Mira and the Magic Pond

◆◆◆◆ Zahra Omar Shansab is an award winning author and started writing poetry and short stories when she was in 4th grade in Kabul, Afghanistan. She was forced to flee Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. She lived in India for several years before immigrating to the United States.

She has a degree in psychology and enjoyed working with children of diverse backgrounds.

Her personal experiences as a woman and an immigrant compel her to tell the stories of the downtrodden and the desperate. Her first two books, The Shoeshine of Kabul and Light Chaser were recipients of multiple awards, including Mom’s Choice Award, Readers’ Favorite International Book Award, and Next Generation Indie Book Award.

Mir nd M gic Pond

Twelve year old Mira has to sell her mother’s homemade samosas to motorists and commuters at one of the busiest intersections of a city in India. Living in a tiny room in the slums is also getting harder, as the monsoon storms are becoming fiercer and more violent. She often wonders why the weather is becoming hotter and more unpredictable.

One eventful day, as she heads home, Mira decides to take the long way back and stroll through her favorite forest. What happens next in the forest makes Mira realize that nature had chosen her to relay an important message that could save nature itself and life in a race against time.

Zahra Omar Shansab

Headline Kids

an imprint of Headline Books

Terra Alta, WV

Mira and the Magic Pond

by Zahra Omar Shansab copyright ©2024 Zahra Omar Shansab All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents, except where noted otherwise, are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any other resemblance to actual people, places or events is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from Publisher Page.

To order additional copies of this book or for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Books, Inc. P.O. Box 52 Terra Alta, WV 26764 www.HeadlineBooks.com mybook@headlinebooks.com Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books ISBN 9781958914403 Library of Congress Control Number: 2024935686

P R I N T E D I N T H E U N I T E D S TAT E S O F A M E R I C A

Dedicated to all the children whose dreams and acts of kindness make this world a better place.

“In this earth, in this soil, in this pure field, let’s not plant any seeds other than seeds of Compassion and Love.”

—Rumi

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1 Mira stood on the edge of the sidewalk in the busiest part of the intersection, holding her tray with neatly stacked piles of samosas. The aroma of those pastries with spiced potato filling was enticing and at times, very hard to resist, but Mira knew she wasn’t allowed to eat them. “They are to be sold, not eaten.” Her mother’s voice echoed in her ears. Being at that intersection for long hours, Mira watched as the brightly painted yellow school buses zipped by her in the mornings, taking the kids to school.

And she watched the same buses in the afternoon taking the kids back home. Often, she wished she was on one of those buses, with her hair neatly braided and wearing a beautiful uniform, but instead, there she was, running from one car to another, trying to sell her samosas. She didn’t like the older kids on those buses. They stared at her. She tried to avoid their stares. She thought they were looking down at her. She felt embarrassed by her old clothes, sometimes her messy hair that she tried to cover with her dupata and her old plastic sandals with broken straps.

But, on the other hand, she loved the little children riding those buses. They didn’t seem to judge her. They all either smiled at her or waved eagerly every time their bus went past her. And if the bus stopped at the light, Mira always tried to make them laugh by making funny faces. They laughed the hardest when Mira danced to a Bollywood song that was always blaring inside the stores or cars and rickshaws. The dance she would do for them before she jumped off the curb, calling out “hot samosas.”

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She, too, went to school a few years ago. Her school uniform was not a brand new one. It was a hand-me-down, too large for her tiny frame, but she still loved it regardless. She put it on proudly every morning and always tried to ignore her classmates who made fun of her ill-fitting uniform.

“I am here to learn,” she yelled at her classmates. “This is not a fashion show!” she ran out of the classroom, trying not to cry.

Mira didn’t even know what a fashion show was, but that is what her mother had told her to tell the kids next time they teased her about her uniform. She had repeated those lines obsessively on her walk to school. Surprisingly, after she had stood up for herself, the kids stopped bothering her. She loved special occasions like Teachers’ Day when some students even brought little gifts for their teachers. Some brought sweets, some brought cards, and some brought Mira’s favorite gift, colorful flowers. She loved looking at those flowers. Their vibrant colors, the shape of their leaves, and their long stems were all fascinating to her.

One day, she waited until all the students had left the classroom, and she was alone with her teacher. She hesitantly approached her desk. She asked her teacher if there was a flowermaking factory underground where tiny people worked to make flowers. Where some cut the petals in different shapes, and some colored them before pushing them out through the surface of the soil. Her teacher laughed very hard and almost choked on the water that she was drinking from her water bottle. Once she could speak, she patted Mira’s head affectionately and told her that those flowers were only one of the many wonders of nature.

Mira then asked what was nature? The teacher pointed to the window and said, everything that you see out there, trees, shrubs, flowers, the soil, the air we breathe, the clouds, the rain and the wind, they’re all part of nature. Nature is alive, just like you and me. Mira then pointed to the flower vase on the desk and asked if all those flowers were still alive since they were plucked. The teacher looked at her with a smile, then somewhat impatiently 6

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ushered her out of the classroom and told her that she would learn all that later on in higher grades. But Mira was not able to get to those higher grades. If she didn’t have to work, she would have been in sixth grade by now. But at least her sister Madhu could go to school, Mira thought.

Mira had made sure that Madhu’s school uniform fitted her perfectly. Maybe one day, when Madhu gets to those higher grades, she can tell me about nature and all its wonders.

Competition was tough among peddlers. Mira had learned that very early on. First, there were those older peddlers who tried to block you with their size, and then the fast runners who left their shoes on the curb and took off like those rocket crackers being sat off during Diwali. After weeks of being pushed around and outrun by everyone, Mira had lost hope.

“I am never going to be able to sell anything!” she whispered to herself. “I hate this! I hate everything!”

And then something happened that changed everything for her. One day, as the light turned green and all the peddlers rushed back to the sidewalk, Mira noticed something falling out of someone’s pocket. Mira walked over and picked it up as discretely as possible. Her heart skipped a beat with excitement.

There, in the palm of her hand, lay a bundle of rolled-up money secured with a thick rubber band.

“I haven’t sold anything so far, and finders are keepers!” she decided. For a moment, that rush of excitement cut her off from everything that was going on around her. She could only sense and feel that roll of money that she was clutching tightly in the palm of her hand. But then, after a few moments, suddenly, the feeling of guilt sank in. She tried hard, but she couldn’t justify keeping the money. Deep down, she knew it was wrong no matter how much she needed it. Finally, she walked over to the peddler and asked if he had lost anything. He looked at her with surprise. Mira stared back at him without saying anything. He began to frantically search his pockets. Mira still stood there 7

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without uttering a word. She remembered the times when he had pushed or blocked her and wasn’t very kind to her. It was good to see him panic like that. Mira tried hard not to laugh.

“I have lost all of my money!” he whimpered in a distressed voice.

“I know.” Mira opened up her fist and held out her hand.

Surprised and in disbelief, he swiftly snatched the money from her hand. All the other peddlers who were circling them began to cheer and clap. Some even walked over and patted her on the back. And just like that, Mira had earned her spot on the curbside. She still had to outrun everyone else, but all the kids and adults never tried to push her around anymore.

Mira waited impatiently for the traffic light to turn red. She loved the color red. It was the color of festivities, the color of happiness, the only color she used to spray her friends with during Holi, the festival of colors. Red was the color of the traffic light that brought all the speeding cars, motorcycles, and rickshaws to a screeching halt. That is when she would jump off the curb along with the rest of the peddlers, everyone racing toward the cars, all hoping to sell their goods. Mira intently looked at the traffic light. She squinted hard as the glaring midday sun, along with a thick curtain of smog, made it hard to see the colors clearly. Finally, the light turned red. Mira jumped off the curb as fast as she could. She had to get to the cars before the rest of the peddlers did, especially Raj, who sold cold water bottles. “In the heat of the summer, people want to drink cold water. Who wants to eat my spicy hot samosas,” she wearily whispered to herself while running to the first car with its window down and its driver smoking a cigarette.

Getting to a car with its window pulled down was like winning half of the battle. Through the open window they could hear you, and many were willing to buy something. Most of the people in cars with pulled-up windows didn’t even bother to look at you. They just stared ahead indifferently, ignoring all the 8

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peddlers tapping on their windows. Mira had a name for them,” The Frozen Ones”. It was like the game of freeze dance, but only in this case, there was no music. They just froze when the light turned red and ignored everyone around them. They only moved when the light turned green.

“Hot, fresh samosas, Sir!” She was calling out. “The best in India! Only five rupees,” Mira struggled to get the words out as the smoke of the cigarette choked and tickled her throat. The man’s thick and shiny black mustache behind the cloud of smoke looked like a black crow frozen in time with its wings spread wide open, Mira thought.

“No, get the hell away from my car!” The man angrily yelled at Mira. “Get your greasy hand off my car door. You are leaving stains all over it!”

Mira quickly took her hand off the car door. She hadn’t realized that she had been touching his car.

“What about your smelly cigarette? You’re like your car’s muffler, puffing out smoke and making noise,” Mira fired back while fanning away the smoke from her face with her hand. “I won’t sell you any samosas even if you paid me double the price!”

Mira yelled while she tried to dodge an empty water bottle that the driver angrily threw at her.

Encountering dismissive and rude people was not new to her.

But the ones that mistreated her and the rest of the children made her very angry. Often, she tried to ignore them, but there were times that she couldn’t help but yell back. “Being poor doesn’t mean that I don’t have any feelings,” she whispered to herself.

She turned around and looked at the long parallel lines of cars. All stopped at the light. The little kids were all running as fast as they could to peddle their goods before that light turned green again. Once that light was green, everyone was back at the curbside. Every green light meant lost sales and money not earned, Mira sighed.

She hated the green light.

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Mira looked up and saw the sky beginning to turn grey and angry. The distant sound of thunder rumbling far away was getting closer and closer. Like the footsteps of a monster marching forward, Mira thought. A drop of rain and the loud honking of cars made Mira realize she was still standing in the middle of the intersection, holding her tray. She hastily maneuvered around the fast-moving cars, and once back on the curbside, she sat down on the ground, putting the tray on her lap. Her arms were sore from holding the tray. She began to count the golden-colored pastries, and the more she counted, the more disappointed she became.

She carefully covered the tray with a thick piece of plastic.

“Not so fast,” a familiar voice screamed loud in her ear. “I want to buy one.”

But before she could turn around to see who it was, someone yanked her braid. Now, she didn’t have to turn around to find out who it was.

“Damn you, Zayn!” Mira snarled angrily as she grabbed his wrist and squeezed it with all her might. “How many times do I have to tell you not to mess with my braids? I am trying to keep my hair tidy. I don’t like it when it is messy.”

Zayn screamed in pain and begged her to let go of his hand.

“I am sorry!” Zayn’s voice shook with pain. “I promise I won’t touch your braids again!”

Mira squeezed his wrist one more time before letting it go.

“That really hurt, Mira,” Zayn mumbled. He sat down on the ground across from Mira, who was carefully holding her tray of samosas on her lap.

“For a twelve-year-old girl, you are pretty strong, Mira.” Zayn looked at her sheepishly. “In spite of being a year older, I am not as strong as you, Mira.” His attempt at making her feel better was so obvious to Mira. She tried hard not to smile.

“I guess carrying around a heavy tray all day makes me stronger,” Mira looked at Zayn proudly. “But I am really serious.

Next time you pull that stunt on me again, I will not talk to you 10

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again,” Mira warned him. But Mira considered Zayn a good friend. Every now and then, she had to remind him that she was not going to be pushed around and teased because she was a girl.

“I feel like people look down at me even more when my hair is untidy.” After a few moments, Mira added in a whisper.

“People will do that anyways, Mira,” Zayn said. “You can have the most beautiful hair or a brand new outfit, but once you stand in that intersection, they will only see a peddler. They will only see a poor girl. So, don’t let it bother you. If they stare at you, then you stare right back at them!” Widening his eyes, Zayn began to stare at Mira. “Just like this,” he said while trying very hard not to blink.

After a few moments of Zayn still staring at her, Mira burst out laughing.

“Okay, Zayn, you can blink now,” she said.

“And by the way, what are you doing here?” Mira looked at him with curiosity. “Shouldn’t you be working now? Or you got fired again?” she asked, sounding concerned. She knew Zayn, being the eldest, worked hard to support his family.

“I actually quit working at the Chai stall. And no, I wouldn’t call it being fired.” Zayn said, chuckling at Mira. “What I liked about working there was that the chai stall was always busy and I loved the aroma of chai that lingered in that small shop all day long. As soon as we opened up the stall in the mornings, I delivered the chai to the surrounding vendors and store owners.

I even got tips sometimes. But what I liked the most was the freedom to move around.”

“What happened then?” Mira asked with eagerness.

“One day, after delivering the chai, a little stray dog decided to follow me. It followed me all the way back to the tea stall,” Zayn said as he smiled. “And that was the beginning of a new routine for me. Every morning before I opened the stall, he showed up there. He silently followed me to every store and street vendor. I loved it. It was like having a friend that kept me 11

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company. Sometimes, I even talked to him, but he loved it when I whistled the tune of some songs. When I returned to the stall, he just sat there without bothering anyone. I fed him a couple of biscuits every day without the knowledge of the shop owner.”

Zayn smiled awkwardly at Mira.

“So, he found out and let you go, right?” Mira interrupted.

“No, Mira,” Zayn said in a somber tone. “The owner was a greedy man. He forced me and another kid who worked there to give him our tips. He said we worked for him, so the tips belonged to him. He was taking my tips and I was taking his biscuits. So, technically, I was paying for all those biscuits with my tips. I didn’t feel guilty for stealing those biscuits. But one day, the dog had wandered inside the stall, probably looking for me.

I saw that nasty man kicking the dog mercilessly. I don’t know what it was, but something just came over me. I ran inside and kicked that man as hard as I could. Then I tipped the big pot of tea simmering on the stove and watched him scream as the tea spilled everywhere. Before running out of the store, I grabbed the biggest jar of biscuits and took off as fast as I could. And not alone, with my four-legged friend following right behind me.”

They both fell silent. Momentarily, the loud honking of the cars and the roaring sound of traffic melted away in the background. Mira wondered if a better elsewhere existed— where everyone was treated with kindness, even stray animals.

“Why is it so hard for people to be kind?” Deep in thought, Mira wondered out loud.

Zayn didn’t say anything. He just glared into space. He now worked as a dishwasher in a small fast food joint across the street. The tiny kitchen sink was where he spent countless hours scrubbing metal plates and cups. Zayn couldn’t wait to step out of the suffocating hot kitchen where he worked all day. He always counted the hours and felt restless in that enclosed space. It felt like a prison to him. It was so unbearably hot in that kitchen and his fingers burned and ached at the end of each day. But there 12

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was plenty of leftover food that he used to feed his furry friend, and that was what he liked the most about his job. Today, he was sent out on an errand. He welcomed it with much joy.

“I am on my way to the market to get a few things for the cook,” Zayn finally spoke. I saw you and decided to buy a pastry from you since you seem to have slacked off today.” He chuckled at Mira mischievously.

“I never slack off,” Mira said. “Some days are just too hot for spicy samosas.” But before she could finish, a loud roll of thunder and a streak of lightning jolted her and she shrieked. A few raindrops began to hit the sidewalk with a loud thud before exploding into tiny little droplets.

Zayn hastily got up to his feet and grabbed Mira’s hand, pulling her up.” Time to close up shop, Mira. Let’s run before we get drenched. Nowadays, these storms appear so suddenly and out of nowhere,” he said, sounding frustrated. “Here, give me your tray. I can slip it in my large plastic bag.”

Mira hesitantly handed her tray to Zayn, who cautiously slipped it inside his bag.

“Don’t worry, Mira, your samosas will be safe and dry in here.” He grabbed Mira’s hand and pulling her along, they began to walk fast.

As more raindrops fell steadily, accompanied by loud claps of thunder, they began to run and zigzagged around the people on the crowded sidewalk. Some had already decided to take shelter underneath the awnings of the buildings and shops, while others were still hurrying toward some unknown destination. As they ran, Mira watched many umbrellas opening up. Some were large in size and held so low they concealed their faces. They seemed like colorful walking mushrooms sprouting on the floor of a crowded jungle of concrete buildings, Mira thought. She, too, had an old umbrella. But carrying it around all day was tiresome. And she didn’t mind getting wet, after all. The rain felt good when the weather was so hot. After a few minutes of scuttling, Mira finally 13

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let go of Zayn’s hand and stopped suddenly. She hunched down and breathed heavily.

“Zayn, do you really think we can outrun the rain?” She looked at him with a faint smile on her face. They were both drenched and she watched the water dripping down Zayn’s face and ears. He was still clinching the plastic bag tightly with the tray of her pastries inside.

“Yes, even though we are totally soaked,” Zayn said, panting and heaving. “We can at least try to outrun the rain. But outrunning the lightning is just a matter of luck. Let’s go, Mira!

Please hurry! We can take shelter by the entrance of that hotel.”

He pointed to a yellow building. “Let’s see who gets there first,” he said, taking off running with all the power in his body. He ran and splashed around muddy water from the puddles. As he jumped over more and more puddles, his pants gradually got covered with mud.

“By the time we get to that building, he will look like a clay statue,” Mira whispered, shaking her head. Sauntering in the rain, she walked with no haste. I am already soaked. What is the point of running, she decided. Plus, the thick curtain of rain had somehow wrapped itself around her. She imagined herself floating inside a gigantic drop of rain. Looking from inside that drop at the chaos outside, she felt safe. She stretched her arm and watched the little droplets bounce off of the palm of her hand. She loved the feel of water on her skin. In the slums where she lived, water was to be rationed, and taking a bath meant sharing one bucket of water with another sibling. And sometimes, you had to decide which part of your body was getting a good scrubbing before the water ran out. “I love the rain,” Mira whispered to the raindrops quickly filling her cupped hands.

“Mira!” Zayn screamed out loud. “Here! Hurry! Come fast!”

Mira looked up and saw Zayn eagerly waving at her from underneath the yellow building’s red and black striped canopy.

She remembered Zayn still had her tray of samosas. Her heart 14

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skipped a beat and she quickly ran and sat next to Zayn, whose pants were now fully covered with mud. A roaring thud of thunder and a bolt of lightning jolted them both. Zayn hastily covered his eyes and began to pray loudly, rocking back and forth.

“Zayn, you are going to be all right.” Mira tried to reassure him. “But even for the monsoon season, these storms are getting stronger. But don’t worry. We will be ok. Why are you always so afraid of lightning anyways?”

Zayn still sat there with his hand firmly pressed over his eyes.

Another round of loud thunderclaps made him whimper with fear. Mira began to giggle. She had never seen him so petrified before.

