The Cottage Girl

Dinesh was an eight years old boy. His dad worked in a Bank and had recently been transferred to the hill station of Ooty in the southern part of India. Ooty was a quiet place compared to the hustle bustle of his old city Delhi. His new school The National Public School in Ooty was about five kilometers from his house. Dinesh pedaled his bicycle every day to his school. He enjoyed riding his bike feeling the cool breeze of the Nilgiri trees and Silver wood trees on his face. He had never seen a more picturesque place in his life. He had been to the hill station of Manali in the northern part of the country when he was a kid. But, he had no memory of it now. Dinesh used to leave for school every morning sharp at 7 A.M. and reach school by 7.30 A.M. In the evening, his school would leave at 4 P.M. and he would be home by 4.30 P.M.

One day, when he was returning from school, it started raining very heavily. Since he was already midway, he decided to take shelter somewhere till the rain stopped. He spotted a small cottage nearby and headed towards it. The cottage was built on the side of a tea estate. Dinesh parked his bike near a rosewood tree and knocked on the wooden door of the cottage. Dinesh heard the sound of wood creaking inside as a person moved on the wooden floor to open the door for him. The door was opened by a young girl. Her black curly hair was untied and she asked in shy tone,"Who are you?". "It is raining heavily, can I please take shelter in your house till the rain stops?". "Alright, but remove your shoes outside".

Dinesh went inside. The cottage was quite small compared to the bungalow that he stayed in. But, the cottage was very neat and everything was in its place. It was quite opposite to his house where he always created a litter everywhere and never found anything in its place. "Will you take some tea?", the young girl asked him. "Sure, thanks". Dinesh sat down on the floor mat as there were no chairs in the house. The young girl went to a small corner in the house to prepare tea for him. There was only one separate room in the house covered by a curtain. Dinesh thought that it must be the bathroom. The young girl brought tea for him in an earthen pot. Dinesh sipped the tea and exclaimed,"Wow, that's the best tea I ever had." The young girl smiled shyly and said,"Thanks".

Dinesh realized that he had not even asked her name till then. "What is your name?". "Radha", the girl answered meekly. "Radha, which grade do you study in?", Dinesh asked her curiously. Radha looked at him with a sadness which betrayed her pain and said,"I do not go to school." Dinesh suddenly realized that he had asked her the wrong question. Seeing her living condition, he sensed that she must be from a very poor background. He said in a sober tone,"I am sorry Radha. I did not mean to hurt your feelings." "It is not your fault that I am poor. It is my fate and I have accepted it." The tone of her voice reflected the deep pain and anguish that she experienced. Dinesh was just a boy but he was sensitive and he understood her pain. He looked out of the window and saw that the rain had stopped. He got up and picked his school bag. As he went to open the door, he turned back and said,"Would you like to be my friend?". Radha did not say anything but smiled in her reply. Dinesh took her smile as a "Yes".

The next evening, there was a knock on Radha's door again. She was surprised that Dinesh had returned once again. She saw that he had parked his bike near the rosewood tree. "Hello, Radha, can I come in?". She opened the door. He quickly opened his bag and took out some books and pencils and handed it over to Radha. "What is all this?", she asked with excitement. "This is all for you." "But, I don't know how to read or write." "I will teach you," Dinesh answered firmly. Every day, after his school Dinesh would go to Radha's house to teach her. After a couple of years, his Dad got transferred to Delhi again. He told goodbye to Radha with a heavy heart. The two kids hugged each other and cried as they said goodbye.

Many years later, when Dinesh became a young man of twenty-five years, he came to Ooty with his friends on a vacation. He had forgotten all about his childhood friend and only faintly remembered that he had once stayed in Ooty when he was a kid. His friends had hired a jeep and they were driving on the hill station. Unfortunately, there was a mudslide and their jeep met with an accident. One of his friends who was driving the jeep had suffered some major injuries while he and his other friends were lucky enough to have suffered only a few minor bruises. Dinesh and his friends rushed their friend to a nearby hospital. Their friend was taken to the Emergency Ward and the doctor diagnosed that his hand was broken and a surgery had to be performed immediately. After about three hours, the surgery got over. A lady doctor came outside and told them that the surgery was successful and their friend would be discharged in a couple of days time. Dinesh went ahead to thank the doctor. As he said,"Thanks, Doctor." The doctor stared at him for a moment and exclaimed,"Is it you Dinesh?". Dinesh seemed confused. "How do you know my name?". "Don't you remember me? I am Radha," the doctor answered excitedly. After a while, a bell rang as he recollected his childhood and exclaimed,"My god, Radha, how are you?". "I am great. I am a Doctor now. I have no words to thank you," saying she hugged her old friend in tears. The two friends went out to a cafe and shared their life's journey with each other. After dating for a few months, the two friends decided to tie the knot.

By now, you must be wondering who am I? I am Dinesh's mother and Radha is my daughter-in-law. When Dinesh returned that evening from Radha's house, he was a changed boy. He wanted to help her but did not know how. So, I told him to teach her after school every day. I also arranged for her school expenses and sponsored her education. I requested the school authorities to tell Radha that they were sponsoring her education. I did not disclose this matter to Dinesh as I did not want him to feel that he was doing a favor to his friend. Also, I did not want Radha to know about this matter as I did not want to hurt her self-esteem. But, even I had no idea that life would take this unexpected turn to reunite the two childhood friends once again and then bond them for their entire life.

The End