It's My Mistake

Just the sight of rain instantly brings a smile on my face. The fresh smell of mud, the windy breeze coupled with the pleasant climate can instantly soothe your nerves on any bad day. It is only now that I have started liking and appreciating the monsoon. There was a time when I absolutely hated and despised it as a kid. I hated the mud, the potholes and everything about the rains. Even the uncertainty of it. Unlike my little sister Surbhi or Sui as I fondly like to call her who cherished the rainy season. At times, she even danced in the rains like a Bollywood heroine. That too, without music. I could only help but laugh at her silliness.

The monsoon season always reminds me of Sui and our wonderful childhood since we have many memories associated with it. It was during those times that she acted like a spoilt brat while I acted as a protective older brother. No matter how hard I tried to be strict around her, she never budged. All she had to do was smile and I would melt like butter. I remember one such instance where we both were punished because of her. 

When we were in school, our parents had once purchased us identical colorful umbrellas. One such day, while returning from school it was raining cats and dogs. While I kept cursing the heavy downpour in my mind, Sui purposely decided to leave her umbrella under her school desk only for getting wet in the rain. My anger knew no bounds when I realized what she had been up to. Even though I blurted all my rage out on her, I also shared my umbrella with her. Both of us walked our way home fully drenched, one umbrella failing to support both of us.

Ma was annoyed just like me. Who wouldn’t? After all, it wasn’t just us who were wet. Our bags and books were too. Ma bombarded us with questions the moment we set foot in the house. Being the elder brother, I decided to take full responsibility.

“It’s my mistake, Ma. I forgot my umbrella before leaving school.” Sui immediately barged in.

“No, Ma. Bhaiya is lying. It’s my mistake. It was me who wanted to get wet and purposely left my umbrella at school.”

“It’s all my fault, Ma. Don’t listen to her.”

“Ma, don’t listen to Bhaiya. I am the one to be blamed.”

This scenario continued for a good 5-6 minutes where both parties kept blaming themselves. Since Ma couldn’t arrive at a suitable conclusion with regards to who was actually at fault, she decided to ban our pocket money for the next two months.

We fought for days after this incident despite none of us admitting the truth in front of our parents. That’s life and that was the process of growing up. Now, whenever I and Sui meet, we just laugh at remembering our childhood memories. Since we both live in different cities, we only meet once a year. But whenever I see my little princess Samaira dance in the rain just like her aunt, I remember my little Sui. And whenever it rains, I know Sui is and always will be just a phone call away.