“Stop laughing, Mira!” Zayn said angrily while slowly removing his hands from his face. “This is not funny! Haven’t you ever heard of Bijli, The Queen of Lightning?” Zayn’s eyes widened with astonishment.

“No, who is this lightning queen?” Mira asked with curiosity.

“I wasn’t always afraid of thunder and lightning,” Zayn said sheepishly. “But one day, when it was really raining hard and the sky was rumbling, I refused to listen to my grandmother, who repeatedly asked me to come inside. I was having way too much fun and continued to kick the ball around. She warned me that I was going to catch a cold, but I still refused to go inside. She eventually came out, grabbed me by the arm, and forced me inside the house. Later that night, I kept on sneezing and couldn’t sleep. She then read to me the story of Bijli.” Zayn paused and looked around cautiously.

“Your grandmother can read?” Mira asked, surprised.

“Yes, Mira,” Zayn said proudly. “Like you, she could go to school for a while before she had to quit and work,” he added sadly. “I used to memorize the stories she would read me from her book word for word because I loved them so much. Would you like to hear it, Mira?” he said in a very serious tone.

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“Well, since we’re stuck here in the rain, that sounds great, Zayn,” Mira said, throwing her hands up in the air. Mira knew very well that Zayn was a good storyteller. She loved listening to his stories. It felt like he was reading the story from the pages of a book. Now, she knew why. Closing her eyes, Mira leaned against the wall. The soothing sound of the rain and the temporary relief from the scorching heat felt heavenly. Momentarily, she even forgot all about her unsold pastries.

Zayn cleared his throat loudly and began. “Legend has it that a long, long time ago in a faraway kingdom lived the inhabitants of a prosperous and picturesque land. The grass was smoother than velvet, the flowers more fragrant than any man-made perfume. And the pungent aroma of fruit-bearing trees was simply exhilarating. It seemed like nature had bestowed so many blessings upon this kingdom. But the most wondrous asset of the kingdom was the honeybees. The bees were the size of a fist with wings that glistened like gold as they buzzed and zigzagged in the air. Their little eyes reflected the sunlight like the prisms of a crystal. Their antennae wiggled back and forth, sensing all that nature had to offer. They worked tirelessly and methodically all year round. The honeycombs never ran out of honey, and their taste was remarkable. During the day, the hummingbirds sat by the honeycombs and sang synchronized songs as the bees brought the nectars home. And at night, the crickets sang softly to lull them to sleep. Merchants endured daunting and long voyages to that realm just to purchase the honey. That exquisite honey was devoured either by the rich or kings and queens of other kingdoms who were willing to pay for that exorbitant product.

Some even believed that honey cured many ailments. It seemed like bees helped the kingdom flourish in many other areas, too.

The fields of golden wheat were always fertile. During harvest, the peasants hummed songs in a melodious chorus while they reaped the fruits of their yearlong labor. Everyone was content, and no one ever went hungry.

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But unfortunately, the serenity and harmony of the kingdom were to be shattered drastically. Their beloved and kind king took ill and was declared incapable of carrying on his duties. Desperate and weak, the king appointed his only son as the guardian of the kingdom and executor of his orders. Rumor had it that the prince was of an extremely greedy nature. He was aware of the exceptionally fertile soil of the kingdom. During his first meeting with his father’s council, he demanded the harvesting of wheat, fruits and honey be increased threefold.

Even though the council had expressed their concern and fear over the consequences of such a decision, the greedy prince remained undeterred and unwilling to listen to their reasoning.

The king’s men gathered the farmers and announced the prince’s decision. The farmers glanced at each other with horror and helplessness. How could they harvest three times a year?

That meant working much longer hours, sometimes for days and nights. It seemed an impossible task, but they were not to defy the prince’s orders. They knew for sure the king was unaware of his son’s decision.

The exhausting task began almost immediately. It did not take too long for this impossible task to take a heavy toll on every man working on the farms. A sense of gloom and exhaustion lingered in the air. The chorus of farmers’ lively songs was no longer heard. The constant swooshing sound of sickles reaping the wheat was getting unbearable. The children cried for their absent fathers. The meals that families once shared together were now packed and consumed alone in the fields.

One day, the farmers began to notice very unsettling and troublesome signs that emerged almost overnight. The soil had started to become very dry, and its color was changing to a dark shade of lifeless grey. The wheat stems were getting shorter in height; the leaves were withering. The branches of the fruit trees began to hang limp and low, almost touching the ground. There was far fewer fruit growing on the branches. Vast fields of flowers 17

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were turning into fields of lifeless weeds. The honeybees no longer buzzed with excitement and delight, as the nectars of the fastvanishing flowers were not enough to keep their honeycombs full of honey. The honeybees began to gather in swarms and fly aimlessly, hoping to find another habitat. They even flew around at night, dazed and confused. Some took to their honeycombs and never flew out again.

The terrified and shaken farmers rushed to the gates of the palace to warn the prince about the ominous changes. They told the prince that nature was sacred. So far, it had been so generous and giving to them until they began to exploit it in order to gain more than it could handle. The farmers wept with regret and fear.

They begged the prince to halt the overharvesting of the land.

But the prince, blinded by greed, refused to listen. He laughed at them, mocked them, and lashed out at them for being ignorant.

“How could the soil be angry? Soil is nothing but dirt,” he said, picking up a fistful of soil and throwing it at them with fury. The farmers were ushered out of the gates of the palace like a herd of helpless sheep. Dismayed and fearful, they returned to their hats.

While very ill and bedridden, the king was promptly made aware of the imminent travesty by his court. The king immediately summoned the prince and asked him to sit by his bedside. The disappointment on his face was very apparent. His eyes were moist with tears as he looked at his son. He gathered all his strength and whispered softly. “Greed is an incurable disease.

Beware of nature’s wrath. Reverse course, or you shall face the consequence,” he warned him.

The defiant prince stormed out without saying a word and retreated to his chamber. He had decided against his father’s wishes and advice, thus not annulling his decision.

That night, the darkest rain clouds began to form over the kingdom. They seemed like dark entities, slowly taking position and getting ready for some menacing task. The wandering honeybees frantically took cover in their beehives. The fireflies 18

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ceased to glow and hid underneath the leaves. Crickets were silent. All the farmers rushed toward their hats, taking wide steps and sometimes running as fast as they could. The wind began to blow and howl as it wrapped itself around every tree and structure. What was most remarkable was the size of the bolt of lightning that night. As the wind blew harder, the bolts of lightning grew longer and thicker. It was as if the wind was the flute of a snake charmer that compelled that shimmering bolt of light to come out, dancing and twirling.

But the bolts of light hovered much longer on the roof of the palace. The sky seemed like an angry, darkened face of a giant and the lightning resembled the silvery veins that popped out every now and then. The storm was like no other the kingdom had ever witnessed before. The sky rumbled with anger and rage until dawn. Early in the morning, the prince’s chamber was empty.

The panicking servants and soldiers scattered and searched every part of the palace, but the prince was nowhere to be found.

They looked for the prince for days but to no avail. The prince had vanished into thin air. The ill king was inconsolable. He was often carried to the tallest tower of the palace, where he sat by the small window and watched the main gate of the surrounding walls with hopefulness. He hoped that maybe one day the prince would walk through that gate. But the prince was never seen again. The people in the kingdom had their own explanation for his disappearance. The prince had angered nature. He had exploited its generosity. Bijli, the queen of the lightning, had zapped and banished him into a mysterious realm, a place that had no reentry gate back to this world.

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2 Zayn stopped and eagerly looked at Mira, who was still leaning on the wall and deep in thought. The rain had stopped and a little ray of sunshine was trying to make its way out from underneath the clouds. The smog had given way to a cloudy steam rising from hot and muddy ground.

“Zayn, this is what I don’t get,” Mira said, still gazing at the rising steam that slowly dissipated as it glided upwards. “You are neither greedy nor a prince unless you are one in disguise,” Unable to finish her sentence, Mira burst out laughing.

“Very funny, Mira!” Zayn snapped back.

“Why are you afraid of the lightning, then?” Mira managed to speak between giggles. “My grandmother told me we should always listen to our parents. Since the prince did not heed his father’s advice, he was zapped!” he said. Zayn picked up a stone and slammed it hard against the ground. A little spark flew as soon as the stone crashed against the sidewalk.

“See, just like that!” Zayn shouted out dramatically, waving his hands in the air. But before Mira could react, an angry voice startled them both. They looked in the direction of the voice and noticed the hotel’s doorman, wearing a blue uniform, taking quick steps toward them. His hat was slightly crooked and his nametag was sewn on a white patch on top of his shirt’s left pocket.

“Hey, you two,” he bellowed. “Get the hell out of here!

Peddling is forbidden here. You can’t pester our hotel guests. Run 20

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along now. Scram!” he ordered. Mira and Zayn stood up quickly.

Zayn tried pulling away his muddy pants from his skinny legs.

But the wet cloth stubbornly clung to his legs. Mira picked up her tray, eyeing the doorman, who, his hands folded behind his back and with a frown on his face, was watching them.

The soggy clothes felt heavy and made it difficult to walk freely. Very soon, the heat will dry them, Mira reassured herself pulling her dress down and stretching it as much as she could. That prevented the clothes from wrinkling, a trick that she had learned from her mother. Mira’s mother was a Dhobi, a washerwoman who collected dirty clothes from various households to be washed in the Dhobi Ghat, a place on the river bank. When Mira was young, she almost always accompanied her mother as she went from house to house to collect dirty linens. Her mother crouched by the entrance door of each house while each piece of garment was counted and then neatly placed inside a big cotton bag that her mother had stitched from an old bed sheet. Mira’s mother had taught her how to count by having her repeat the numbers as she placed each piece of clothing in the bag. Mira remembered fondly the time when her mother bought her twenty red and gold plastic bangles after she had learned to count up to twenty without any help from her mother. That night, she could not go to sleep. She kept on staring at her bangles that hugged her wrists tightly. The gold dots shone brightly every time they caught the moonlight that snuck in though the cracked metal sheet that served as the roof of the tiny room they called home. Mira hated the cracks in the roof ’s tin sheet. During the monsoon rains, a steady and tiny stream of water filled the buckets her mother had placed directly underneath those gaps. Before they were able to get bigger buckets, Mira had to empty the small buckets a few times during the night. She knew that between washing and ironing clothes and taking care of her little sister, her mother was exhausted by the end of the day. Mira’s six-year-old little sister, Madhu, was terribly afraid of the leaking roof after a particularly 21

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heavy monsoon forced them out of their room in the middle of the night. That night, the rainwaters flooded their home entirely. The storms were getting more and more powerful and destructive. Soon after Madhu began to get anxious with each rainy day, Mira and her mother’s efforts to reassure her were often futile. Madhu’s fears persisted nonetheless. Every time a drop of rain dropped into the bucket with a loud clunk, she inched closer and closer to Mira while keeping a watchful eye on the crack of the roof. Mira hugged her tighter as they both lay on their thin mattresses on the floor.

“Don’t be afraid,” Mira said, stroking Madhu’s hair gently. “It is just water. It won’t hurt you,” Smiling, Mira added. “Pretend this is a beautiful waterfall. Imagine the water streaming down, and as it flows downwards, it brings with it all sorts of colorful fish. Gold, orange, white and green.”

“No,” Madhu interrupted. “There is no green fish, Mira.” she objected.

“Yes, there are green fish.” Mira gently tapped Madhu’s head.

“They come in all different colors. Have you ever been under the sea? There is also a giant Ferris wheel under the sea.”

“Like the one we saw at the fair?” Madhu’s curiosity arose, along with some excitement.

“Yes, just like that, only much bigger and brighter,” Mira explained. “Seashells are suspended from the outer edge of the giant wheel. Each seashell is filled with a heap of vibrant and colorful dye.”

“Even green?” Madhu squealed with excitement.

“Shush, Madhu. Be quiet, you will wake up Maa,” Mira said, gently scolding her.

“What happens next, Mira?” asked Madhu in a whisper.

“Well, all the fish bring their baby fish and ask them what color they would like to be. And when a color is chosen, they are seated in that particular seashell. Once all seashells are filled with baby fish, the Ferris wheel begins to turn slowly,” Mira said, 22

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moving her arm in circular motions three times. “When the Ferris wheel comes to a halt, all the baby fish jump out of their seashells glowing with their chosen colors.”

“And that is how the fish get their colors?” Madhu gasped with amazement.

“Yes, Madhu. Now, don’t be afraid of the water leak. Imagine it is a waterfall, and each drop in the bucket is actually a little fish. Now, tell me the color of each fish that falls into the bucket.”

Instructed Mira, still stroking Madhu’s hair.

“Orange,” Madhu said as a drop fell into the bucket. “Purple,” she whispered sleepily with the second drop. “Yellow…” Madhu’s eyes closed slowly while a little smile covered her face.

Mira closed her eyes and sighed deeply. Only if there was a giant, magical Ferris wheel that could turn girls into boys, she thought. Her memories of her father were very vague, almost dreamlike. She remembered the day her sister was born. He seemed very sad. She had heard her mother cry while pleading with him. After a few days, he had given Mira a long embrace before leaving and never returning.

As she grew a little older, she often caught her mother crying in secret, sometimes crouching over the stove while cooking and sometimes at night when she thought they had fallen asleep.

But pretending to be asleep, Mira could hear her muffled cries.

Maybe if I were a boy, things may have been different, she always wondered. She was angry because her father had abandoned them. He wanted a son who could carry his name, Mira had sadly concluded.

There was a gigantic Ferris wheel lit up with thousands of light bulbs. They blinked in an orchestrated manner while a flute player sitting at the bottom of the Ferris wheel played a cheerful note. There were long lines of people for as far as one could see. Everyone in the queue was holding a baby wrapped up in a blanket. The giant Ferris wheel revolved three times before it halted. Mira’s father stepped forward as the suspended car swung 23

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back and forth a few times before it suspended motionless. He looked at the baby and then gently picked her up. “My beautiful little girl.” He kissed the baby’s forehead. Mira smiled. He loves me, she thought.

24

3 “Mira!” Zayn’s voice transported Mira back onto the sidewalk.

He tickled Mira’s ear with a small tree branch. “Why are you smiling, Mira? Dreaming about having sold all your samosas to…?” he said with a big smirk on his face, but before he could finish, Mira forcefully snatched the tree branch out of his hand, slapping him gently on his shoulder. “Ouch!” Zayn said.

“How many times have I told you not to break off tree branches, Zayn,” Mira said angrily. “They are alive, just like you and me! Do you see these beautiful little green leaves on this branch?” saying that Mira waved the little tree branch close to Zayn’s face, almost touching his nose.

Zayn instinctively moved his head backward.

“They are going to wither away, turn yellow, and die!” Mira concluded with a loud sigh. “Thanks to you!” She slowly walked over to a tree and tenderly left the little branch underneath it.

She then looked up at the majestic tree. The green leaves looked beautiful as the branches swayed gently from side to side. It seemed as if the tall tree was shaking the water off after the heavy rain, drying each and every leaf that hung from its branches with tenderness. It reminded her of all the clothes that her mother hung on long ropes to dry and each time, she wished for a gentle breeze to dry the clothes quicker. Mira imagined her mother as a strong tree erected in the middle of the Dhobi Ghat by the riverbank. Linens were hanging from all her branches instead of the leaves, with the exception of one little branch that had 25

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two little shiny leaves hanging from it. “Madhu and me,” Mira whispered quietly.

“You are so weird, Mira,” Zayn said. laughing. “Who talks to the trees? If I talked to each plate that I washed at the restaurant, they would throw me out immediately! But I am sure they will have interesting stories to tell me about the people that ate on them.” He bent down, laughing hard. “I don’t know about you but I need to buy the spices and get back before I get myself in big trouble. The cook has a rotten temper,” he said, sounding nervous all of a sudden.

“The dishes that you wash are not living and breathing things!” Mira said sarcastically. “Nature is alive. Trees, leaves, flowers, and grass are all living and breathing, just like you and me.”

“Only they don’t have to wash dishes and sell pastries to get by like you and me.” Zayn retorted with a frown on his face. “A gardener is what you should be when you are older. You can sit here with your tree friend and chat some more, Mira. I will see you around. And by the way, I didn’t break off that little twig. I simply picked it up from the ground. You have to blame the storm for that, not me.” Saying that, Zayn began to walk hurriedly, taking wide steps. His wet pants still clung tightly to his skinny legs. Mira sat underneath the tree and watched Zayn disappear among the crowd crossing the road as if a giant wave of people slowly swept him up and concealed him from her view.

Mira felt bad for reacting so quickly and assuming that he had broken off the little branch. She felt guilty for snapping at her friend. She then looked at her tray, still full of unsold samosas, with disappointment.

“I am not in a rush to get back home,” Mira whispered quietly under her breath. “I am pretty sure that I will get a scolding. Maa is not going to be happy.”

After being washed away by the heavy downpour, the smog was slowly making a descent over the city again, like a grey veil 26

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sluggishly encasing the cars, buildings, people, trees, and roads.

It seemed as if everything was slowly sliding into an enormous fogged-up box and becoming invisible, Mira thought. Like the magic show she had seen on TV once. The magician had made a young, beautiful lady disappear shortly after she was locked up in an ornate velvet chest. To Mira’s horror, she had reappeared once he tapped on the box three times but she was no longer young.

The lady that had stepped out of the chest was old with greying hair. Mira wondered if people aged too once they stepped out of that smog box.

She picked up the broken little tree branch from the ground, sighing loudly. The tips of the little leaves had already begun to curl inwards. She gently stroked the leaves with the tip of her index finger. “Sorry you had to die,” she whispered softly. Tilting her head backward, resting it on the trunk of that majestic tree, she closed her eyes. She listened to the buzzing of the flies that were zigzagging around her, she listened to the rustling of the leaves overhead and she listened to the swooshing sound of the balmy wind as it weaved itself around the limbs of that old tree.

All of a sudden, Mira felt something gently brushing against her cheek. She opened her eyes and gasped in astonishment. The old tree’s thickly leaf-covered limbs had cradled her completely, concealing her from everyone’s view. The leaves caressed her cheeks and forehead with tenderness while generating a cool breeze. Panicking, she looked down at the ground. She could see the old tree’s roots sprawling deep underneath the soil, like veins, running in different directions. But all of a sudden, the roots of the tree began to turn inwards, and at a horrifying speed, they curled up and crushed against the trunk of the tree, knocking Mira down to the ground. Opening her eyes, Mira screamed.

She quickly got up to her feet and picked up her plastic-covered tray. After taking a few steps away from the tree, she stopped and looked up at the tree. It stood there, tall and proud. That must have been a dream, Mira thought.

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She felt a burning sensation on her cheek. She stopped by the widow of a store and examined her reflection on the glass closely.

She noticed a thin, bloodied scratch that ran down her left cheek.

