other reluctant ones.For a surprise , am welcomed by some appreciation by her. Adding to that she displays my drawing to the whole class.I now know it must have been an act of encouragement but nonetheless I was still being noticed .It was my FIRST time .Girls are looking at me if I am a newbie ,they sure mustn't have noticed me before.Later one of those Populars calls me to sit beside her .She's is looking at my drawing . I can see her glaring eyes , those that haven't yet known to hide jealousy !
The Rain of Harvest - Beginning of a new friendship.
It's a rainy day , we are all looking outside the windows as water sweeps it. More than the sight , I like the sound of the droplets hitting the ground and the roofs. A constant typical noise that it produces ,or should I call a disturbance ,with the dark clouds veiling the sun, we never studied during the heavy rains . Today we are having those regular shuffling of seats,our teacher did ,to ensure everybody knew everybody else .I am standing on one corner curiously waiting for my new bench and benchmate .I have no choices , though I want a girl like me.Till now I didn't have a best friend , I was seeking at it as an opportunity to make one .Luckily I get a nice girl who atleast isn't a snob , which would otherwise had been a strict resentment. The one I am replacing is sent to another corner of the room. I start talking to my new benchmate , and I quite like her.I am smiling, for I can see my new best friend in her. Soon I hear of how the one I replaced has started crying. I get to know that these two were best of friends.I am unsure of what to do , everybody seems to be blaming me , but the teacher remained unmoved .I am no longer talking to her . I am disappointed, she already has a best friend , I don't think I will ever get to be her best friend. I start looking at the rain again.
I don't remember what happened next but in the years to come , by that I mean the next 13 years she was my closest friend , my secret keeper .
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