A Trip To The Moon

It was a pleasant evening after a strange cloudy day for summer. Due to depression in the Arabian sea dark clouds filled the sky and gave the town much needed relief from the scorching heat. Spoorthi was playing her favorite hopscotch game with her friends in the colony when they heard a rumble in the sky. It appeared as if there were armies in the sky fighting and striking swords of lightning. As the thunder got louder and winds started to get stronger, Spoorthi's mother called out to get back home. It started to drizzle as they continued to play but soon it started pouring. Spoorthi started to run towards home, it was as if the rain chased her behind. By the time she reached the verandah, she was completed drenched. Spoorthi's mother took out the towel and dried the hair scolding her not coming quickly. 

The rain was always a playful time for Spoorthi, she liked the sound from the hard clay tiles in verandah as rain battered the roof creating pattern unique pitter-patter sounds. As the rain got heavier, water gushed from the pipes, she made a paper boat and placed it on the stream, she closely watched the paper boat twist and turn following the gaps on the colony ground in front of her house. The boat finally landed into the gutter and disappointed Spoorthi to get back into the house. As she entered, Spoorthi smelt something tasty and headed straight to the kitchen. Spoorthi's mom was frying Pakoda and it was a perfect match for this weather. She dragged the wooden stool next to her mother and tugged mother saree asking for the Pakoda. Spoorthi's mom put the first batch of hot pakoda on the plate. Spoorthi reached to pick one and her mother slapped on the hands, the first batch always went to the eldest in the house. Her mother told her to take the plate to father who had just returned from work and watching TV. She lazily took the plate to her father and he took her on his lap and gave the pakoda. My father is the best she thought and hugged him as she devoured a big piece of Pakoda. Both father and daughter watched the TV enjoying the hot bhajji and pakodas.

After a non-stop rain for nearly an hour, the clouds had vanished and the sky was lit by the silver of the full moon and tiny stars in the background. It was a beautiful sight to see the reflection of the moon in the tiny puddles of water from the rain, it was as if the moon himself had come down to walk the earth. Spoorthi wondered what would it be like on the moon. Could she go to the roof and jump with all the force and get to the moon. She decided to try and ran to the roof. The quarter she lived in had four floors, Spoorthi was huffing and puffing as she reached the top of the building. The moon still appeared as far as he did from the ground. Spoorthi now kneeling down prayed to Lord Hanuman. Hanuman knew to fly, she asked him to take her and fly to the moon or give her the magical powers to fly. A flower from the nearby tree fell on her head, it was a sign of blessings. Spoorthi confidently stood up, closed her eyes and leaped in the air. To her surprise she had a soft landing, she opened her eyes and saw herself on a silver cloud. It was bright and fluffy, she could see the building terrace down below. The moon appeared much bigger from there and she could see a series of clouds layered like a ladder to reach the moon. She hopped, jumped from one cloud to another and finally reached near the moon. From the last cloud, she stretched her hands and could touch the moon. It felt like a giant ice-cream ball, soft and smooth, she took a handful of the moon and started to eat. Wow was that delicious, she had never tasted anything like this and enjoyed it. She felt something tickled her legs and she felt wetness as well. She looked down and saw someone pulling her down, She was confused and suddenly fell. She tumbled down from one cloud to another and back to her terrace. This shook her up and when she stood up Krishna her cute little cat was cuddled around her and licking her legs. She wondered if she had really gone up the clouds or if that was a dream. Either way, it was a memorable experience and she narrated the story to Krishna as she picked him up and walked down the stairs. Krishna purred and nodded as if he understands her well.