Mira was puzzled. How could that have happened, she wondered, touching it. Mira decided to forget about her dream and focus on selling the rest of her pastries. Along the way, as she sold a few pastries, she became even more puzzled. While putting the money away she had earned from the sale of the pastries, she had found a handful of leaves in her pocket. Deep in thought and still bewildered by what had transpired earlier, she began to walk toward the slums. The streets were jammed with cars, rickshaws, mopeds, and cycle rickshaws, all honking while waiting in what seemed chaotic and scraggly lines. The headlights of the cars in an attempt to pierce through the thick curtain of haze and pollution, seemed distorted, as if one was peering through a fog-filled kaleidoscope, the headlights of the vehicle stretched into different directions. The smoke from the exhaust of the cars irritated Mira’s nostrils. After coughing and sneezing repeatedly, she tightly wrapped her dupata around her face. In an attempt to create a distance from the road, she decided to walk home through a wooded area. Her mother often warned her about not taking that path home since it was dark and, hence, unsafe for a girl walking alone through the woods and in the dark.

It is not that dark, Mira tried to justify disobeying her mother.

She loved the peace and quiet offered by that densely tree-covered piece of land. The shrubs and saplings seemed greener after that heavy downpour, happily swaying in the gentle evening breeze.

Mira unwrapped the scarf that was covering her mouth and nose and took a deep, long breath. She loved that sweet-smelling scent. She could smell that fragrance from far away. She walked deeper into the woods and came to a halt in front of a beautiful Sandalwood tree. Its brown bark was almost black and very smooth to the touch. The purplish and red flowers hang low in small clusters from its slender sprigs. The oval leaves were green 28

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and shiny on top and bluish-gray at the bottom. This was Mira’s secret. She had not told anyone about her Sandalwood tree that she had discovered accidently one day on her way home. This was the sole Sandalwood tree in that woodland, and so far, it seemed like that was a well-guarded secret by all the other trees, too, as the aromatic scent was confined to that spot only. She loved the velvety scent of the Sandalwood since the very first time she smelled it.

She recalled a day when she had accompanied her mother to collect linens from a customer’s house. While her mother and the lady of the house were busy counting the number of pieces to be laundered, Mira had wandered inside the house. She was astonished by all the colorful decorative pieces placed on the shelves and tables. The statue of a small baby elephant attracted Mira’s attention. It was carved out of light-colored wood, draped with an intricately designed saddle cloth and small sparkling jewels that were glued all along his trunk. But what drew Mira more to that little statue was the aroma it exuded. It smelled sweet and smelled nothing like she had smelled before. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply a few times. Opening her eyes, she was startled. An old man leaning on a cane stood there, looking at her with affection. Mira, feeling self-conscious, quickly put the statue back on the shelf. “I was just smelling it,” she whispered, almost inaudible.

The old man laughed and patted her head. “Do you know what that is?” he asked, and before Mira could respond, he went on to explain. “This is made out of the Sandalwood tree,” he said as he picked the little statue. Holding it close to his nose, he inhaled deeply, just like the way Mira had done. Mira laughed heartily.

“Sandalwood trees are so magical,” the old man said with a frown on his face. “They can live up to a hundred years. Not only is the oil extracted from its roots so aromatic, but it has also been used as medicine for thousands of years. People make Attar from 29

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its oil, too, a lovely perfume.” He slowly walked toward a chair and gingerly lowered his body on it while still leaning on his cane. Mira noticed his hands tremble every time he shifted his weight on his cane. Maybe he is thousands of years old, too, Mira wondered. She sat on the floor facing the old man, folding her legs underneath her, eager to learn more about this marvelous tree that was so giving.

“Does it ever run out of oil?” Mira asked with curiosity.

“No,” the old man said. “They never do. But they do need other plants and trees to help them live and flourish. Their roots absorb nutrients and water from other plants and trees, too,” said the old man.

“Do they need help when they become old like you?” asked Mira.

“We don’t have to be old to need each other,” the old man said, laughing. “The Sandalwood tree needs help from the very beginning. When they are young, their trunk is smooth and shiny, and as they get older, they begin to have cracks and fissures all over their trunks.”

“Like wrinkles.” Mira wondered out loud.

The old man laughed again.

“Mira, it’s time to go! Hurry up!” Her mother’s voice prompted her to quickly spring up to her feet.

“Can you show me the picture of a Sandalwood tree next time we come to collect clothes?” asked Mira shyly, but before he could answer her question, someone forcibly yanked her by the hem of her shirt.

“I am so sorry, sir!” her mother said. “I have told her many times she is not allowed to go inside the house.” She pulled on her shirt harder and gave Mira a stern look. Feeling embarrassed, Mira looked down at her bare feet.

“No, that is quite all right!” the old man quickly intervened.

“It is entirely my fault. I wanted to talk to her about trees,” he smiled at Mira and continued. “I guess once an arborist, always 30

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an arborist. My grandkids are not that keen about nature, so it is nice when someone listens to you.” He sounded sad, Mira thought.

“Does she go to school?” asked the old man.

“No, sir.” Mira’s mother said sheepishly. “I cannot afford to send her to school. I have two mouths to feed. Without Mira’s help, things would be much harder.”

“I did go to school once,” Mira looked at her mother with anger. “You pulled me out of school because I had to take care of Madhu. If we were that poor, why did you have another kid?” said Mira, sounding bitter. An awkward silence momentarily filled the room. In the quietness of the room, the ticking sound of the grandfather clock right behind the old man’s chair became even more pronounced. Mira looked up at her mother, whose gaze was fixed on the clock’s pendulum swinging side to side.

“Well, next time you are here, send her to me,” the old man said, breaking the awkward silence. “I have a book that I need to give her.”

“Yes, sir,” Mira’s mother said, adjusted her dupata on her head and proceeded to leave the room with Mira silently following her. Once they were outside, Mira’s mother slapped Mira hard on her face.

“Don’t you dare to humiliate me like that again!” she hissed with her teeth clenched. “It is not my fault that your father…”

Stopping mid-sentence, she swallowed hard. And after a few seconds and with a quivering voice, she continued admonishing her. “Do you think it is easy for me to take care of two kids by myself? If I didn’t work, we would be begging and sleeping on the sidewalks.” She stopped to take a breath. “This world is full of people with big dreams, but only the ones with good fortune and a blessed destiny can turn them into reality. Look up at the sky, Mira!” She tilted Mira’s head backward by lifting her chin up.

“Look at those beautiful floating clouds, Mira.”

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Her eyes stinging with tears and her cheek still burning, Mira looked up at the sky.

“Our dreams are like those beautiful slow-moving clouds,” her mother said angrily. “They just look so pretty from far away.

We can’t reach them and can never touch them. We can just sit here and watch them pass us by and slowly disappear.”

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4 That night, as Mira, Madhu, and their mother huddled together on the floor of that tiny room, Mira dreamed a dream that was etched in her memory forever. In her dream she was riding on the back of that little Sandalwood elephant, only the elephant was much bigger, adorned with bigger jewels and a red embroidered saddle cloth that almost touched the ground.

Madhu was crouching on the ground and quietly sobbing. Mira whispered something in the elephant’s ear. The elephant shook his head, walked over to Madhu, rolling his trunk gently around her waist hoisted her up, higher and higher, until she reached the white fluffy clouds.

“Look, Mira,” Madhu shouted from up above. “Can I take this cloud home?”

“No, Madhu!” Mira shouted back, waving her hands in the air. “Those clouds do not belong to us. Maa said we can never ever reach them, Madhu.”

“But I have, Mira. Look at me!” Touching a little clovershaped cloud, Madhu shouted back.

“Bring her down right now!” Mira ordered the elephant. But the elephant continued to keep Madhu hoisted up miles and miles high. She could hear Madhu’s loud giggles from far away.

“Please bring her back down!” Mira screamed.

“Mira, what is wrong?” Madhu’s whisper woke her up. Mira opened her eyes, still huddled together on the floor. Madhu’s big brown eyes were staring at her with worry.

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“I saw you catching your dreams, Madhu,” Mira whispered to her as she stroked her hair with affection.

“How does one catch a dream, Mira?” Madhu’s eyes widened with curiosity. “They are not real. They disappear when you wake up. They escape as soon you open your eyes. Sometimes, when I am having a good dream, I try to keep my eyes shut so I can keep them inside forever, but it never works.” Madhu sighed dramatically.

“You are such an angel, Madhu.” Saying that Mira gently tapped her finger on Madhu’s tip of the nose. Mira felt guilty about what she had said to her mother about Madhu earlier that day. She loved her sister dearly. She couldn’t imagine life without her.

“Do you know there is a trick to catching your dreams, Madhu?” said Mira.

“What trick? Can you teach me?” Madhu’s voice got loud with excitement.

“Shhhhshhh, you will wake up Maa,” Mira whispered quietly.

“She works hard and needs her rest. If you want to learn that trick, then you have to go to school and learn, Madhu. It is not an easy trick. One has to work hard. Sometimes it takes a long time.” Madhu got quiet. Mira knew she was thinking hard. She is an inquisitive little one. Mira loved that trait about her.

“Hey, Mira, I know how to catch my dreams,” Madhu said, her voice filled with mischief. “I will build a net, like the ones that I chase the butterflies with. But this is going to be a magical one and a very strong one. It will help me catch all my dreams.”

Madhu said proudly.

“People like us would need all the magic in the world,” said Mira under her breath.

“That is a good idea, Madhu. Go back to sleep now. It is late.”

“Will you help me make that magical net, Mira?” Madhu whispered in Mira’s ear.

“Yes. I will.” Promised Mira.

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5 The simultaneous hooting sound of an owl and a gust of wind brought Mira back to the bottom of the sandalwood tree, ending her short-lived trip down memory lane. Panicking, Mira swiftly got up to her feet. She had lost track of time. The nightfall was beginning to wrap itself tightly around the trees and bushes, turning them into black silhouettes against the backdrop of the quickly darkening sky. Mira looked around, her heart beginning to pound with fear. The large, stemless, and crinkly leaves of the bird’s nest’s fern plant seemed even bigger in the darkness as if it was stretching before turning in for the night. Mira held tight to her tray and began to take quick and cautious steps. The crunching sound of the leaves and twigs breaking with each step made the blackness of the forest even more eerie. Mira tried to focus harder on each and every step that she took. The ground under her feet was beginning to quickly dissolve in the darkness of the night. “I am not afraid of the dark, Mira whispered to herself. I am sure there are not any wild animals here. And soon, I will get out of here and be home with Maa and Madhu.”

A loud squealing from a far distance froze Mira in her tracks. The sound echoed a few times before it was defeated by the silence of the forest. Listening out for any other noises, she couldn’t decide what was scarier, the utter silence of the woods or those intermittent and strange sounds. It was all too spooky and terrifying. Finally, Mira gathered all her courage and began to run. Running fast and almost blindly into the dark, she began to sing out loud a song that she had learned a long time ago in 35

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school. She often sang that song, cutting through the woods and on her way home. But now she wanted that song to distract her from her fears. And from whatever that could have been lurking in the dark and behind those trees. She began to sing: I was hopping in the forest, whistling with glee The forest asked me where are you heading to, so happy and free I said I am going to pluck fruits from your tree Hearing that, the trees gasped and made a plea Do so gently, and I will give you plenty Be kind to me and I will give you in abundance and free I put my basket underneath it and said I agree, The tree gave me one, gave me two and gave me three.

The pitch of her voice rose and fell along with the speed at which she was running. Before she could finish her song, Mira bumped into a huge tree trunk. Her tray loudly crashed to the ground, scattering the rest of her samosas all over the grass and leaf-covered ground. Her knees began to sting immediately.

The ground was still moist and somewhat muddy from the rain earlier that day. Mira dragged down the dirt-covered palm of her hands along the sides of her dress, wiping the dirt off as much as she could before picking up the pastries from the ground. First, she picked up the ones that were easy to spot in the dark before patting the ground to see if there were more that she could not see. Another loud squealing made the hair on the back of her neck rise. She picked up her tray and stood up. A bright shimmering light in the far distance caught her attention. Mira squinted in an attempt to focus better. “What is that?” she wondered out loud. The many rows and rows of tree trunks did not block that shimmering light. That was strange, Mira thought. It seemed like that little light was bouncing off each tree trunk, moving forward 36

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like a sparkling rubber ball. Astonished and overwhelmed with curiosity, Mira began to walk toward the light. After taking a few steps, she stopped. I need to go home. She contemplated nervously. I am already in trouble since it is late and already dark. If Maa comes to know that I walked through the woods, she will be furious. Plus, I could not sell everything today and what remained was now covered with dirt and leaves. But whatever was shimmering from far away was now glittering even brighter.

It zigzagged between tree trunks every time Mira tried to look away as if it was playing a game of hide and seek with her.

“I have to find out what that is,” said Mira, sounding determined. She walked for a few minutes, keeping her eyes glued to the light. As she got closer and closer, the light became larger and larger in size until she reached a huge clearing. There, in the middle of the clearing, was a beautiful, glistening pond. Mira gasped with amazement. The pond shone brightly like a jewel in the middle of that glade. Fireflies had set the surrounding grass and shrubbery ablaze with their bright, glowing little bodies.

The long rows of white, purple, and pink Floss flowers dotted the grass-covered ground. With their fluff-haired blossoms, they resembled a crowd of little creatures raising their heads from underneath the tall grass. Mira’s body suddenly trembled with fear.

A cool and fragrant wind began to blow gently, caressing Mira’s cheeks. Still so mesmerized by the brightness of the pond and its surroundings, she began to take small and hesitant steps toward the pond. How come I have never seen this pond before, wondered Mira. I have taken this route home many, many times before and never noticed a pond anywhere in this small forest. Maybe I had never walked this deep into the woods, she concluded. In the crimson light of the dusk, everything seemed so serene and peaceful, as if a wall of quietness was momentarily erected, separating Mira from the cacophony of surrounding sounds. When she reached the edge of the pond, she carefully 37

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knelt down and took a deep breath, inhaling that fresh air deeply. There were dozens of lotus flowers floating in the water.

With their two round leaves, it seemed to Mira as if they were gently holding the flowers floating above the water. The color of the lotus flowers was unusually bright, and the pink hue was almost florescent, Mira thought as she continued to examine that beautiful pond with awe. “This all seems like a dream,” Mira whispered to herself. Overcome by temptation, she bent over and immersed her hand in the water. The water was cool and almost instantaneously her whole body shivered. Startled, she quickly withdrew her hand from the water. She looked around. How come no one knows about this place? She wondered. It seemed as if that clearing was cut off from the rest of the world. Even the darkness of the night had failed to completely overcome the brightness of the pond and its surroundings. “I need to get back home. It is dark and I don’t even know if I can find my way back home,” Mira whispered to herself.

The fear and worry were slowly coming back as Mira looked around at the tall and dark trees circling that vast clearing. A loud croaking sound of a frog made her jump up to her feet.

Suddenly, something brushed against her back. Wiggling her shoulders and too frightened to look back and, in an attempt to distance herself from whatever was lurking behind her, Mira took a step forward. The slippery mud on the edge of the pond made her plastic sandals slither forward. Trying to regain her balance, Mira dug her toes deep into the mud, but it was already too late as her body plunged face forward into the pond with a big splash. Mira screamed loudly. Overcome with panic and fear, she began to forcefully pound on the surface of the water with the palms of her hands.

“Help!” she screamed. But her voice just echoed back. Once I knew how to swim, Mira reassured herself. But the wave of panic and fright had rendered her body incapable of moving her limbs in a coordinated manner. All she could do was kick her feet 38

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and swat at the water. As her body was being dragged down, the tall blades of the grass surrounding the pond seemed to grow in height, getting taller and taller.

The blinking light of the fireflies was getting blurrier with each splash of water that whipped her eyelids shut. Mira grabbed at lotus flowers, but underneath the weight of her hands, the flowers and their big leaves just bopped in and out of the water.

Pressing her lips tight together, Mira lifted up her chin and leaned her head all the way back. Momentarily, the water stopped flooding into her mouth and nose.

Thousands of thoughts rushed to her head. She thought about Madhu and her mother waiting for her at home. She thought about her favorite sandalwood tree. She thought about the kind old man, and she thought about the old tree that had wrapped her branches around her. She closed her eyes and imagined she was lying on a gigantic leaf and floating on the water. All of a sudden, a soft ripple of water hoisted her body up and pushed her forward to the muddy edge of the pond.

Surprised and shocked by the wave that suddenly emerged from the belly of that motionless pond, Mira forcefully dug her fingers into the mud and looked back.

Right there it was, behind her, what seemed like a shadowy outline of a person with long black hair cascading down her shoulders. Mira let out a scream and frantically dug her elbows deep in the mud, pulling her legs out from the water with quick moves.

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6 Mira speedily crawled away from the edge of the pond, and once a safe distance away, she cowered in the middle of the tall grass. She put her head between her knees and squeezed her eyes shut. “It was nothing, just my eyes playing a trick on me.” She mumbled to herself softly. Mira pressed her knees very hard on both sides of her head and kept on pressing until her temples ached. “No, this is not a dream,” she whispered to herself.

Mira remembered Zayn’s story of Bijli. She suddenly understood why Zayn was so afraid of the lightning and disobeying his mother. Her mother had always warned her about walking through the woods in the dark, but Mira had failed to listen, as she had done so many times before. But this time, some monster was about to teach her a lesson. Mira’s hair stood in the back of her neck. She lifted her head up and listened intently.

There was nothing but silence. Even the croaking of the frogs had stopped. Her heart began to beat even harder. She could hear the thumping of her heart in her ears. She wanted to get up but was too fearful of being spotted by whatever was lurking in the pond.

She somehow felt safer sitting in the middle of that tall grass concealed from the view. Moments passed and the quietness of the glade was not interrupted by anything or anyone.

Mira sighed with relief. She gently parted the thick row of grass in front of her. From the distance, she could see the pond’s water shimmer peacefully. Reassured, she gathered her courage and gingerly got up to her feet. As she turned around and got 40

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ready to run away from the pond as fast as she could, she gasped.

Her tray was still sitting on the ground by the pond. She had to fetch it. That was the biggest and the only tray they owned.

Losing it meant no work, and no work meant no money earned.

Her mother’s anger over the lost tray was something she didn’t even want to imagine. Just the thought of her mother’s angry eyes made her shudder.

She began to walk soundlessly on her tiptoes toward the pond. Holding her breath, she tried hard to divert her eyes away from the pond. Soundlessly, she finally reached the spot where she had left her try.

By now, the moon was out and the light was beginning to illuminate everything in its path. Mira imagined the moon waving its luminescent magic wand that compelled the darkness to withdraw and dissolve rapidly, taking her fears along with it.

She looked up at the moon and smiled with gratitude. “You are so very kind, Madam.” She bent down and picked up her tray.

