Rajesh And Khushi (Part-1)

Sometimes staying is painful. But sometimes leaving is far more than you can take. And Rajesh couldn’t leave. Ever!

Rajesh was three years old when he came here for the first time with his Maa and Papa. And it has been their home ever since. And together they have built an infinite number of memories ever since in this home. So many sweet memories: some sad memories, some happy ones.

Although there were other families in the neighborhood, there was no other kid anywhere close to Rajesh’s age. And so he had to play on his own for a couple of months until one day a new family came into their neighborhood.

Rajesh remembers clearly the day when a loading truck stopped by in front of his house and from the window of his room he saw a little girl coming out from its front gate, wrapped around her father’s shoulders. He was so happy to see another kid of his age in the neighborhood that he came running out of his house and stopped right in front of the girl’s father.

The girl’s father was shocked at the sudden encounter with a little kid. He looked at Rajesh curiously, passed him a smile, and said, “Watch your steps kiddo!” and went into a house which was right in front of the Rajesh’s house. Although the girl was asleep in her father’s lap at that time, Rajesh felt really happy to see her that very first time.

The very next morning Rajesh went straight to the girl’s house and knocked at the door. From the inside, he heard someone shouting, “Mumma! Someone is knocking at the door.” Another voice came afterward, “Look who is it, Khushi? And ask them what do they want?” It was then that Rajesh came to know the girl’s name was Khushi.

In a little while, the door opened and there was a little girl standing on the other side, one hand on the door and the other one on her waist. Khushi looked at Rajesh thoroughly and shouted, “Mumma! There’s a little boy standing at the gate.” To this, Rajesh shouted back, “I am not a little boy! It’s you who is a little girl. I will be six next month.”

And as Khushi kept on staring at him, he extended his arm and said hi and told her that, he is her neighbor. Khushi shook his hand unwillingly, and shouted again, “Mumma! He says he is our neighbor.” “Ask him to come in then, Sweety.” shouted her mother from inside.

Khushi shrugged and asked him to come in.

“That’s a sweet name, Sweety!” Rajesh told her, following her inside the house.

Khushi turned around abruptly and told him not to call her ‘Sweety’, and said that only her mother calls her Sweety. “You better call me only Khushi!” she warned Rajesh.

Rajesh looked around the house curiously. He had come there before when another neighbor Tiwari uncle lived there alone. He used to adore Rajesh and at times brought him here at his house and offered him chocolates and sweets. Rajesh liked Tiwari uncle very much and he always looked forward to coming here. Tiwari uncle even taught him some rhymes and he made him listen to some ‘Hindi Gazals’.

There was the same dining table in the middle of the hall with six chairs around. On the front wall there used to be a watch, were now hung a painting, depicting a village scenery in which two women were drawing water from a well, others were on their way back with pots, filled with water, balanced magically over their heads without any support, at a distance there were some raw houses where little kids were playing, goats and cows tied outside, a couple of old men sitting on wooden ‘Khats’ under the shadow of a giant tree, chatting and drawing cusses of hookah in turns.

In another corner, there was a sofa and a table, and lying there were two dolls, a few cars, a little piano, and a Lego puzzle scattered all over the sofa and table.

Khushi noticed that Rajesh was looking curiously at her toys. And when Rajesh rushed over to the sofa and picked up one of her dolls in his hand, Khushi couldn’t take it anymore and pointed her left hand aiming at him in anger. She was holding a toy gun at him which was yellow in color and made the sound of police sirens on pulling its trigger.

“Put the doll down!!” she screamed at him a little loudly, “I said, put the doll down, Rajesh, or I will have to shoot you with my gun.”

Rajesh looked at her expressions and laughed. “Kill me if you can, Sweety!” spoke Rajesh equally loudly, “But I am taking that doll with me. You can’t stop me!” 

The next second, Khushi pulled the trigger at Rajesh, making the place buzz with the sound of police sirens.

Rajesh dropped the doll down and began falling on the floor dramatically, making painful sounds of ‘AAAAHHHHs’.

Hearing his dramatic painful screams, finally, Khushi’s mother decided to intervene, and went there to witness the scene: Khushi had been pointing her gun at the little boy, and shooting him again and again non-stop. And the little boy, Rajesh, kept on screaming loudly while falling on the floor in slow motion. She was really enjoying the scene. Looking at both of them she laughed heartily and finally pronounced, “So the two of you are already friends! That’s great! Now come over you two. I have made some breakfast for both of you.”

She left the two of them after pronouncing them as friends.

Both of them looked at each other and smiled. 

Rajesh and Khushi had already become friends