*Happy Birthday!* 16th June, 2014. Mumma, did Asha set up the pink curtains and the silver balloons as I told her to? I am sure Ali and Inu would be coming over to surprise me. They did not even care to call me at 12. Mumma, these blue pumps from Zara or thered stilettos from Gucci? I blurt in one breath. 16th June, 2024. I put off my alarm a second time before I realize that I have to reach my office by eight for the meeting. I wake up yawning and look at the clock. Its seven already. I wake Karan for school. I have one hour to get him and myself ready, drop him to school and then drive to my office. Being a single mother is tiring. As I rush towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast, I stop to change the date on the calendar. The fingers linger on it a while. I realize, its my birthday. 16th June, 2014. The clock strikes 1 pm. I am standing in front of the mirror over my dressing table and the bed is cluttered with all the dresses I need to try on. Today is an exceptionally hot day. The weather seems to take a toll on me on this very day, every year. I pick up the Little Black Dress, just to find it does not fit me any more. Such an amazing birthday gift! I murmur to myself. An extra kilo of fat! I can hear a guitar playing somewhere in my room. Its my phone again. Another birthday wish. Hello? I say with a smile. 16th June, 2024. I graze my fingers over the date once more before hurrying off. Somehow I manage to drop Karan to school on time. He kisses me on the cheek before getting off the car and trots to his school gate on his little legs. I smile at the memory when he first started walking. My smile is short lived as I glance towards the clock on the dashboard. I have five minutes to reach my office. I step on the accelerator and wish that time would stop. I reach the meeting twenty minutes late, after getting into an argument with the owner of the car that accidentally bumped into mine while I was parking. My boss shoots angry glares at me as I enter the conference room. I finally settle into my chair and all the heads turn to me. Amazing birthday so far, I murmur to myself. 16th June, 2014. “Who was it, baby?” my mother shoots inquisitive glances at me. “An old friend,” I reply, as I realize she has been here for quite a while now. “Mumma, did Ali and Inu tell you something about the surprise? Are they even coming over?” I find the right moment and ask my Mom. “I did...” my mother’s sentence is left incomplete as the phone buzzes again. 16th June, 2024. I finally enter my cubicle and close my eyes to relax for a minute. My mind decides to travel back in time. How, when I was a kid, my mother invited all the colony kids for a lavish dinner on my birthdays. How I wore pretty dresses to school and distributed sweets to my classmates. How my father sent me gifts via parcel due to his outstation job posting. An instant smile covers my face. Check your mail box, Aashna. Sujoy has forwarded an article to edit, my colleague knocks at the glass partition of my cubicle and screams. I look up to the skies and chew a Melody lying in my drawer. Happy Birthday to me, I mumble. 16th June, 2014. Happy birthday! I am coming over in half an hour. I am so sorry I couldnt call at night but I swear I am going to make it up to you. And you are going to love my gift! Okay bye. I dont have time to talk. I have to get ready. See you in a bit. Inu gushed. And before I knew it, she had hung up. My smile grew wider. Mumma Inu just called. Shell be here any moment! I jumped from my bed in excitement. 16th June,2024. I edit the article with my frustration threatening to brim over. I check my cell phone for the third time. No missed call. No message. Not a single person remembers my birthday. Great! Just a few years ago, I used to stay up till midnight to answer to birthday wishes. Growing up sucks, I grumble, staring at my computer screen. 16th June,2014. Inu lives two blocks away, which means, 20 minutes of travel time. Twenty minutes to travel and another five to pick up Ali. So a rough estimate of 30 minutes, I calculate and a panic attack happens to hit me all at once. “30 minutes to shampoo, shower, dress, do the hair and choose my shoes!” I close my eyes and randomly choose a dress from the clutter of dresses lying on the bed. The water seems to overflow from the bath tub. I grab the dressing gown, put my iron into the socket and rush for the bath. 20 minutes to go! 16th June,2024. Hours pass in a haze with more editing. By the time I get out of the office during lunch hour to pick up Karan, my eyes are burning. As I reach his school, he is waiting by the gate with drooped shoulders. He gets into the car and looks and me. Mumma I want a new bottle. Everybody laughs at my old one. Mumma will buy a new one today, okay? I smile at him. He smiles back satisfied. I drop him at the house and head back to office. I check my phone yet again. Nothing. 