Her gaze was transfixed on the water. The lotus flowers began to move slowly side to side in a synchronized manner, and small ripples began to swim toward the edge of the pond as if each little ripple was in a race to reach the land first. She looked around furtively. She slowly stepped backward. But her wet clothes slowed her movements.

Suddenly, with a splash, something emerged from the water.

And that is when their eyes met for the first time. Mira yelped loudly and froze with fear. She wanted to run, but her legs felt heavy as if they had been rooted deep into the ground. Small beads of sweat began to roll down her temples. The brightly glowing eyes continued to stare at her. Mira was mesmerized.

The creature swam closer to the land. The ends of her long, ebony-colored hair floated lightly on the surface of the water, like a wavy, black veil being dragged behind her with each and every stroke that propelled her forward. A big lopsided lotus flower clung to the side of her head.

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Mira’s heart was beating very fast and her knees felt like jelly.

She gathered all her strength and lifted one foot off the ground.

I need to run as fast as I can, she thought. But the closer that creature got to the shore, the more human-like form she took.

Maybe it is a Jal-Paree, a mermaid of some sort. They are not scary, she thought. But Jal-Parees exist only in fairy tales. They are not real. Mira’s heart raced faster. All of a sudden, a massive swarm of fireflies gathered by the pond. Each firefly landed on a tall blade of grass. It appeared to Mira as if each grass blade was holding a torch and shining it on the creature. The creature’s face lit up. Mira was astounded, her eyes glued to the face that she could see clearly now.

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7 Half of the creature’s face was covered with oval scales, while the other half was smooth with an emerald green hue to it. She had two large and deep-set eyes, but her iris was dark blue, with a shining silver pupil that flickered every now and then. Every time she blinked, Mira could see long, florescent lines on her eyelids. They glowed brighter and brighter with each blink of the eye. She did not have any eyelashes. But thorn-like, small spikes lined her eyes. She had a small upturned nose with a protruding tip that was covered by tiny grey scales. Her lips were thin and pale, and they slightly turned downward at the corners. The line running from the front to the back of her head that parted her hair was dotted with radiant tiny blue stones.

By now, Mira’s fear was replaced by astonishment and curiosity. There was something sad about her eyes, Mira thought.

A few minutes passed. In utter silence, Mira and the creature continued to look at one another. Surrounded by that magical glow of light, everything seemed so serene and mystical. “Is this a dream?” Mira whispered to herself while pinching her forearm.

She winced with pain. This was really happening, she concluded.

Her head swimming with thousands of questions and thoughts, Mira took a step forward toward the creature. Her eyes still glued on her, she then took another step forward.

Mira could now see a beautiful and long strand of little oysters hanging around her neck. Her ears were hidden under her black hair, but an orange coral earring hung low, almost touching her 43

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collarbone. Her upper arms were adorned with two metal gold cuffs with two intricate seahorses carved in the middle. She is beautiful, Mira thought.

She smiled at the creature nervously. Her knees began to tremble with fear again. She was so much closer to her now.

Maybe I should run before it is too late, Mira debated. Maybe it’s already too late. She can easily reach me and break me in half or drag me into the water. Tears began to puddle in Mira’s eyes.

All of a sudden, she regretted everything: walking through the woods, not listening to her mother, and now, instead of running as far as she could, she was standing close to that thing in the pond. All she wanted was to be home, cuddled up with Madhu on their old straw mattress. The creature smiled at her. Mira quickly wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. Maybe it was the blurriness from her tears that made her think that the creature smiled at her, she thought. Her heart beat profoundly with relief and excitement as the creature smiled at her again. This time, she could see it clearly. I am not imagining it. She sighed with relief.

She is not going to eat me up after all. Mira smiled back and very slowly knelt down on the ground. Her knees dug into the soft mud that she had fought so hard against to crawl out of the pond not too long ago.

“I am Mira,” she said, her voice barely audible.

44

8 Madhu leaned on the thick pole of the streetlight that was cemented into the ground. The round, cemented part was painted in vertical yellow and black stripes. She felt safer sitting under that light on the sidewalk than being alone in that tiny room all by herself. She worried the rain clouds might come back. She was not going to be alone in that room with the leaky roof. I am just fine here, she thought. Mira is never this late. She is in so much trouble. Madhu looked up at a swarm of mosquitos and little moths buzzing around the light bulbs that flickered every now and then. She pulled her knees to her chest and scanned the crowd for Mira or her mother, who had not returned home yet. Her stomach rumbled with hunger. “I hope Mira has some leftover food for me,” she whispered to herself.

Mira always managed to bring something special for her every evening when she got back from work. Madhu loved the sugar cane and cotton candy treats the most. As more time elapsed, the crowd of people walking on the sidewalk began to thin out a little. Some of those people dissolved into the dark alleys of the slums quietly, and the ones with kids in tow seemed to leave a faceless trail of kids’ chatter, laughter, or parents’ urging their kids to walk faster and keep up with them. I am not going home until Mira or Maa are back, Madhu thought, feeling anxious. She began to tap her toes on the sidewalk and counted every time a car honked. Mira had told her that by doing that, she would learn how to count very fast, and with almost every car that honked, it 45

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was impossible to keep up. Mira always ended up laughing as she watched her little toes wiggling back and forth with what seemed to be a never-ending honking of the cars.

“Hey, Madhu, why are you sitting here on the sidewalk?” asked a little voice.

Madhu looked up and saw Yug standing there, gripping a long wooden pole that had a few colorful balloons attached to it.

Yug lived in the same slum, a few doors down from their room.

He was seven years old, only a year older than Madhu. His little, skinny legs were as thin as the long stick that he was carrying.

His big smile exposed the two small gaps in his teeth. Before Madhu could say anything, he slumped down right next to her, resting the long stick against his left shoulder.

“Did you sell a lot of balloons today, Yug?” asked Madhu curiously. “I don’t see any Hello Kitty ones. Those must be popular. They are my favorite, too.” Added Madhu.

“Yes, I spent the whole day by the entrance of the mall today,” Yug said proudly. “All was going fine until that thunderstorm started. I ran to take shelter under a tree and a small branch poked holes in two of my balloons,” Yug said with a frown on his face. “Other than that, today I did alright. Made some money. I bet I have made more money than my older brother today,” he boasted. He sounds like a grown man, Madhu thought. “So, no school again for you, Madhu? Or you are just making things up so you won’t have to go to school?” Yug squinted his eyes and stared at Madhu suspiciously before bursting out in laughter.

“Schools are still closed. They say the air is still too dirty and kids should stay indoors,” Madhu explained sheepishly, still tapping her toes on the sidewalk with each honking of a car.

“Yet, here you are! Sitting on the sidewalk and inhaling that air! And It is called pollution, Madhu. Poll…U…tion!” Yug said mockingly. “I don’t have to go to school to know all these things.

I learn a lot on the streets, listening to people.”

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“But it is not the same as going to school,” Madhu said in a taunting tone. “Just because you know some big words, it doesn’t mean you are smarter than me.”

“Not everyone can afford to go to school.” Yug sounded bitter.

“Mira has to work so you can go to school.”

Madhu’s eyes filled with tears. She missed Mira. “Where are you, Mira? Please come home,” she said, resting her forehead on her knees. She began to cry softly.

“Hush now, Madhu. I didn’t mean to make you cry. Here, take this.” Yug dug his hand into his shorts pocket and pulled out a stick of gum.

“Mira has never been so late,” whispered Madhu, her forehead still resting on her knee.

“Don’t worry. She will be here any minute now. I will stay here with you.” Yug tried to reassure her. “Do you know Madhu, I can fix the dirty air problem. I think my plan might just work.”

Madhu wiped her tears with the back of her hands and looked at Yug inquisitively.

“Now, put that gum in your mouth and begin to chew. I don’t need you to interrupt me while I am telling you about this grand solution.” Yug pointed to the stick of gum that Madhu was still holding. She obediently unwrapped the silver wrapper and put it in her mouth.

“So here we go,” Yug cleared his throat. “First, we should make a gigantic air pump that sucks the dirty air out, just like a vacuum.” Yug made a loud swooshing sound and looked at Madhu intently. “Then we make these gigantic balloons and fill them up with all that dirty air.” Madhu stopped chewing her gum and looked at him with amazement.

“Then we go to a huge field and let them all go up in space.

And just like that, Yug The Wise has solved this big problem.” He stood up and took a deep bow.

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“But if you let the balloons go up in the sky, then the air will get dirty again?” Madhu said, feeling confused. Yug scratched his head and thought for a few seconds.

“I know what we should do then! We will trap the pollution inside giant balloons. Tie them up to the poles and dig those poles deep into the ground. So, it will be fields of dirty air balloons.

And instead of selling balloons, my job would be cleaning the air!” Snapping his fingers, he bowed again. Madhu clapped with enthusiasm and laughed out loud.

“Mom, I want a red balloon!” A child’s loud plea interrupted them.

Yug quickly untied a red balloon and handed it to a little girl.

“Ten rupees.” He took the money and put it in his pocket.

He untied another one and offered it to Madhu. “Don’t worry, Madhu, this one doesn’t have any dirty air in it, only helium,” he said, winking at her. Madhu took the balloon and smiled shyly at Yug. The streetlight began flickering again. They both looked up. It flickered one last time before Madhu and Yug’s faces disappeared in the darkness that followed.

“Great!” Yug’s said with sarcasm.” Now I have to come up with a plan for these damn streetlights too!” Something flew into Madhu’s forehead, making her scream while she jumped up and down and wiped her forehead.

“Clam down, you silly girl,” Yug said teasingly. “Now that the street light’s bulb is burnt out, the next best thing for the moths and mosquitoes is your moon-like face! You better run home before your face attracts more bugs!” Yug burst out laughing.

“Very funny!” said Madhu, slapping his arm gently. “I am not going home without Mira.” Madhu’s voice shook as she tried to fight her tears back.

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9 Mira could not take her eyes off that creature. She was spellbound. Once again, her curiosity overcame any thoughts of running away from it. Everything was silent. Even the frogs had stopped croaking. The surface of the water was undisturbed and calm.

“Are you a Jal-Paree?” Mira gathered all her courage and spoke again. The creature continued to look at Mira in utter silence, her silvery iris still flickering every now and then. Maybe she doesn’t understand me. Maybe she speaks a different language, or maybe she can’t speak at all, so many thoughts were rushing to Mira’s head. More moments passed in quietness. The fireflies still illuminated the surroundings, along with the light of the full moon that had pushed through the clouds. The creature and Mira’s eyes were still transfixed on one another.

“I am Mira,” Mira said again, this time pointing to herself with her index finger. The creature’s eyes followed her finger with her eyes without blinking. She then fixed her gaze on Mira’s face again. Mira took a deep breath and gently slid her knees forward in the soft mud, getting a little closer to her. I think she might be afraid of me as much I am afraid of her, she thought.

“You are so beautiful,” she said, smiling at the creature. “Your hair is so long and pretty.” Mira pointed to her hair, which was still floating on top of the water. The creature moved her upper arm. Deep into the water, her forearm was still hidden from the view. Startled, Mira slid back, her heart beating fast. Maybe 49

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she is going to snatch me and drag me into the water, she feared.

Maybe she is not afraid of me; maybe I should be afraid of her. She withdrew a few inches more. Little ripples began to appear on the surface of the water and began to form a circle around the creature’s body. Mira struggled to get up on her feet. Her body felt heavy. She dug her heels into the ground and pushed her body a few more inches farther away.

All of a sudden, with a big splash, the creature lifted her arm out of the water entirely. Mira let out a loud scream and covered her face with her hands. The little droplets of water bounced off her hands and dropped on her legs. Ridden with fear, she sat motionless. After a few moments, she peeked at the creature through her parted fingers. Somehow, she expected her to be standing right there, hovering over her. Mira sighed with relief as she saw the creature still half-immersed in the water. Mira’s eyes quickly shifted to her hand. The creature’s fingers were shaped just like humans, but instead of nails, scaly little silvery flaps covered the tip of her fingers. Vertical green lines ran from her wrist and ended where the flaps were. The flap on her index finger began to vibrate slowly and then suddenly, water jetted out with much force from the tip of her finger.

Jumping up, Mira screamed. She took off running with all the power in her body. She kept on running without even looking back. She swatted at the tree branches and twigs as she barreled through the woods. As she was running, she prayed loudly and hoped that the creature was still in the pond and not chasing after her. But she was not going to stop and look behind her.

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10 “Mira!” shouting with excitement, Madhu hugged Mira, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist. “Why are your clothes so wet, Mira?” Madhu looked up at Mira. “Did you get caught in that heavy rain?”

“Forget about my wet clothes, Madhu. Why are you out here standing on the sidewalk?” Mira asked, frowning at Madhu.

“Shouldn’t you be home?”

“And where have you been, Mira?” interrupted Yug with a smirk on his face. “Madhu wouldn’t go home without you, so here I am babysitting her on the sidewalk!”

“I am not a baby!” Madhu objected. “You are not that much older than me! Quit acting like you are an adult, Yug!” “Oh yeah?” Yug retorted. “I work like an adult, and I earn like an adult, so why can’t I talk like one?”

“Stop it, you two!” Mira clapped her hands loudly. “No matter how old he is, he kept you company, Madhu! And I can see this balloon that you are holding so…”

“And I gave her chewing gum, too!” interrupted Yug with a smile. “I am not asking for a thank you, but a little bit of appreciation would be nice!” Yug elbowed Madhu gently.

“Thank you, Yug,” Madhu whispered shyly. “Mira, did you bring me something special today? I am very hungry. Maa is not home yet, but don’t worry, I won’t tell her that you got home so late today,” Madhu said reassuringly.

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“My lips are zipped, too!” Yug put his index finger on his lips.

“No, ma’am! I am not a snitch!” he shook his head dramatically from side to side.

“You know, Yug,” said Mira, gently tagging at his sleeve. “For a little kid, you have a very big personality! And I guess that is how you don’t get flown away by all the balloons you carry on this stick! Any other kid would have been lifted off the ground and blown away like a kite!” Mira laughed out loud and soon after, Madhu joined in.

“Specially when you sell them on an empty stomach,” giggling Yug added. “One is even much lighter then.” He scratched his head.

“Mira, can you buy me an ice gola?” Madhu pleaded, hugging Mira even tighter.

Mira’s head was still spinning from whatever she had encountered in the woods. She was trying so hard not to think about it. She felt so relieved to be back. Even Madhu’s whining did not bother her as much as it usually did. She cupped Madhu’s face in her hands and lovingly caressed her soft cheeks with her thumbs.

“I will get you an ice gola because I was late getting back home today,” Mira said. “But do not ask me for one every day, Madhu. I know how you are. Don’t you dare to pester me for one every day. Do you understand?” said Mira sternly, pulling Madhu’s braids gently.

“I promise, Mira!” said Madhu, jumping with excitement, her balloon bouncing up and down in the air.

“Can you buy one for Yug, too?” She asked sheepishly.

“Madhu…” Mira began to object, but Yug’s little head popped up closer to Madhu’s with a big comical grin on his face.

“Lime-flavored gola is my all-time favorite! The perfect blend of sweetness and tanginess! Just like me!” Yug picked up his long stick with a few balloons still attached and hurriedly began to walk toward some vendors.

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“I guess he has already decided to come along.” Holding Madhu’s hand, Mira followed Yug, who was excitedly leading the way.

The peddler picked up a faded pink cloth and wiped the surface of his cart with quick moves before asking them which flavors they each wanted.

“Red!” Madhu yelled with excitement.

The peddler scooped up two cups of ice and tied it in a white cloth. He then picked up a small hammer and pounded it a few times. Each time he pounded the ice cubes, Yug cheered him up with loud clapping and praises. “Look at you! Look at those muscles! Crush it harder! Crush it harder!”

The peddler laughed and called Yug a clown. Once the ice was finely crushed, he cupped it between his hands, and after shaping it into a ball, he stuck a popsicle stick in it and placed it in a paper bowl. Madhu watched with much eagerness as her ice gola was drenched in her favorite cherry-flavored syrup.

The tall bottle of green syrup reminded Mira of that creature’s color. She imagined her sitting at the bottom of that tall glass bottle, lonely and sad. Suddenly, the bottle was picked up and Mira could see that creature slipping to the side. She looked at Mira with desperation as the bottle was shaken forcefully from side to side. The creature spinning around in the bottle began to scream desperately. She struggled to hold on to the bottle’s bottom. But with each shake, the creature was tossed around.

“Stop it!” Mira screamed as loud as she could.

“But I like the lime flavor, Mira.” Yug’s voice surprised Mira.

Mira looked around and saw Madhu, Yug, and the peddler looking at her with surprise. The peddler had stopped shaking the green syrup bottle.

“That is fine. You can have the green lime flavor, Yug,” Mira said quickly, knowing that her imagination had carried her away momentarily.

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The peddler shook his head and mumbled something under his breath before pouring the sugary green syrup on Yug’s ice gola.

“Thank you, Mira,” Yug said, biting into his ice gola. “For a second, I thought you changed your mind, and my hopes of getting an ice gola almost melted away. Just like an ice gola melting in the sun! But thankfully, it was just a fluke!” He laughed out loud, his tongue already turning green.

“You are so dramatic, Yug! Go home now! Run along!” Mira said, pushing him away. “Before the rest of your ice gola melts in my mouth!” she added with a smile on her face.

Holding his bowl in one hand and dragging his long, wooden stick, Yug ran and disappeared into a small, dark alley with Mira and Madhu following behind.

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1 That night, Mira could not sleep. Madhu had fallen asleep before her mother got back home. Their mother had fallen asleep on the bus and had missed her stop. Instead of paying the bus fare twice, she decided to walk home. Every rupee counted. No one ate dinner that night. Maa just curled up next to Madhu and went to sleep. Madhu’s lips, still red from her cherry-flavored ice gola, made her look like a little doll wearing lipstick. Mira stroked her hair gently. Madhu’s red balloon, half deflated, rested against the mustard yellow wall of the small room. On the opposite side of the wall, a wooden shelf ran across the entire length of the room and served as a kitchen with a stove on top.

The opening underneath the shelf was concealed from view by a maroon curtain with small golden dots. Behind that curtain was where they stored their dry food. A small white cabinet mounted on the opposite wall housed all their clothes and the rest of their belongings, which was not much. An old white fan sitting on the floor only rotated to the left and made a soft screeching noise.

Every time it tried to rotate to the right, it vibrated a few times before giving up and rotating back to the left again. Madhu had stuck a pencil between its blades once, but after that, it never functioned properly. Mira remembered how upset her mother had become when she caught Madhu in the act. That night, she did not turn the fan on and everyone was drenched in sweat.

Madhu learned her lesson and never touched the fan again. Mira loved the color of the walls. The yellow color always made her 55

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happy. Even though the passage of time had made the stains and discolorations more prominent, that yellow hue still clung stubbornly to the walls.

