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 The Gifts.By Anand Shekhar |
| Seema and Reema were highly excited. Their uncle was coming today, from Mumbai. It wasn't the actual arrival that excited them, it was the thought of the gifts he would bring for them. There would certainly be gifts, of that they were sure. No self respecting uncle would arrive at a brother's house without gifts for his eight year old and nine year old nieces. But there was nothing they could do but wait.
So they waited. Their father had gone to the station to pick him up. They awaited his return eagerly. The train was expected to arrive at 10:00 p.m. But it was well past 11 now and there was no sign of their father's return. They called up the station (again), only to be informed (again) that the train was delayed. Their patience wore thin. They were very cross with Indian Railways. Then suddenly in the depths of their despair they heard the honk of a car. It was their car! They had come! He had arrived at last! Seema -- the younger one -- rushed to the door and opened it. Her uncle came in followed by her father, carrying his suitcase. Seema allowed a squeal of delight to escape her mouth. She hugged him tightly. Reema was not to be outdone. She screamed in joy and ran up to him and kissed him on his cheek. Both were eager to let their uncle know how glad they were to see him. They hoped he had brought some good gifts. Hopefully it was not a book. For some unknown reason grown-ups seemed to think that the ideal gift for a young girl was a book. Their uncle returned their greetings and laughed loudly. "Hello Seema, Hello Reema" he said, happy to see them. He made the usual almost obligatory comment on how tall they had both grown. He then sat down on the sofa. All of them settled down in the drawing room and started chatting. Their mother inquired about his health and his work and so on. They talked about the current political situation and concluded finally that it was all the fault of the politicians. Seema and Reema impatiently waited for the uncle to open his bag and give them the gifts. They could not show that they wanted the gifts. Oh No! They were mature girls. They had to pretend that they weren't the least bit bothered about the gifts. So they pretended. Finally the conversation turned towards them. "Which school are you in?", He asked them. "St. Mary's school" said Reema. "I am in the fifth and she is in the fourth standard. ".
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