16th June,2014. Heavy banging forces me to turn off the shower and attend to the door. Yes, Mumma? Please hold on. Let me complete shower! And ya, unplug the iron . Aashna, hurry up! an unrecognizable voice responds. Whos there? I question back. Doesnt matter. Just come out fast. Were all waiting in the living room! I can hear the footsteps exiting my room. I instantly turn off the shower, wash off the soap on my face and cover myself with the bath robe to peep out of the bathroom. Nobody is in the room, but I can hear giggles and murmurs in the living room. “So its not just Ali and Inu,” I tell myself, giggling with excitement. 16th June, 2024. More articles are waiting for me to edit as I switch on my computer after lunch. I let out a groan. My fingers ache from typing and my frustration is reaching dangerous levels. My phone beeps with the familiar Linkin Park tune. I fumble with the buttons due to excitement. Finally a call. Hello? Hello maam, Im calling from ARP Bank. Do you need a loan? I hang up the phone and throw it on my desk. Damn. 16th June, 2014. I hurriedly straighten my hair and zip up the dress. I can hear them blowing the balloons and playing with them. I think I should give them more time to setup the room. I look at myself in the mirror. The smile doesnt seem to go away. Happy Birthday, idiot! See, how lucky you are!” I remind myself. I unlatch the door of my room and start moving towards the living room. 16th June,2024. Now I am edging on depression. How unimportant am I that nobody remembers my birthday? I ended my day throwing phone twice on the floor. I drove home with itching eyes and a head that is ready to burst. I open the door of my house to find that the electricity is out. Such an excellent day!” 16th June, 2014. I move towards the living room to find my sibling and cousins setting up a surprise for me. Their expressions change to that of excitement as they see me and they all scream in unison SURPRRRRISE Im pretty happy to see them, but where are Ali and Inu? 16th June, 2024. I plop myself on the couch and called for Karan. I can hear his steps as he runs to me. Just then the lights come on. He runs and strangles me in a huge hug. And with a start I realise that I had forgotten to buy the bottle I had promised him. Mumma come with me. “Not now, Karan. Mumma is very tired!” “Please, mumma,” he insists and pulls my hand, leading me to the dining room. And there on the table was a muffin with a candle in the middle. Happy Birthday mumma, Karan beamed. 16th June, 2014. I am sure my mother can read my eyes. She knows I’m inquisitive about Ali and Inu. Shes giving me looks to behave. Come on, lets cut the cake, she prompts. But mumma, let Ali and Inu come I object. Lets just cut the cake. Theyll come when they want to, she responds in a rather irritated tone. I cut the cake without a hint of smile on my face. I fake laughter while looking into the camera. “Ali, Inu.. Ali, Inu..” my mind still struggles. All my cousins and aunts had a nice time at lunch. The cousins even bought me a pair of pumps from my favourite store. The aunts filled my pockets with crisp green notes but nobody could fill the void created by Ali and Inu. How could they ditch me? Not even a wish? Rejecting my calls? Responding with auto-generated messages? 16th June, 2024. “Happy Birthday, Aashna!” I turn around to find my husband standing by the table. Well technically, my ex- husband. He smiles at me and I smile back. Oh yes! Mumma, daddy helped me light the candle! Karan exclaimed. Really? Thats really nice. Whos idea was the muffin? Mine! Karan said with a smug smile, offering me a card he made with broken alphabets all over it. 16th June, 2014. Its 9 pm already. Mumma has to work in the morning. She gives me a last peck on my forehead and I move to my room. I randomly press the buttons on the wall and a glittery material covers me from head to toe. Oh, silver dust. Eh, what? silver dust? “SURPRIIIISE,” it’s a familiar voice now. Finally. “You thought we won’t show up?” Ali mocks me. “And aunty, what did she say? She’ll never talk to us?” Inu joins. I turn around to see my mom standing with a wide smile on her face. “They have been waiting here all this while, baby! I need to sleep now. Have a nice time with them,” she says and gives me a warm hug. “Ali, Inu, do not leave without breakfast,” she orders in an assertive tone and leaves. Muffins and violent kisses are smothered all over my face. There’s a fine line between the family lunch and these silly people which no one can dissolve, I assure myself. 16th June, 2024. After having a small dinner I bid farewell to my ex. Thank you for coming over. It means a lot. No matter how things have turned out between us Ashna, you will always be the mother of my child. And coming over is the least I could do to make your day a little special. The sincerity in his voice reminded me of the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place. As I close the door, I realise that I would trade a thousand birthday wishes from friends for the one small gesture shown by my son. And regardless of where we have been, at the end of the day, we all have to come back home, dont we? ~ Simran and Shreya | #TAWrepost
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 10:08:22 +0000
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