Dreams & Desires 2

The next morning Suri woke up by the loud snoring of her father; he slept on the only bed that they had in the house. Suri could not see him for the hut was
separated into two rooms by an old curtain. One was bigger, in which the father slept, and the other was smaller, which Suri shared with her mother, and
sometimes, her brother. Suri had still not forgotten the conversation that she had had the previous night with her father, and it deeply disturbed her. Her
mother was already awake, and busy carrying out her daily house chores. Suri was relieved to see that the cold weather had not affected her. "Brush your teeth, Suri, and then come have your breakfast," the mother called out, sweeping the floor.

"In a minute!" Suri replied. She was always the most hungry in the morning. As soon as she had brushed her teeth by a twig that was broken off from a neem
tree that was planted outside the hut, Suri went to the stove. It was an old stove, almost worn out, but was still functioning. Her mother had already set the rice to boil for the afternoon lunch. "It must be late," the girl said to herself.

"I've put your tea and bread on the mat, Suri. Eat up!" her mother said. The tea was just the way Suri like it- sweet with lots of milk, but the bread was dry and cold; it was from the night before. Food was something that usually did not go wasted in their house; it came in such small amounts that there was hardly any left to waste. The bread that was Suri's breakfast was supposed to be her brother's dinner, but he had not retured the previous night. She wondered where he must be, and what he could have done the whole night long."Saleem must have stayed out to play one of those cricket matches the boys are always having. I wish he could learn to be a little more responsible, and inform me if he does not plan to come home," the mother said, as if almost reading Suri's thoughts.

"Mama, why can Saleem stay out all night? Why can't I stay out as well, and participate in the cricket matches?" the little girl questioned, her eyes wide with innocence.

The mother stopped working, and looked up at her daughter, who was still unaware of the unfairness of the outside world. She did not want to take away the innocence and the purity that her child still possessed; she did not want to suppress her desires just the way her parents had suppressed her dreams, but she had no choice. She had to say what people around her would want her to say,"Saleem's a boy, Suri. Boys can stay out late, but not girls- it's not right." She gave her daughter a warm smile, trying to soften the harshness of the words spoken by her, but almost as soon as she said those words, she wished she could take them back. The hurt in Suri's big brown eyes caused her heart to ache. The woman got up, and wrapped her arms around her small girl. Suri almost forgot about everything, as she enjoyed the warmth of her mother's embrace. "Suri, my Suri, I love you. You do know that, don't you, child?" the mother whispered, lovingly, a tear strolling down her cheek. Suri looked up at her mother, smiling, the hurt gone from her eyes; they, now, shone with adoration for the woman who was holding her.

"I love you, too, Mama- more than anything," whispered the girl.

(to be continued)