She giggled
When I asked her to lie down
And be my
Human Body for the chart,
She jumped along
When we played our games in lunch.
We communicated
Through shy smiles and
Whispers in class,
And walking back home together
We discussed
A world she longed to visit,
But couldn’t.
Intrigued – is what she was by me,
And I by her.
Unfazed – we didn’t care that we looked like
The Odd Couple
When we talked,
A blonde haired peculiarity
And a 12 year old dreamer.
I learned
About her world
As she imbibed
As much of mine as she could,
And we laughed
At the state it was in
Before conveniently forgetting it
As we chose to play
‘Our Game’.
We exchanged numbers
As I departed,
Pieces of paper
With ‘Ananya’ and ‘Shayista Noor’
Written on top in bold letters.
She hugged me
Before I walked away,
A lingering embrace –
Clips and dried apricots
Were exchanged,
Along with the words
She whispered in my ear:
“Meri koi didi nahi hain, aap hi meri didi ho.”1
Tears glistened
In both our eyes alike,
And when I was halfway down the road
I heard
Someone shout
“Didi!”
I turned around
To see her wave
And say bye
For the last time,
Before she disappeared
Down the road
And out of my sight.
- Meri koi didi nahi hain, aap hi meri didi ho – I have no sister, you alone are a sister to me.
Ananya …words cannot express how proud I am of you . This truly is a beautiful piece,and I’m sure an amazing experience too.
Can’t wait to read more.
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I love you the most, Malu. Thank you for your love and support ❤
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Such a touching story, Ananya. We have the power to transform lives in immeasurable ways. Have you communicated with her since?
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Thank you 😊. These children have transformed my life too. Yes, we have communicated. I had taken her phone no and I called and spoke to her when I got back to Delhi. I wanted to keep my promise to be in touch.
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I’m sure hearing from you made her day. 🙂
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Bahut khub.
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Thank you!
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