Mira closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep, but everything that happened that day was still swirling in her head. The majestic old tree, the leaves in her pocket, and the pond with the sad creature. Somehow, she wished all that was just in her imagination, but she knew what she had seen was real, very real.

She stuck her hand under the pillow and took a leaf out. In the darkness of the room, it looked almost black. She held it close to her nose and smelled it. The leaf was so fragrant, and it smelled as if someone had dipped it in the rose water. Mira was astonished.

Leaves don’t smell like flowers, she thought. Panicking, she hastily slipped the leaf back under her pillow and pressed her head firmly on it. If she could not block the memories from rushing into her head, then she could put that reminder somewhere where it couldn’t come out, she thought.

She decided she was not going to go to the woods again. It was too risky, and next time she may not be lucky enough to get away. Sighing with relief, she turned to her side and closed her eyes. The squeaking sound of the fan slowly melted away as her eyelids slowly became heavier and heavier with sleep. All of a sudden, she felt a gust of wind blowing past her cheek. She quickly opened her eyes and looked around. She swiftly sat up and looked around the room. Everything seemed calm and undisturbed. It may have been a dream, she thought. She laid her head back on the pillow and felt something tickling her cheek.

She brushed the surface of the pillow with her hand and picked up something that felt like a piece of paper. Holding it up, she gasped with shock. It was the little leaf that she had just placed under her pillow. Maybe this is a different one, she thought. After all, she had a pocked full of them when she got home. She lifted up her pillow and looked. The little leaf was not there anymore.

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whispered. She gently caressed the little leaf with the tip of her finger. “I don’t know what is happening, but I may have to go back to the pond to find out.” She quietly whispered to herself.

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12 The next day, as Mira stood on the concrete median, she could not wait for the pile of the pastry to shrink down in height.

She wanted to hurry back to the woods and see the pond again.

Maybe the pond is no longer there, she worried. Or maybe that creature is gone, and if she is still there, she might want to stay hidden so she doesn’t scare me off again. The loud sounds of traffic, the honking of the cars, and bicycle rings could not block away that flood of thoughts that were swirling in her head. The sun was out and relentlessly targeting the top of her head. The beads of sweat never ceased to roll down her temples. Between the heat of the sun and the heaviness of the tray, Mira was beginning to get dizzy. “Turn red, you damn light!” she grumbled with her teeth clinched. “Please, God, either make the light turn red or get the sun off my face! I am burning out here. It is getting hotter and hotter every day.” Mira whispered as she watched the cars speed by.

“God has way more important things to do than controlling the traffic light here,” said a voice behind her. Surprised that someone could have heard her, Mira quickly turned around. Raj was sitting on top of his faded blue colored cooler box. That was where he kept his water bottles until the light turned red.

“How do you know, Raj?” Mira said in a sarcastic tone. “Are you His secretary? Keeping track of the most important things on the list?’’

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“Nope!” Raj said with a big frown on his face. “Not His secretary, but my father says not to get disheartened if your prayers are not answered when you expect them to be answered.

We just need to wait our turn. Our turn will come.”

“So, your father is still repairing bicycles?” Mira asked in a mischievous tone.

“Yes, he still does,” Raj said hesitantly. “Why do you ask, Mira?”

“Well, this means that I will be selling pastries until I am an old woman.” Mira laughed. “Your father is still waiting to be heard. I doubt he has asked God to keep him so poor all his life.

It is obvious that he has not been heard yet. So, according to my calculation, I have a long wait too!”

“Well, look, Mira!” Raj swiftly got up and grabbed a few bottles. “The light is about to turn red now! That request definitely did not take years to be fulfilled!”

Without looking at the traffic light, Mira hastily stepped off the median and onto the intersection. A loud, long-drawn sound of a car horn startled her. Mira looked to her right and was instantly filled with fear. A white speeding car was coming her way. While the other cars on the other lanes were slowing down to come to a stop, it seemed to Mira that this driver did not have any intention of stopping at the red light.

Panicking, Mira realized that she did not have much time to react. She froze. Suddenly, someone grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her to the sidewalk. Falling back, she quickly folded her legs underneath her. She could feel the big gust of air as the car went past her.

“Well, this might be one example of the bigger things that God has to do, Mira! Like saving your life! My father may still be repairing bicycles, but I am pretty sure he is grateful for being alive above all!” Raj said, grinning ear to ear. “You should know better, Mira! You know that many of us get injured every 59

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day while peddling in the intersections. You need to pay more attention.”

“Thanks, Raj,” Mira said, feeling embarrassed. “This could have been a sound test. Now I know, maybe I am heard! Testing, testing, one, two, three. Testing, testing, one, two, three!” Getting back to her feet, Mira started laughing.

“Very funny, Mira!” Raj said, making a funny face. “Do you know what my father says about having faith?” saying that, Raj gave Mira a serious look and stared her in the eyes. “Going through life without faith is like a bicycle with flat tires. The journey is going to be that much harder. Have you ever ridden a flat bicycle, Mira?” Without waiting for Mira to respond, he continued, “It is almost impossible! I once had to take a friend’s bicycle to my father for repair. After a few minutes, we had to drag it all the way to his shop.”

“So, what if life doesn’t even give you a bicycle?” Mira said teasingly.

“You are just impossible, Mira!” Raj sneered. “In that case, you pray that you have a good and sturdy pair of shoes to get you through this journey.” Raj snapped back at Mira.

“And as you can see, most of us don’t even have that, Raj. And please, you are only twelve! So just stick to selling your water bottles and don’t preach!” Mira said sternly. “And by the way, can I have a little water? My throat is parched. That damn car almost hit me.”

“Hey, you two!” A loud voice tore through the noise of traffic.

Both Raj and Mira looked in the direction of the voice. A man dressed in khaki pants and a shirt standing on the sidewalk was waving at them. He gestured at them to come to him. Mira and Raj looked at one another, both looking puzzled.

“Come here! Memsaab wants to talk to you!” he screamed from across the street, pointing to a white car parked on the side of the road.

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“Isn’t that the car that almost hit you?” Raj asked, looking confused.

“Looks like it, but let’s see what they want from us. Under no circumstance will you get in that car!” Mira warned. “Maa always says beware of the evil who looks and pretends to be kind.” saying that, they both crossed the road and followed the driver to the parked car. A lady sitting in the backseat with salt and pepper hair that came down to her shoulders rolled down the window.

“What are you two selling?” She smiled at them.

She has kind eyes, Mira thought. “The sweetest, coldest, and cheapest water in the entire town!” Raj’s loud voice startled Mira. Holding a water bottle, he continued with a jeering voice.

“Freshen your throat and freshen your day with a sip that will awaken every cell in your body!”

The old lady began to laugh hysterically. Raj looked down.

He seemed embarrassed.

“I have been telling you that line is so stupid, Raj!” Mira said, trying not to laugh. “Can’t you just scream, fresh cold water instead? You are not selling water from some holy fountain.

It is just bottled water.” Hearing Mira, the old lady began to laugh even louder. Raj kicked Mira in the shin and Mira kicked him even harder. She was not going to be intimated by a boy.

Competing and peddling with boys had its challenges and Mira didn’t want to come across as meek. Meekness didn’t help you sell your goods. Mira had realized that. She had to stand her ground with so many peddlers around, especially when some of whom were intimidating grown-ups.

“Stop you two!” the old lady shook her finger at both of them. “I have told this driver several times to drive carefully. But it doesn’t get through his thick head,” saying that the old lady gave the driver a dirty look. The driver quickly looked down and stayed silent. “Today, he almost ran you over. Idiot! So, what are you selling?” She pointed to Mira’s tray.

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“Samosas.” Mira removed the checkered red and white cloth cover, exposing the unsold pile of the pastry.

“And do your samosas have any superpowers like his water?” the lady asked, trying hard not to laugh again.

“My Maa makes the best ones in this area!” Mira boasted.

“A mother’s love is the best ingredient in every dish. If I didn’t have to sell them, I would gladly eat them all.” Mira’s stomach rumbled loudly. Pressing the tray against her stomach, she hoped the lady didn’t hear it.

“Yes, nothing compares to a mother’s hand-cooked food. I will buy all of them. How much for everything?” She pointed to Mira’s tray.

Mira’s eyes widened with disbelief. “Two hundred rupees,” she quickly said.

“And how many of those magical water bottles do you have?”

She asked Rai teasingly.

“Fifteen,” Raj said loudly.

The old lady opened her wallet and handed them the money.

“I like your perfume. Sandalwood is my favorite, too,” Mira said shyly.” And it has a touch of rose oil. She added. The old lady seemed very surprised. “How did you know?” she asked with amazement.

“I have a sharp sense of smell,” Mira said proudly.

“It certainly seems like it. It is a gift. And a gift is only precious if you use it to do good things with it. Natural gifts choose you.

You don’t choose them. You are gifted. Remember that,” saying that she rolled her window. The car’s engine started with a roar, and just like that, the old lady and her sweet-smelling perfume disappeared in the middle of the dense traffic.

“So, evil dressed in kindness?” Raj said, waving his money in front of Mira.

“No. I guess this was just pure kindness dressed in kindness,” Mira said.

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“Don’t forget her driver almost ran you over!” Raj said with sarcasm.

“Not the first time, Raj. But this is the first time someone has stopped to be kind to us. So, that makes me feel like I am not that invisible, and that is a good feeling to have. It is good to be seen,” Mira said, smiling.

“Here is your water bottle, Mira.” Raj grabbed Mira’s hand and placed a cold bottle of water in her hand. “You said you were thirsty.”

“I thought you sold all your water bottles to that lady.” Mira looked at Raj with surprise.

“Yes, all except for one!” He smiled at Mira warmly. “It is not food but might help with a hungry, rumbling stomach.”

“Thank you, Raj.” Mira hugged him with affection. “I can’t wait to awaken every cell in my body with this fountain of youth water!” Mira began to giggle.

“One day, water is going to be more expensive than gas; that is what I heard on the radio one day.” Raj gently pushed Mira away from him. “This water that you are making fun of might make me a millionaire one day.” Winking at Mira, he laughed.

“By then, you might be an old man, Raj,” Mira said, taking the cap off of the water bottle.

“Yes, but a rich old man,” Raj said, raising his eyebrows and laughing.

Mira looked around. All the little peddlers were busy running to the cars, some selling goods, some old cheap plastic toys, while others washed the windshields of the cars with little spray bottles and faded towels. All of a sudden, Mira imagined the busy intersection crowded with old men and women selling goods and scrubbing the car widows in slow and tired movements. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands and looked again.

She sighed with relief as she saw the little kids zigzagging around the cars like busy little bees.

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“I hope you don’t have to wait that long, Raj. Thank you for the water,” Mira said.

She watched as Raj put his cooler box on his shoulder and navigated the busy intersection until he safely reached the other side of the road. Turning around, he waved at Mira, who was eagerly drinking the water.

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13 Mira was filled with a wide array of emotions as she began to walk toward the woods. She was excited about having plenty of time to spend there. But at the same time, she was afraid of facing that creature again. I have to find out what is going on, she thought, squeezing the leaves in her dress pocket.

“Hey, Mira!” A familiar voice called out to her. She turned around and saw Zayn wiping the plastic chairs and tables in the small fast food restaurant with a striped blue and red cloth. He waved the cloth in the air.

“Have you sold everything already? Going home?” He sounded surprised.

“Yes, I did. Heading back home now,” Mira yelled back.

“Lucky you! How did you manage to sell everything so fast? Not even noon yet?” he hollered, draping the cloth on his shoulder.

“Long story, Zayn, I will tell you tomorrow,” Mira said and waved at him.

Zayn was about to say something, but he was caught by surprise by an older man who walked behind him slapping him on the back of the head. He then pointed to the table and mumbled something. Zayn obediently dropped his head and resumed cleaning the tables. Mira could not hear what the man had said, but from Zayn’s reaction she knew he was scolded for stopping and talking to Mira. She felt sad for Zayn. He had mentioned several times that his boss was mean and had a bad 65

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temper. But like so many other children who worked to support their families, he did not have many options. Childhood escapes us, Mira thought sadly as she transfixed her gaze on a crowd of people gathered in a circle. In the center were four brightly painted bamboo poles. They were about six feet tall and erected ten feet apart while stretching a tightrope along the way. A loud thumping on a drum could be heard from miles away. Shielding her eyes from the sun with her hands, Mira looked harder.

She walked closer and pushed through the crowd. A little girl wearing a bright yellow dress with a red scarf tightly tied around her little waist began to walk on the rope. Her braids reached her shoulders, and two bright yellow ribbons were tied at the end of each braid. As her little feet clung to the once-white rope, she balanced two brass pots on her head. Her arms, fully stretched to the sides, moved slightly up and down with every step that she took. The rope sagged underneath her weight, but she still managed to keep her balance and move forward. The thumping got louder and more intense before a woman handed her another pot. She skillfully placed it on the top of the other two pots. A few people in the crowd clapped and shouted some words of encouragement. Mira had seen this act several times before, but the little girl’s balance on that rope never ceased to amaze her.

Mira remembered the day that she had seen the show for the first time. She gasped each time the little girl took a step forward on the rope, and at times, Mira covered her eyes, thinking she was going to fall off the rope. At the end of the show, Mira walked up to the little girl’s mother and asked her if she was ever afraid of her little daughter falling off the rope and hurting herself. The woman placed her hands on her hips and gave Mira a long stare before snarling at her. “For people like her, walking on that rope is a hundred times easier than walking on this firm ground,” she said, firmly pointing her finger to the ground. “Besides, that is the only time people look up at her instead of looking down. I 66

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grew up doing the same thing until the rope could no longer bear my weight.”

“Were you ever afraid?” Mira asked with curiosity.

“No, I was more afraid of hunger. You don’t look like you have a royal lineage either.” Pointing to her pastry tray, the woman said sarcastically. “Life is always like a balancing act on a tightrope. Fear will only knock you down.”

The louder and more continuous sound of the drum startled Mira. She looked around. The little girl was now on the ground and bowing. A little boy wearing a red turban was walking around with a plastic container, collecting money. Mira put her hand in her pocket to take some coins out.

“Nope! Not accepting leaves!” a little voice said. Mira looked at her hand. A bunch of leaves mixed with some coins filled her palm. She looked up at the little boy with the turban and smiled.

“How about a credit card then?” Mira said teasingly.

“The credit card machine is broken. Cash only!” Shaking the plastic container, the little boy said impatiently.

Mira put a few coins in the container. The little boy gave her a dirty look.

“If you didn’t have enough money, then why did you watch the show?” he mumbled.

“At least I am paying something,” Mira said angrily. “Half of the people walked away without paying a paisa! Instead of wasting your time here and complaining, go collect money from the rest before they walk away, too!” Mira gently gave him a push.

“Now that you have enjoyed the show, why don’t you use your leaves to purchase refreshments?” he said, walking away.

“And by the way, you are banned from the next show, weirdo!”

“Hey! Leave her alone!” said a loud voice from a distance.

“Quit pestering people!”

Mira turned around and saw the little girl waving her hands in the air. The boy with the turban stuck his tongue out at Mira 67

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and skipped ahead, shaking his plastic container up and down.

The coins bounced around, jingling loudly.

Mira hurriedly walked toward the little girl who was now sitting in the shade of a tall teak tree, gulping water from a metal cup. Mira gave her a wide and warm smile.

The little girl smiled back at her.

“You are so brave! I have seen your show so many times,” Mira said with enthusiasm.

“Yes, I know. I have seen you before. What is your name?” the little girl asked.

“Mira, and what is yours?” Mira asked, still smiling warmly.

“My name is Avni. And there is nothing brave about me walking on the rope. I have been doing this since I was three years old,” Avni said while still sipping water from the cup. It feeds my family. Do you go to school?” Avni asked, looking at Mira inquisitively.

“No,” Mira said. “I used to, but I have to work too. Where do you live?”

“Under the bridge,” Avni said without any hesitation.

Mira did not know what to say. She felt sorry for her. All of a sudden, she was so grateful for having a room to live in. There was an awkward silence before Avni spoke again.

“My mother tells me that the bridge is like our rope, only much stronger and made out of concrete and stones. People and cars don’t need to balance on it. The bridge is like a kind rope that connects places,” Avni said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I asked my mother if our rope was unkind since it doesn’t connect me to anywhere. It just connects two bamboo poles. I walk on it for hours every day, but at the end, I am still right where I started. “ “Hey, leaf girl!” The boy with the turban’s voice interrupted them.

Mira and Avni both looked in his direction.

He stuck his tongue out again and laughed out loud.

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“You better pull that tongue back in before a bird comes and snatches it out of your mouth one day!” Avni yelled out loudly.

Hearing that, the little boy immediately closed his mouth and growled angrily at them.

“Don’t mind him,” Avni said, rolling her eyes. “That is my cousin. Things are not going well in his village. The extreme heat and a swarm of locusts destroyed their crops. His parents brought him to the city to earn money and one less mouth to feed. He is just angry and taking it out on other people.” Avni wiped the drops of sweat rolling down her forehead with the back of her hand.

“I need to go and douse myself with water before the next show. This heat is becoming unbearable,” she said and began to walk away.

“I will see you around.” Waving her hand, Mira said in a friendly tone. “Hey, by the way, have you ever fallen off that rope?”

Looking surprised, Avni stopped to respond to Mira’s question, “Yes, but that was a long time ago. I never fall off now.”

“Maybe your rope is kind, too, after all!” Mira said with a big smile on her face.

Avni thought for a few seconds before she resumed walking again. “I hope so.” She mumbled under her breath.

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14 Mira’s heart pounded with fear and anticipation as she approached the pond. She did not have any trouble finding the path that led to the pond. She just followed a light and cool breeze that felt so different from the stifling heat that seemed to have incapacitated all the vegetation in the woods that day. The leaves and branches did not sway or move at all. The trees stood tall and still. Mira squinted hard to see if she could spot anything unusual in the pond, but the water appeared calm and as blue as turquoise. This is the clearest water that I have ever seen in my entire life, Mira thought. It seemed the sea and river waters were getting murkier and murkier with each passing day. The water of the river that her mother washed the clothes in was almost green with a thick layer of slimy white foam from all the soap and detergent that was used. That slimy white foam clung stubbornly to the tides. It seemed like stubborn white ghosts riding on the back of the tides, and no matter how much the tides moved up and down or how hard they crushed themselves against the banks of the river, they could not get rid of those white foamy monsters created by all the dirt. Mira often thought. Sometimes, Mira would use a long wooden stick to remove that white sludge from the top of the river water, but her efforts made very little difference, and it frustrated her.

