Painting

Ashu was hungry, as he always was. He didn't like it when his mother went to work; he disliked it even more because that was the time when the maidservant Asha was to take care of him and she was generally speaking, more interested in her cellphone and boyfriends than in him. He noticed this and resented it. He had, by and large, learned to take care of himself, despite his relatively tender eight years, but hunger was something he could not deal with independently. It required adult attention.

He raised his voice and yelled irritably.

Asha tapped out a message hastily on her phone, put it away and rushed to the kitchen to put some food onto a plate. She put it in front of him, poured a glass of water. Then, telling him to eat, she went back to her phone.

He glowered at her. Stupid woman, he thought., Why can't she feed me?

His eyes strayed to the painting on the wall. An original de Sousa, showing a mother and her baby. Even a mother in a painting feeds her kids, he thought.

His eyes widened as the woman in the painting turned her face towards him. Not always, she said. If you could help me out of this painting, I would tell you more.

He reached out and held her hand. She took it and stepped out. Sitting next to him, she sighed and mentioned how nice it was to be out of the painting after so many decades. Everyone admires me, she said, but very few think how bothersome it is to be inside a frame all the while. Anyway, let's get your food going, now.

She placed her baby on the side, where it gurgled and smile contentedly and started spooning the food into Ashu's mouth. He ate happily and said that he did not like Asha very much. Oh, don't worry, she said. Asha has problems of her own. Her husband drinks and beats her up. The two hours she is here every day are the only two where she can be sure she won't get hurt and she can chat with all her friends, then.

His eyes widened, and they spoke a bit more. The plate empty, she got up, picked up the baby and went back into the frame. Ashu picked up the plate and a little unsteady, walked to the kitchen and left it in the sink.

Asha got up, seeing him, and stopped when she saw what he was doing. Her eyes moistened.

"It's ok, Asha didi, he said, I can manage. And you should stay a little longer, today.".