The water of the pond was mesmerizing. It was so pure and free of any impurities. As Mira stood on the edge of the pond she was filled with mixed feelings. Her fear and anticipation were 70

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replaced by disappointment. “I will never be able to see that creature again,” Mira said, sighing out loud. “But that is what you get for being a coward and running away, Mira!” she said, addressing herself in a mocking tone. “Now, you will never find out why the leaves and the trees led you here.” Saying that, she lay down on her back. To ward off the heat of the blazing sun, she covered her face with her dupata. She looked at the sun through her faded yellow scarf. The red polka dots of her scarf gave the sun the appearance of a yellow-dotted ball sitting in the middle of a vast blue background. “You look prettier dressed in red polka dots, but you are still as hot as hell,” Mira whispered as she closed her eyes. She loved the coolness of the tall green grass against her back. It felt soft and comforting, but her mind was still riddled with so many questions, and that feeling of being so disappointed in herself just got worse with each passing minute.

“I should have stayed and talked to her. But what if she would have eaten me up? But she did smile at me.” Her eyes closed, and her face still covered by her dupata, Mira continued to talk to herself. “I bet she was very hungry and had not eaten in days. I must have looked really enticing to her. Even though I am really skinny, hunger can make you very delusional. I bet she saw me as a delicious round little dumpling.” Mira tried to console herself.

“I do not eat people!” A strange voice objected.

Mira felt dozens of drops of very cold water falling on her face. She immediately opened her eyes and once again froze in fear. The creature was standing over her and staring intensely right into her eyes. Looking at the creature through her scarf, the red polka dots of her scarf shifted to the creature’s face. Her long dark hair cascaded down her shoulder, but the lopsided lotus flower was no longer clinging to the side of her hair. The greenish scales that covered one side of her face and body shone brightly under the blistering sun. Like tiny mirrors, each scale reflected the rays of the sun, making it hard for Mira to look at that side of her body. Her dark blue iris with the silvery pupil 71

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stayed glued on Mira’s face. Mira noticed that her pupils were not flickering like the night before. Mira’s body felt heavy with fear, as if someone was keeping her pinned down to the ground. This is it. This is the end of me, Mira thought, feeling helpless. This is when curiosity kills the cat. I should have stayed away. Maybe I can lay here motionless and pretend that I am dead. Mira’s head was spinning with panic. More droplets of water landed on her face from the creature’s long, drenched hair. Mira held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut. If I pretend that I am dead, she might walk away. Some animals don’t eat dead things, terror-stricken Mira concluded. But she said she did not eat people. Maybe she is vegetarian. I wish I had not sold out all of my pastries. They could have saved my life right now. I could have thrown some at her and taken off or had given it to her as a peace offering, Mira thought.

Holding her breath was getting very difficult by now.

“If you hold your breath any longer, you will pass out,” the creature spoke again. “It would be much easier to snatch an unconscious body than a conscious one. Don’t you think so?”

Removing her scarf from her face, Mira instantly sat up and took a deep long breath. The creature began to laugh. Her laughter sounded very strange. It sounded like a muffled gasping sound. If it wasn’t for her shoulders quivering and her mouth open with a big smile, one could not tell if she was laughing or gasping for air, Mira observed.

“I can’t stay out of the water for too long,” the creature said and turned around and walked toward the pond. Mira’s eyes followed her curiously. Her upper legs were fused together and only separated halfway where her knees were. The knees had flaps that moved up and down as she walked. Her feet were almost like human feet, except for the two big toes that were webbed together. Small grey scales covered the back of her feet. And with each step little flaps on her toes, opened and closed. She slowly walked into the water until her whole body was submerged up to 72

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her shoulders. Mira noticed that her silver pupil began to flicker again as soon as she got into the water.

“Wait!” Mira said while inching closer to the water. “Who are you? Why are you here in this pond? How come I never saw this pond here before? Will you live here in this pond forever? “Mira paused to take a breath. She had so many questions and didn’t want to forget to ask her each and every one of them. “And…” but before she could continue, the creature put her finger to her own lips and smiled gently. Mira immediately got quiet.

After a few moments, the creature spoke.

“Look into your pocket and see how many leaves you have left?” Instructed the creature.

“How do you know about the leaves?” Mira asked as her eyes widened with disbelief. The creature’s watchful eyes shifted to her pocket. Mira’s hair stood on the back of her neck. Without asking any more questions, she obediently put her hand in her pocket and pulled the leaves out. Arranging them neatly in the palm of her hand, she began to count out loud.

“One, two, three, four and five.” She extended her hand toward the creature so she could see it, too.

“You can only ask five questions,” the creature said, moving closer to Mira.

Mira hastily withdrew her hand and scooted backward.

The creature’s large, deep-set eyes squinted rapidly a few times, and her upward, small nose, covered in grey scales, vibrated back and forth. The florescent lines on her eyelids lit up one by one. She looked at the sun but quickly looked away. The small ripples began to appear in a slow circular motion that eventually engulfed her fully. She made a strange noise that startled Mira.

She is going to disappear again, Mira thought, panicking.

“Wait! Don’t go yet! Today, I have plenty of time. I have sold all my pastries, and I don’t have to watch Madhu either. Maa has taken her to work with her.” Mira begged.

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The creature looked up at the sun again. Mira looked up at the sun, too. It looked like a golden blazing ball that was relentlessly spewing heat, she thought. She must be hot. Mira unwrapped her scarf from around her neck and offered it to the creature.

“Here, you can cover your head with this. Doesn’t help much, but you can try. Nowadays, nothing seems to help with this heat.”

Mira complained in a resigned tone. “At least you get to live in the water. We don’t even have enough water to take a bath. Every day, I stand in a very long line to fill up my buckets with water.

We use that for everything. Cooking, bathing, and cleaning,” Mira said, looking at the creature. She seemed to be listening with eagerness.

“Does everyone live like you do?” The creature asked.

“No!” Mira said quickly. “Only poor people do. There are lots of us. Rich people have everything! Lots of water, cool homes, cars, and every rich kid gets to go to school. They don’t have to work. Things are so different in the slums. That is where I live.”

Mira said shyly. Maybe if I keep on talking to her, she will stay, she thought. There was so much Mira wanted to know about that mysterious creature. Only five questions, she looked at the leaves in the palm of her hand.

“Can I ask you one question today? Please?” Mira begged.

There was a long silence. The ripples were circling faster and faster around her. The creature began to bop up and down in the water. The small oysters hanging from her necklace swung side to side, making a jingling sound. She looked at Mira and shook her head in agreement.

“My name is Oni.” She said.

“Oni.” Mira softly repeated it. “It’s a beautiful name.” After a few seconds passed in silence before Mira spoke again. “What does it mean?”

“The Wanted One. My father had always wanted to have a girl, and he was overjoyed when I was born, so he named me Oni. “Oni’s voice trailed off. Her silver pupils stopped to flicker.

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All of a sudden, Mira noticed that her large eyes seemed very sad.

The same sadness that she had seen in her eyes the night before.

“Where is your father now?” Mira asked quietly.

“Gone.” Oni’s voice shook.

“My father is gone too!” Mira quickly said in a loud voice.

“We don’t even know where he is. One day, he just left and never came back.” Mira tried to fight her tears back. “At least you know that your father loved you. Maybe they should have named me The Unwanted One!” Mira joked in an effort to make Oni smile.

But she did not smile. An awkward silence filled the air. The white lotus flowers seemed like floating clouds in the blue water.

The pond seemed like a mirror reflecting the clouds and the sky above.

“My name means the Sea. Maa has never told me why she gave me that name,” Mira said softly. “Maybe because she loves the sea.” Mira wondered out loud, looking at Oni. She seemed very sad. Why is she so sad? Is she lost? Who and what is she?

Mira’s head was full of so many questions.

“Oni, I know your name now. But who are you?” Mira asked, smiling at Oni. “Before I answer your question, you have to release one of those leaves into the water.” Oni pointed to the leaves in Mira’s hand.

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15 Mira slid even closer to the edge of the pond. She picked a leave from the palm of her hand and then very cautiously placed the rest in her pocket. She looked at Oni. She was watching her attentively.

Oni suddenly extended her hand to Mira to take the leaf.

Water jetted out from the tip of her index finger and splashed Mira in the face. Caught off guard, Mira quickly got up to her feet and staggered backward. Her heart was racing and that sense of fear returned and her hands began to shake. Maybe she was just being nice so she could lure me in. Spooked, she took another step backward.

“I see you still don’t trust me.” Oni’s voice sounded agitated.

“You can either trust me or fear me. If you cannot trust me, then I have nothing to tell you.”

Embarrassed and confused, Mira stood a few yards away. She already said that she didn’t eat people. You are a coward, Mira, she thought angrily.

“Well, I do trust you, but I am still a little afraid of you,” Mira admitted shyly.

“It’s okay to be afraid. I am afraid of you, too. But I know that I can trust you.” Oni said, looking at Mira. “So, do you think the leaves ended up in your pocket accidentally?” Oni looked at Mira inquisitively.

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imagined it all. The leaf on her pillow was not an accident either, she thought. But why was all this happening and above all, why was she the one?

“Nature appreciates kindness, just like the rest of the living beings,” Oni spoke again. “Some people have a gift to understand nature.” She stared at Mira.

“But why me?” Bewildered, Mira asked. “I am just a poor girl who lives in the slums. I can’t even afford to go to school. What can I do?”

“A sea may be full of treasures, but you can only find them if you look for them. Otherwise, it might just stay hidden forever.

You wouldn’t know if you have a treasure inside you unless you look for it.” Oni’s voice trembled. “Nature chose you because you are kind to it. The trees led you here for a reason. Living in the slums and being poor should not define you. Kindness should!

That is your hidden treasure, your gift, Mira.”

Mira thought for a few moments before she approached Oni with small steps. She then slowly knelt down in front of her, placing the little leaf in her hand.

“And the sea is where my story begins…and it is where it might end.” Saying that, a cobalt blue teardrop hit the surface of the water with a big thud. Oni let the little leaf go in the water. As the little green leaf began to float peacefully on the surface of the water, Oni took a deep, long breath and began.

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16 “Ours was the dynasty of Hudor. Hidden deep in the heart of the colossal ocean lay the most beautiful and picturesque domain that ever existed underneath the water.” As Oni spoke, her eyes flickered brighter, and the florescent lines on her eyelids shone stronger. “The kingdom was known as the peaceful realm of the Wondrous Corrals. Peace always prevailed and the kingdom was blessed with a just and loving king adored by all. Before dying, the King’s father left his young son with a crucial piece of advice, the same advice his father had given him before his own demise.

“Our Kingdom is our safe haven. We have evolved here for millennia. This place contains the perfect elements for us to survive.” He had said. “I have sent experts to all corners of the ocean to see if there would be any other places that could provide the same elements. But there were very few and some were too far to travel. A slight change in the temperature could spell disaster for our survival. This perfect equilibrium has helped us thrive here”. He also told his son not to engage in wars in order to expand the kingdom or gain more power or riches. “Wars bring nothing but destruction. Too much power can be intoxicating, thus leading one to make irrational decisions that could cost precious lives. And peace is more valuable than any riches. Let harmony and stability be your kingdom’s most prized possession.

“He then proceeded to give the young King an ominous warning.

He sighed out loud and said, “But there will be a time when an evil entity threatens the Kingdom. It will spell nothing but 78

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disaster. It is called the Faceless Beast. You may not be able to see it, but it will definitely leave a path of horrific destruction. It will take many forms, many colors, many shades and sometimes you may not even see it. But you will definitely feel its presence.”

He then gave his son a red corral and before he could continue, he breathed his last breath. The prince was dismayed. That day, the young king couldn’t find out the importance or the reason behind the red corral, but he realized that it had to be of great significance. He couldn’t find the answer, no matter how hard he worked to uncover the reason behind the red corral.

He did not believe in living in a palace. Instead, he had built a house as modest as everyone else’s. But there was one rule that everyone living in the kingdom had to abide by. All the houses had to be built with seashells, while the roofs had to have red corrals on top.

“Why?’ Sounding intrigued, Mira interrupted.

“Patience is a virtue. Haven’t you heard that saying before?”

Oni chided. “I was just getting to that part,” she said as she continued. “The inhabitants thought that maybe the red coral warded off the evil beast and kept them safe. Hence, every house had the red corrals on their rooftops. If one looked from far away, the red corrals on rooftops seemed like a vast valley of crimson tulips underneath the water.” Oni sighed, and after pausing for a few seconds, she continued.

“The hills that surrounded the kingdom were covered by thousands of multi-colored corrals. There were rows and rows of them, zigzagging up and down the hills and reaching down the valleys. It almost seemed like a gigantic rainbow had embedded itself underneath the sea. As little kids, we loved playing hide and seek in the corral-covered valleys. There were some of us who could change their colors. Sometimes, it was impossible to spot them as they blended so perfectly. They always won. I remember once I tried very hard to hide inside the red corrals, and as I squeezed my eyes shut, I hoped that my color would change to 79

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red, but after a few minutes, I heard a chorus of loud laughter.

I opened my eyes and saw everyone circling me. I knew then I was found as green as before. That night, I begged my father to give me a potion that would give me the power to change my color to any color I wished. My father was the medicine man. His task was to make sure that every living thing in the kingdom was healthy. My father sat me down and explained to me why he was not able to do that. He said we were all born with gifts but also with limitations. “You have a gift, too, and that is your intelligence,” he said, hugging me tightly. “You use that to overcome your limitations.”

“That night, I could barely sleep. I could not wait for the game of hide and seek the next day. As soon as the game started and everyone hurriedly scattered to find a good hiding place, I found a vast patch of green coral and comfortably tucked myself in underneath it. I sat there and waited with much excitement. I saw my friends swim by me several times and ultimately failed to find me. I did win the game that day, but after that day, they all knew where to look for me in the midst of green corrals.” Oni stopped, and a faint smile spread across her face. “My beautiful home of wondrous corrals,” Oni whispered. She looked up at the sun again and let out a strange sound. The little ripples began to appear around her once again.

“Wait,” Mira said, panicking. “How will I see you again? Do I just come here and wait for you?”

“You have four more leaves left,” Oni said. “You have to let a leaf go in the pond if you want me to come to you,” Oni said. “Remember four leaves and four questions.” As soon as she said that the ripples got larger in size and began to encircle Oni. It looked like a blue wooden top with darker blue stripes spinning slowly before gaining speed, Mira thought. Children in her neighborhood often played with the brightly painted wooden tops, spinning them on the dusty ground. Mira watched as Oni was completely submerged in the water. She just sat 80

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there, motionless and deep in thought. The cool breeze slowly diminished, and small beads of sweat slowly began to fall on the back of her hand, which was resting on her lap. Mira cupped her hands and dipped them deep in the clear water. She caught the reflection of the sweltering sun in the water that quickly filled her cupped hands.

“I am holding the sun in the palm of my hands,” Mira whispered softly. “Maybe you should take a dip in the water and get a little cooler. You are scorching us all!” Mira stretched out her fingers and watched the water drain from her hands, making little bubbles as it hit the surface of the pond water. All of a sudden, a glittering little object floating in the water caught Mira’s attention. Mira stretched her body as far as she could and after a few rounds of splashing the water toward her, the little shiny object was finally within her reach. She quickly scooped it up and examined it carefully. She gasped as soon she realized that she was holding a green scale, Oni’s green scale. “Why is it falling off?” Mira whispered to herself. She put the little green scale in the palm of her hand and rolled it around a few times with the tip of her index finger. She inspected the little piece for a few moments before cautiously putting it in her pocket.

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17 On her way home, Mira bought a large chocolate bar for Madhu. After all, today, she had sold everything and was getting home earlier, too. But Mira did not feel excited. She felt anxious about going to the pond again the next day. She noticed that she obsessively put her hand in her pocket several times to make sure that the leaves were there. She paused for a few seconds each time she passed a tree, a shrub, or a bed of flowers. She touched them gently and stroked the leaves with much caution.

“You see me, and I see you,” she quietly whispered. The heat was still relentless and the smog was getting thicker and thicker. Mira could feel the asphalt under her feet getting softer. Her plastic sandals were getting too small for her, causing her toes to slip forward with each step, touching the hot asphalt. She stopped a few times to take a break and readjust her feet inside her sandals.

But if her toes stayed inside the sandals, then her heels stuck out.

I will suffer either way, Mira decided, and picked up pace as he hastened toward her home.

The narrow alley leading to her home was roaring with the sounds of kids screaming, laughing, or crying while being scolded by either parents or older siblings who were looking after the young ones. Since the schools were still closed, some of the children who did get to go to school were now left at home looking after themselves while some worked alongside their parents.

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“Hey, Mira!” a familiar voice tore through the chaos of the alley. Mira looked back and saw Yug’s little shaved head bopping up and down as he ran toward her. Mira waited patiently for Yug to finish panting and making strange noises.

“It is so hot, I think I am dying of heat exhaustion!” he said, bending down, holding his stomach, and making gurgling noises.

“Okay, Yug, that is enough,” Mira, losing her patience, growled at him. “Stop being so dramatic all the time, Yug! My feet almost melted on the way home. That is how hot the asphalt is nowadays. Do you see me doing…”

Before she could finish, Yug quickly interrupted her. “You are the strong one, my mighty Queen. Please put your hand on my bald head and bless me so I, too, could be immune from this wretched heat that is burning us all.” Yug bent down, pretending to touch Mira’s feet.

Slapping his head gently, Mira couldn’t help but giggle loudly.

“What happened to your balloons today?” Mira asked. “Sold them all? This was a good day for both of us. Someone bought all of my pastries.”

“No, Mira.” Yug’s voice trailed off as he spoke, “I didn’t sell many today. Seven of my balloons popped because of the heat. I didn’t make much money, and on top of that, when I got home, I found out that my uncle and his family are here from the village.”

“Why?” Mira asked curiously.

“Well, there was a huge flood that washed everything away!

The entire village was underwater. Somehow, they managed to survive. They clung to the roof of their hut for two days until the water receded. They are so weak and devastated. They traveled by foot all the way here since they didn’t have any money for the bus fare.”

“I feel very sorry for them,” Mira said with a heavy heart.

“My mother sent me over to ask your mother for a big favor,” Yug said. “Our room is so small and we barely fit in ourselves.

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absolutely no room for my little cousins. Can they sleep at your house, Mira?” Yug’s eyes beamed with hope.

“But you have seen how small our room is, Yug. Like your family, we barely fit in there too. It is a tiny room.” Mira tried to object, but Yug’s hopeful eyes melted her heart. He always does this to me, Mira thought. I can never say no to him.

“But Mira, it is the size of your heart that matters! Not your home!” Putting his hand on his heart, Yug smiled. “They are two little lanky kids. They will only take up as much space as two skinny Maggie noodles.”

“One day, you will become a big politician, Yug!” Laughing hard, Mira teased him. “You know how to convince people. But I will have to ask Maa first.” She added.

“No, I don’t want to be a politician, Mira. I am not a liar. They only make empty promises. Their promises are more hollow than my balloons!” Yug said, chuckling.

“Since I didn’t make much money today, I am going to help at the grocery store. They will pay me to unload the goods from the truck. We have four more mouths to feed until my uncle is able to find a job.” Yug said before sprinting as fast as his little legs could carry him. Halfway through the alley, he stopped and waved at Mira.

“Jai Ho! Thank you! I will see you in the evening, Mira!” he said and sprinted out of the narrow alley.

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18 “But I don’t want to stay here.” The little boy repeated over and over again. He whimpered and cried inconsolably.

“I will be here with you, Akash. You will sleep right next to me.” His older sister, who was probably a little younger than Mira, tried hard to console him. But he continued to sob, asking for his mother.

Mira’s mother had agreed to let the little ones sleep in their room. Mira told her mother how desolate and helpless the family was. “It will be tight, very tight, but we will somehow manage.”

Mira’s mother had decided. “Hopefully, it won’t be for too long.”

Everyone tried to make the little boy stop crying, but to no avail. All of a sudden, Mira remembered something. She quickly ran inside and returned with the chocolate bar she had bought earlier for Madhu. The little boy stopped crying and tried very hard not to smile. He inched closer and closer to Mira.

“Well, there you go, Akash,” Yug said while pushing the little boy gently forward. “You get to have a piece of chocolate if you stop and go quietly inside.”

After taking a few steps, Akash came to a halt and began to weep again. “Can we sleep on the roof of your house?” He barely managed to speak while crying. “So if it floods, we can be high up?” he begged.

“No, Akash. It is not that safe,” Mira explained softly. Because most of the houses in the slums have roofs that are made of tin sheets.”

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“It is not like your village, where houses are made out of mud bricks,” Yug interrupted. “You will fall through these roofs like a sack of potatoes! Besides, you don’t even want to deal with the city mosquitos! They are the size of helicopters and hover overhead forever until they find a landing spot on your body.

And once their gas tank is filled with your blood, they take off, leaving a welt that itches for eternity.” Yug loudly slapped the back of his neck, making a funny face.

“Did one just find a landing spot on your neck?” Akash asked while his eyes widened with fear.

“Yes,” Yug said. “I am sure it did! And if you don’t go inside and keep us standing here any longer, every bare part of my body is going to be busier than the international airport, with all the mosquitos landing and taking off!” He pushed Akash forward one more time, and hesitantly, he marched forward and stood next to his sister by the small door.

“Great,” Yug yawned loudly and waved goodbye. “Now that everything is settled, I need to get some sleep.”

That night, Madhu and Akash fell asleep soon after they finished eating at the chocolate bar. They both giggled and licked their chocolate-covered fingers.

After patting Akash’s back for a few minutes, Antara quietly sat up on the straw mat that she shared with her little brother. “I can’t go to sleep,” she said, looking terrified. “Every time I close my eyes, I feel like I am drowning in the flood waters.”

“I am not sleepy either,” Mira said. She swiftly sat up on her mat and smiled warmly at Antara. “I have so much going on in my head too. Don’t worry, we don’t have floods here in the city.

Lately, we have had these really heavy rains, but luckily, there have been no floods. Imagine what would happen if we had a flood in the slums. Everyone’s house would probably float away like little matchboxes.” Lowering her voice into a whisper, Mira continued. “Madhu is so afraid of downpours, too. Our room was once flooded because of heavy rains.”

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Hearing that, Antara let out a little scream and quickly put her hand on her hand to muffle the sound. She didn’t want to wake up her little brother.

“Great, me and my big mouth,” Mira quietly mumbled to herself. “I scared this poor girl even more.” She regretted talking about it.

“No, don’t worry! It is not the same. I have seen the floods on the TV. We don’t have one, but one of my mother’s friends who lives a few doors down from us has a color TV. I saw it once on the news.” Mira tried to comfort her. “Sometimes the rainwater might get up to your ankles, but one can still walk in it.” Hearing that, Antara let out another muffled scream.

“Maybe I should just stop talking; this is not helping at all!”

Mira mumbled to herself. Antara just sat on her mat motionless, like a statue.

Mira thought of asking her to come and sit next to her, but there was not much room to move around. The small floor of that tiny room was lined with the vertically sleeping bodies of her mother and the two little ones. Mira thought for a minute and then smiled at Antara. She pointed to the door and quietly whispered. “Let’s go out. We can’t talk here.” Antara shook her head in agreement and they both tip-toed out of the room, making sure they didn’t step on anyone.

Once outside the room, they both sat down on the ground.

The alley was dimly lit by the streetlights that had lined the road behind the crowded rows of little homes.

“First came the drought,” Antara spoke softly. Her big brown eyes fixed on Mira. Her bangs were cut slightly slanted, Mira noticed for the first time. And her small silver nose ring shone a little every time she moved her head.

“The corn field that my father worked on was always fertile.

When I was little, I loved going to the cornfield. My father always measured my height by making me stand next to the shortest cornstalk. He would then tell me that my job was to make 87

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sure that I grew as tall as that cornstalk. But even the shortest cornstalk always outgrew me in height very quickly. My father would tell me that if I wanted to catch up, then I needed to drink my milk every night. I guess that was his way of making me drink milk. When I was little, I didn’t like drinking milk at all.” Antara laughed shyly and continued. “But when the drought came, nothing grew. All of a sudden, I was always taller than the tallest cornstalks. They began to wither away. The ground in the village cracked, and there were long, scraggly gaps everywhere.

Everyone in the village prayed and prayed really hard for the rain, but the rain never arrived when we needed it. One night, when I saw my father sitting outside our hut and crying, I knew we had lost the crop and there was nothing that we could do.

Eventually, the rains arrived, but it was nothing like we had ever seen before. The clouds seemed so angry, the thunderclaps were deafening,” Antara put her hands on her ears and closed her eyes.

“What happened then?” Mira asked, already guessing the answer.

“It was early in the morning and there was a loud noise. My father ran to the door and screamed with horror. I got up and ran to the window. There it was, a giant wave, yellow in color, loud and angry, rolling toward us.” Antara moved her hand up and down like a wave and made a swishing sound. “It looked like a giant clay monster gobbling down everything in its path. There were people trying to stay afloat and some were trying to hold on to tree branches as this monster dragged them along. It was awful. I can still hear their screams. My father helped us climb up to the top of our house. We were lucky that our hut wasn’t washed away.” Antara sighed out loud. “I never want to go back to the village again,” she added.

Mira was deep in thought. She remembered the story of Bijli and the greedy prince Zayn had told her a few days earlier.

What was making the clouds in Antara’s village so angry? Mira wondered.

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“Don’t worry, you will be safe here. You don’t have to worry about floods here.” Mira tried to sound reassuring, but deep down, she wasn’t that sure. The weather has changed so much there, too, in recent months. But she didn’t want to scare Antara even more.

“My father says there is something ominous about this weather,” Antara said. “He has been working on the farm all his life since he was a little boy helping his father, and he has never seen anything like this. That is why we are going to stay here, in the city. Hopefully, he can find a job here.” As soon as Antara said that, a big moth flew right into her forehead, making her jump up and scream loudly.

“I guess it is time to go back inside,” Mira said, getting up and walking inside the little room, with Antara quickly following her.

That night, Mira struggled to fall asleep. It was too hot and humid. The little white fan failed to bring any relief from the heat and five of them sleeping so close to one another made the stuffy room even more intolerable. At least they are safe here, Mira thought, looking at their little visitors.

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19 The next morning, Mira woke up earlier than everyone else.

The thought of having to wait till the end of the day to go back to the pond kept swirling in her mind. She decided she needed to go to the pond as soon as she could. What if Oni left and she never saw her again? Mira worried. What if she never found out why Oni chose to reveal herself to her? She quickly sat up on her straw mattress and looked around. Everyone was still sound asleep.

Maa will wake up any minute, she thought, panicking. It was still dark outside, but her mother was always up before daybreak.

Upon waking up, her mother would sometimes whisper to herself, “I close my eyes in the darkness and open them in the darkness. God must have written my destiny with coal.”

Mira always pretended that she was asleep and didn’t hear her mother. With her heart heavy with sadness for her mother, she always stayed quiet, trying hard not to open her eyes. When she was younger, she kept her eyes shut and imagined God sitting at a bejeweled desk, floating on silvery clouds. She imagined him holding a big piece of coal and writing something on a big, lustrous piece of paper and handing it to her mother. That was how her teacher would hand out the students their report cards when she was able to go to school. She imagined her mother taking her destiny card and bursting into tears. Mira often felt sorry for her mother and prayed and wished that someday God might give her another destiny card, rewritten in green ink, her mother’s favorite color.

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Mira swiftly got up to her feet and tiptoed outside. She hurried toward the common bathrooms that the slum dwellers shared. Before the only two washrooms in their section of the slums, a long queue had already formed. With buckets of water in front of them and towels draped on their shoulders, young and old stood there patiently.

A line of gloomy and already-looking exhausted faces waited for their turn to use the bathrooms. Maa will definitely catch me if I wait here in this long line, Mira thought. I don’t have time. I am heading to the pond anyway. There is plenty of water there for me to wash. Excited and nervous at the same time, Mira took off toward the woods.

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20 As soon as the little leaf began to float away from the palm of her hand, Mira filled her cupped hands with the cool water of the pond and splashed her face a few times. It felt so much better than the lukewarm water they stored every day to take a bath, Mira thought. In the winter, the bucket of water would be iced cold. Madhu always cried and complained as her mother, or sometimes Mira, poured water with a plastic cup on her hair. Her little body always shuddered in the frosty air of the bathroom. At least in the summer, Madhu didn’t put up a fight about taking a bath.

Mira stared at the surface of the water in the pond. She waited anxiously as daylight was slowly making its way out of the darkness of the sky. The surrounding trees were beginning to sway gently from side to side as if they were stretching their limbs after a long night of slumber. The birds’ chirping was gently becoming audible. The leaning tall blades of grass surrounding Mira were getting more and more upright with every passing moment, as if getting ready to play a game of holding hands and keeping Mira in the center of the circle. She lovingly ran her fingers on top of the grass, stroking it gently and thoughtfully.

“If Earth had any hair, it would be this beautiful, like the green grass.” Mira said. Closing her eyes, she imagined the earth with her mother’s hair. A long braid extending past her waist. Then, she imagined the earth with two little pigtails, like Madhu’s. She laughed out loudly. “I think the earth would look much better 92

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with neatly trimmed hair.” Mira looked at the grass and gently ran her hand again on top of its tall blades, like the lawns of the rich people who lived in big houses with immaculate landscapes and exotic flowerbeds. Mira remembered the day she had seen a lawn mower for the first time. She was terrified as she saw the lawnmower zigzagging and chomping down the grass. Mira had burst out in tears, begging her mother to have the gardener stop mowing the grass. “He is hurting them.” She said it between sniffles and rubbing her eyes with her little hands. “Does it hurt when I cut your hair?” Her mother asked while gently wiping her tears with her hands.

“No,” Mira said, taking a deep breath.

“So that is how the grass feels. It is just like hair. It doesn’t hurt when you cut it. And it always grows back.” Her mother reassured her.

Mira hugged her mother’s head tightly and kissed her with happiness.

“You silly girl.” Her mother laughed out aloud.

I will be in huge trouble when Maa finds out that I snuck out of the house, Mira worried.

“Not everyone sympathizes with nature.” Oni’s voice startled Mira. She was in such a deep thought that she never heard Oni emerge from the water. Her heart beat with excitement and anticipation. All the worries about any punishment from her mother for sneaking out of the house evaporated with Oni’s arrival. Mira quickly scooted up to the edge of the pond. How did she know what I was thinking, Mira wondered. While kneeling down, she got so close to the edge of the pond that she felt the water touching her knees. Oni’s dark hair cascaded over her shoulder. Her eyelid flickered brightly. Her green scales caught the light of the ascending dawn and scattered it around like a crystal sun catcher. Surrounded by the yellow and white lotus flowers, Oni gently stroked the slowly opening petals with the tip of her fingers. Mira couldn’t take her eyes off Oni’s mysterious 93

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and exotic appearance. Her necklace of oysters jingled softly as the closely strung small oyster shells swung side by side. Are there pearls inside those oysters? Why is she not wearing a pearl necklace instead of those pearls still hidden inside those shells?

Mira wondered.

“I snuck out of the house this morning.” Mira suddenly blurted out. “I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to see you again.” She smiled bashfully at Oni. She then proceeded to tell Oni the story of their little visitors, the floods, and droughts that had befallen a number of villages.

Oni listened quietly. She seemed very stoic and sad. Her pupils flickered more and more dimly with each passing moment. The corners of her small upward mouth appeared to curve downward, making her look sorrowful, Mira thought. She immediately regretted telling Oni about it.

“Why do you wear an oyster necklace instead of one with pearls?” Trying to divert Oni’s attention, Mira asked softly. “I have seen pictures of princesses wearing gold and pearl jewelry, but I have never seen one wearing oysters.”

A faint smile covered Oni’s face. “Did you know that not all oysters have pearls in them?” Oni asked. She looked at Mira and continued. “They are more valuable to me than what might lie inside them. Did you know that seashells purify the water?”

She probably thinks that I am stupid, Mira thought. Well, maybe that is what happens if one doesn’t go to school. Feeling embarrassed, Mira lowered her head, trying not to look at Oni. “They might turn a spec of sand into a beautiful jewel, but they are as vulnerable as we all are,” Oni said. “They are my friends. They make me feel less lonely,” Oni said, lifting up her left arm from underneath the water and lovingly rubbing the shiny shells of the little oysters.

Mira noticed a red corral bracelet on Oni’s wrist, “The Kingdom of Wondrous Corrals,” Mira whispered.

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It was almost daylight. The forest was fully awake as some of the birds flew out of the dense leaves of the trees in search of food, others just perched on the branches singing sweet melodies.

Pulling her legs close to her chest, Mira rested her chin on her knees.

“Do you miss your home?” Mira asked. “What happened to the Kingdom of the Wondrous Corrals?”

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21 A dark-blue, crystal-like tear hit the surface of the water with a muffled thud again. Oni’s pupils stopped flickering. A cloud of sadness covered her face. She stared at her reflection in the water for a few minutes. She gently stroked the red corral bracelet and, after taking a deep sigh, she began. “It all happened gradually at first,” Oni said. “There were signs that something ominous was about to happen. One day, when I got home, I saw my father examining what seemed to be an ailing seahorse. When we played hide and seek in the coral reefs, the seahorses were the hardest to spot. They camouflaged so well with their surroundings that it was almost impossible to find them. I was always so jealous of them, but I also admired them greatly since I was a little girl.” Oni smiled shyly and continued, “But that little seahorse had lost its ability to change its color. My father told me that, just like us, the seahorses were very dependent on their habitat.

They, like all of us, have an upper thermal limit, and something in the ecosystem was affecting them. He was worried as that was very alarming. More and more of them were falling prey to the predators scouring the waters for food. Most of the sea animals began to migrate as the ocean floor became warmer with each passing day. One day, early in the morning, the King summoned my father to his home. We all waited anxiously for his return.”

“And he never came home,” Mira interrupted suddenly, “Just like my father, right?”

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Her big eyes were glued to Oni’s face, and her dark eyebrows were half raised.

“No, Mira.” Oni said, “He did. I am sorry that your father left you, but maybe a tragedy befell him. Sometimes, we may never find an answer to a question, a reason to a cause, or a solution to a mystery.” Oni sighed and looked at Mira tenderly. “Sometimes people make mistakes.”

“I guess I will never find out.” Mira brought her knees closer to her chest and rubbed her eyes quickly on her shirt. She didn’t want Oni to see the tears that were filling her eyes. “Why did the King summon your father?” Mira asked quietly.

“I will never forget the look on my father’s face when he returned,” Oni’s voice trembled. “He seemed frightened. He asked my mother to gather us all promptly so he could examine us. As we gathered all around him, he proceeded to tell us that he saw something that could be the onset of a horrible disease.

The king was in distress and visibly shaken. Two of the scales on the King’s body had fallen off. He was worried that very soon, that could happen to all of us. He lined us all up and examined us thoroughly, one by one. He was relieved when none of us had any missing scales.”

Mira gasped aloud. She put her hand in her pocket and gently squeezed the two little green scales that she had found floating in the water. She stared at Oni’s face, the side that was not covered by scales. So, that is not how she was supposed to be. Those scales had fallen off. Mira’s heart sank with sadness.

Oni caught Mira’s wide-eyed stare at her face. “Yes, this is not how I was born.” She said almost in a whisper.

“You are still so beautiful!” Mira shouted out loud, “You are more beautiful than any Mermaid pictures that I have ever seen.

Here!” She dug her hand in her pocket and took the two little green scales out. Spreading her fingers out, she stretched her arm toward Oni. “I found these in the water yesterday. We can fix this, Oni. I have a very strong glue at home. Maa has repaired our 97

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old fan’s broken blades with that before. It makes a lot of noise but works fine. We can glue these back on.” Her voice quavering, Mira attempted to sound reassuring.

“Once they fall off, they are no longer of any use to me.” Oni’s pupils flickered dimly.

“But…” Mira tried to reason with her, but she stopped herself. Deep down, she knew that Oni was right. Something was terribly wrong. She cast her eyes down and solemnly stared at her toes. What if I ever got sick and lost my toenails? Mira wondered. Would I be able to glue them back on? That was so dumb. Now, Oni probably thinks that I am such a dumb girl. This is so embarrassing. Mira continued to gaze downwards.

“My father tried every potion and treatment but to no avail.” Oni continued in a somber tone. “The King’s health was deteriorating. Soon after, more and more of us began to show the same symptoms. My father was tirelessly working day and night.

He was in search of a cure. However, it was like a race against time, and it seemed like we were losing that race. But what we didn’t know was that a bigger disaster was lurking around, and what we were dealing with was just the beginning of a much more horrific event.” Oni stopped suddenly and looked up at the sky.

Mira followed her gaze and noticed black clouds slowly moving in. Like dark plumes of smoke, they puffed ahead slowly. The sun that was just shining not too long ago seemed to be struggling to outrun those gathering clouds. Mira heard a shuffling sound right behind her. She quickly turned around. There was nothing but green grass and tall trees for as far as her eyes could see.

“It seems like there is going to be another storm.” Mira tried to reassure Oni. “At least the sun is not too hot when hidden under those clouds.” Mira scooted even closer to the edge of the water.

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something very ominous about their homes. Every red corral on the rooftops had turned white. The King’s father had warned us of some evil that would one day wreak havoc and displace everyone. The King ordered us to promptly swim to the coral reefs that surrounded the kingdom and report any changes.

Once we arrived there, we were struck by what we found. The corrals had all turned white. The stunning, colorful corrals were now reduced to ghostly white mounts as if someone had spilled buckets and buckets of white paint all over them. We cried in disbelief as we stood there. The Kingdom of the Wondrous Corrals was no longer that magical place that we called home.

I swam closer to the reef. I remembered all the hide-and-seek games that I once played there. I remembered wishing that I could have changed color to hide better, but now all the colors had evaporated. Everything began to change so rapidly after that. The ocean floor was getting hotter and hotter. Everything became so unpredictable. We desperately moved from one end of the kingdom to the other end in search of some relief, but our suffering followed us wherever we went. The King was certain that this was the invisible monster that his father had warned him about. To me, this was the beast that stole the colors from our corrals. This was the beast that was stripping us off of our scales. One by one, it robbed us of everything. But that monster was not planning to stay faceless for too long. It was going to come out roaring one day and destroy what was left of our kingdom.” Oni took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Mira’s heart was feeling heavy as she tried hard to conceal her tears by resting her forehead on her knees. She imagined a magical realm that was so full of vibrant colors reduced to a ghostly white patch of land under the sea. She imagined all the red corrals erected on top of each house turning white like someone was switching off the lights one by one, turning everything grey and dreary. A bee buzzed by Mira’s ear. She quickly lifted up her head and swatted at it. She remembered the bees from Zayn’s story. I wonder if there 99

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are sea bees? she thought. She felt sorry for all the living things under the sea. And I thought things are so bad here, she thought.

Maybe, one day, that monster will come for us too. That thought sent a chill down her spine.

“What did that beast look like, Oni?’ Mira asked, feeling frightened.

“As the water got hotter and hotter, small holes began to slowly appear in the seabed.” Oni continued. “Soon after they appeared, a red steam began to come out of those holes. The steam was so hot, and it had a strange smell to it. It was as if some force was drilling holes from underneath the seabed. It felt like some evil force was trying to make its way into our kingdom through those holes. More of us began to fall sick. Our food sources were diminishing. Even though we were so petrified of getting close to those mysterious holes, we did try to fill them in with whatever we could find. But soon, too many of them opened up everywhere. And the ones that we had covered would begin to open up again.”

“But why didn’t you escape, Oni?” Mira couldn’t help but interrupt again. “Everyone could have gone to a different part of the ocean. Somewhere safe,” she said, quickly wiping her tears. She imagined Oni and her family huddled together and surrounded by those oozing holes.

“We had lived in that part of the ocean for hundreds of years,” Oni said. “That was the part that offered the perfect climate for our survival. Not everyone can flourish in the same climate. We may be able to survive for a while, but not for too long,” Oni said, running her fingers gently on her scales. “Imagine if it stormed here every day,” saying that Oni pointed to the sky.

Mira looked up. She was so focused on Oni’s story that she didn’t notice that the sky had become much darker than a few moments ago. There was an eeriness about those dark clouds, Mira shuddered. Even more birds were perched up on tree branches. Maybe I should run home before it starts to rain, Mira 100

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wondered, but she knew that she couldn’t. She wanted to know more about Oni and why she had revealed herself to her.

“If it rained here all the time, or it was unbearably hot or cold, no one would be able to survive.” Oni looked at Mira.

“It is already too hot here!” Mira whispered. “Yug’s balloons popped in the heat. If he can’t sell his balloons, he can’t earn money. I can’t bear the heat either when I am out on the streets selling my pastries. Madhu’s school is closed. Avni has a hard time walking on the rope. It has to be even hotter when you are up on that rope.”

“Why does she walk on a rope?” Oni asked, sounding astounded.

Mira told Oni all about little Avni. She even told her what Avni had told her about always walking on a rope that never took her anywhere.

Oni listened intently. She fell silent before asking. “Do you know what Avni means?”

“No,” Mira quickly responded, surprised by Oni’s question.

“It means earth. I feel just like Avni, the earth is doing a balancing act, too.” Barely audible, Oni said under her breath.

The florescent lines on her eyelids stopped shining. Her pupils shrank in size and another cobalt blue tear hit the surface of the pond with a very loud thud. Her eyes seemed sad. She is such a sorrowful creature. Mira’s heart ached for her.

“Well, that is what happened to us,” Oni said. “We were stuck in a balancing act of survival. Many of us who had left didn’t survive in the other parts of the ocean. It felt like we were being surrounded by those steaming holes, and they were closing in on us. I will never forget the day that monster finally crawled out of those holes. We heard an earsplitting noise that was followed by a thunderous roar. We looked out and there it was. A crushing wave, but it was not water. It was a red slime. It rolled forward with much force. Everything in its track got stuck to it. With every plunge forward, it uprooted everything in its way. It was 101

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like a gigantic magnetic ball that collected everything in its path.

I saw bodies, fishes, seaweeds, and corrals stuck to it. With each roll, it became more and more monstrous. It was so hot. It felt like the sun had crashed into the ocean. We swam out of our houses as fast as we could. But for some of us, it was already too late. The water became murky so rapidly. It was like a sandstorm under the sea. I could barely see. I screamed for my mother and father as loud as I could, but every scream was muffled. It was as if that thing was not only attracting everything in its track but also absorbing every sound and scream. I began to feel dizzy. I could hardly breathe and the faster I wanted to swim away, the slower I could move. Everything was turning grey. The sea floor began to vibrate violently. The embedded rocks became loose and were thrown around with each jolt. The last thing I remember was being on a collision course with a grey object flying toward me.

I tried to avoid it, but I was too lethargic to move away from its path.”

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22 Mira gulped loudly. She covered her mouth with both hands.

She imagined Oni unconscious and drifting away. Away from her family, away from her home, away from her beautiful corrals that had now turned ghostly white. She had lost everything. She would have been so horrified, Mira thought. All of a sudden, Mira sprang up to her feet and without any hesitation, she jumped into the pond with a loud splash and into Oni’s arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around Oni’s neck and rested her head on her shoulder.

“I still can’t swim very well,” Mira whispered, her heart pounding with fear.

For the first few moments, Mira’s reaction surprised and shocked Oni. She didn’t know how to react. Her arms were hanging down by her side, and still submerged in the water, Oni didn’t move. She could feel Mira’s warm breath on her face and her pounding heart on her chest.

“I am so sorry, Oni, you lost everything,” Mira said softly.

“But I can be your friend forever. I will bring you the root of the Sandalwood tree. It heals a lot of diseases. I will bring you medicine too. Maa has lots of ointments. Her hands are always cracked and dry from washing clothes, and sometimes, she burns her hands while frying samosas. Those ointments always make her feel better. I will bring you some tomorrow so your scales won’t fall off anymore.” Mira gently stroked Oni’s scales. They are so soft and smooth, she thought. Being there, in the water, she 103

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didn’t feel afraid at all. She is not going to hurt me, she thought.

She chose me. She trusts me.

Oni slowly lifted up her arms from underneath the water. She held them up for a few seconds and then slowly and hesitantly wrapped them around Mira. She closed her eyes. The fluorescent green lines on her eyelids began to shine brightly. The corners of her lips vibrated a few times before stretching her lips into a wide smile. She relived all the hugs that she had ever received since she was old enough to remember. Mira’s hug had triggered that part of her memory that stored those moments. It was like pushing a rewind button. Those moments came to life again.

She saw herself hugging her father, her mother, her siblings, and her friends. Every hug was alive again. Once again, she felt the comfort, warmth, and happiness that those loving embraces had brought her. It felt so incredibly good to have someone, to have a friend, Oni thought. But she knew that the time was not on her side and they belonged to different worlds. She hated the world that Mira belonged to. She blamed her world for the demise of her kingdom, her world, and her family. Oni knew where that destructive force was born. That beastly force that kept on haunting her day and night was created by her species. Still holding tight to Mira, Oni moved close to the edge of the pond.

She gently slipped her hands under Mira’s arms, lifting her up, and put her down on the grass. Mira noticed a few green scales stuck to her dress. Panicking, she looked at Oni. “This is inevitable,” Oni said. “There is nothing that can help me now. Neither the root of the sandalwood tree nor any ointments can reverse what is already happening inside me.

And we can’t glue them back on.” Oni tried to smile, but nothing could hide that grief and hopelessness, not even a fake smile, Mira thought. As Mira carefully picked each little green scale from her shirt and placed them in her pocket, she tried hard not to cry.

She felt helpless. Oni was sick, but there was nothing she could do to help her.

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“Wasn’t there anyone who could slay that monster?” Mira asked as tears were quickly pooling up in her eyes. “I have heard so many stories of the brave knights and princes who always overcame the beasts and dragons. They invite them to a fight, drawing out their swords. They defend the innocent.” Mira raised her arm high and waved it back and forth. “And in a blink of an eye, the good guy defeats the bad guy!”

“That happens only in fairy tales.” Oni sounded bitter.

“Yes, my mother doesn’t believe in fairytales either.” Mira quickly agreed. Nobody came to her rescue, she thought. “She says if one spends too much time in a make-believe world, they will eventually forget the reality of their life. And poor people like us can’t afford to forget the reality that we are in every day.

Sometimes, I don’t understand what she means, but I do like to dream of a better life. If you don’t dream, then how can you make it real?”

“That’s right. Nothing should stop you from dreaming or wanting a better life. But on that day, even a knight, a prince, or a magic wand from a fairytale could not have saved us,” Oni said, shaking her head.

“Why?” Mira asked.

“Because you can’t kill a shadow when the beast casting the shadow walks right here, on earth, on the land!” All of a sudden, Oni’s voice was filled with anger. Her pupils flickered faster and faster. “We could fight a shark, push a whale away, or ward off any attack that was brought on by what lived under the sea. But not when that monster is created in a place that is so unreachable.”

Mira yelped with fear and shock. Here? What and who could have created that beast? She wondered. And where is that beast now? She could see the goosebumps on her arms. There was silence. Mira looked around furtively. Is that monster lurking around here somewhere? What if I can’t see it either until it is too late? she thought, feeling frightened. All of a sudden, she missed her mother, Madhu and their little yellow room. She 105

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hates humans. If she thinks that monster was created here, then she will blame us. All of a sudden, a loud thunderclap filled the air. The ground shook. The calm surface of the pond began to get agitated by huge ripples. Mira screamed loudly. She dragged herself backward a few inches, tucking her feet under her and away from the water.

Oni looked up at the sky. Her eyes widened with fear. The sky was getting darker and the clouds were hiding the sun. She looked at the lotus flowers. They had begun to close their petals.

That was so strange. Mira noticed. They usually closed their petals at night. There was a strange noise coming from the direction of tree lines that surrounded the pond. A swarm of birds were flying into the branches and huddling together on the tree limbs. Mira looked at the tall blades of the grass. They were beginning to bend down, their tips almost touching the ground.

“What is happening?” Mira looked at Oni helplessly.

“I don’t have much time, Mira.” Oni sounded panicked. “Your world and my world are intertwined. What is happening here on the land is affecting us and what is going on in my world is affecting you. You may not be able to witness what is happening in my world, but one day, the world may not be able to unsee it. When people of our kingdom begged my father for a cure, he cried. He told them that he was helpless. He couldn’t fight a shadow when the entity casting the shadow was so incredibly far out of his reach. I chose you because you have a gift, Mira. You have a bond with nature that is remarkable.” But before Oni could finish, another loud boom of a thunderclap filled the air, but this was much louder and the ground shook underneath Mira’s feet.

Mira gasped, covering her ears with her hands as she saw a thick bolt of lightning descending from the grey clouds and coiling itself around a tree, setting it ablaze.

“Mira, run! Go home before this storm gets worse!” Oni shouted.

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“No!” Mira shouted louder. “What will happen to you, Oni?” Her voice quivering, she asked.

Oni swam closer to the edge of the pond, hoisted her body on her elbows and gently grabbed Mira by her wrists.

“I am in a race against time, and so is your world,” Oni said, her eyes focused on Mira. “I have lost everything. The worst has already happened to me, to us.” Emphasizing us, Oni quickly corrected herself. “We don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”

“Are there more of you?” Sounding astounded, Mira interrupted. She hurriedly scanned the pond with her eyes.

But the only thing that she could see was the reflection of the burning tree on the surface of the water and the small drops of rain hitting it with a muffled thud.

“Nature is not as voiceless as it appears,” Oni said in a distressed voice, “It does strike back. It will unleash its wrath when pushed too far. That monster that is responsible for the destruction of my home will never stop. You have …” Before Oni could finish, the deafening sound of another thunderclap filled the air. Sinking her voice. A strong gust of wind took Mira’s breath away. Another bolt of lightning hitting the ground made an explosive sound before the small raindrops turned into torrential rain. Mira struggled to keep her eyes open as the large drops of rain slamming against her face made it hard for her to do so. Mira could feel Oni’s hands being lifted from her wrists.

“No, Oni!” Mira screamed. Oni slipped something cold and smooth between Mira’s hands before slowly moving away from Mira.

“It is no longer safe here. You need to leave now!” Oni yelled.

“Go now!”

“But when can I see you again, Oni?” Mira shouted.

A thick curtain of rain distorted Mira’s vision. She tried to get up on her feet, but a strong gust of wind knocked her down with much force. When she was finally able to get back on her feet, the torrential rain turned the tranquil surface of the pond into a 107

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misty and agitated body of water. Wiping her face with her hand, Mira tried to focus as hard as she could, but there were no signs of Oni. She screamed her name so loud that she could feel her throat burn, but that thunderous storm was much louder. The crackling sounds of a breaking tree branch filled Mira with fear.

She began to run as fast as her legs could carry her. The ground underneath her feet was getting slicker as the rain poured harder and harder, and the sound of the breaking tree branches made her heart race. At times, the wind was so strong that with each powerful gust, Mira lost her balance, knocking her down to the ground. But with each fall, Mira still kept her fingers wrapped tightly around whatever Oni had slipped into her hand. She was too afraid to open her fist. She didn’t want to lose what was in there.

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23 Madhu obediently sat in the corridor of the house while her mother scrubbed the marble floor with an old towel. Dipping it in the bucket of water every now and then and wringing it as hard as she could. Madhu watched the marble floor shine brighter with each stroke and the water in the plastic bucket turned murkier every time her mother dipped the old towel in it. She looked at her mother’s puffy eyes and her heart sank with sadness. When she woke up that morning, Mira was not there.

Panicking, her mother rushed to Yug’s house with crying Madhu in tow. But Yug had not seen Mira either.

“Has someone stolen her?” Madhu asked her mother, wiping her tears with the back of her hands.

“No, Madhu. Maybe she had something to do.” Her mother’s voice trembled. “I am sure she will be back soon.”

“Are we going to look for her?” asked Madhu.

“Yes, but first, I have to clean the house. If I am not there on time, they will fire me.” Her mother’s eyes filled with tears.

During the monsoon season, her mother cleaned houses twice a week. She couldn’t wash clothes every day due to the rain, and if she didn’t work, they wouldn’t have enough money for food.

“You have to come along, Madhu. If they allow you to come inside, then just sit in a corner and be very quiet.” Her mother warned her.

“But what about Mira?” Madhu said and burst into tears again.

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“Yug will look for her until we get back.” Her mother said reassuringly. “And as soon as I am done with cleaning, you and I will go looking for Mira.” After wiping Madhu’s face with her scarf, her mother grabbed her hand and began to walk hastily.

While Madhu struggled to keep up with her mother’s quick pace, she watched her cry softly all the way to that house. The lady of the house allowed Madhu to come inside and gave her two slices of bread with butter and sugar sprinkled on top. After folding one slice of bread, she cautiously put it in her pocket. She didn’t want any of the sugar to fall off of it. “Mira loves sugar,” she whispered to herself. She took a big bite of the bread, making a hole right in the middle of the square slice. Through the hole in the bread, she watched her mother and the bucket of water move farther and farther down the hallway until she turned around the corner, disappearing from her circular view. She then moved the slice of bread upwards towards the ceiling light. Framing each and every dangling crystal ball in the hole of that slice of bread.

She counted them in a whisper.

“Madhu! What are you doing?” Startled by her mother’s voice, Madhu dropped the bread in her lap.

“You better eat that quickly! And if I see a single crumb on the floor, you will get in a lot of trouble!” Her mother scolded her.

“This house has a big floor,” Madhu complained. “When will you finish so we can go and look for Mira.”

“Madhu, you better sit quietly…” Madhu’s mother was interrupted by a deafening sound of a thunderclap.

Madhu froze in fear. It even shook the house. Her mother walked over to the big window and looked out. She stood there silently for a few moments before she spoke.

“Get up, Madhu! We are leaving now!” Putting down the bucket of dirty water, she tossed the piece of cloth on the floor.

“Let’s go!”

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Madhu hid nervously behind her mother as the house owner scolded her mother for wanting to leave early without finishing her chores. Madhu’s mother tried to explain, but she refused to listen.

“You will not get paid for today at all!” She hissed at her.

“But I have scrubbed the floors! It has taken me hours just to clean the floors.” She pleaded.

“You get paid by the day, not by the hour!” the homeowner said loudly, squinting her eyes.

“Don’t be mean to my mother!” Madhu kicked the water bucket as hard as she could.

“Madhu, no!” her mother screamed in disbelief as the water covered the floor of the hallway.

“You little brat!” the lady shouted, grabbing Madhu by her arm.

“Don’t you dare touch my child!” Madhu’s mother said through clenched teeth, staring the lady directly in the eyes. The lady took a few steps back. Madhu’s mother swiftly picked up Madhu and ran to the door.

As Madhu and her mother hastily slipped their feet into their shoes, the lady slammed the door shut behind them.

A big bolt of lightning lit up the sky. Madhu looked up at the dark clouds hovering overhead. A big drop of rain hit her forehead before it was joined by many more descending from the dark clouds.

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24 “I can do this!” with her arms tightly looped around a small tree trunk, Mira mumbled to herself. After being whisked around a few times by the torrential rain combined with the strong gusts of wind, she needed to stop for a few minutes. The rain was falling down much quicker than the ground could absorb it, leaving big puddles of water everywhere. Mira closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the smooth trunk of the tree. She wanted to shut out the fear of what was going on around her. She feared going home and explaining to her mother where she had been, but even more than that, she feared the leaky roof of their room. She was certain that by now, those buckets and bowls that were placed under the leaking parts of the roof overflowed with the rainwater.

“It is all my fault,” she mumbled to herself. In spite of keeping her eyes shut, she felt like she could still see the bright bolts of lightning hitting the ground. The thunderous roar of the storm rocked the trees violently from side to side. Minutes elapsed before Mira opened her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she slowly loosened her grip around the tree trunk. From behind the thick wall of the rain, the trees seemed like grey shredded pieces of cloth blown around by the strong wind. With her heart frightfully thumping, Mira let go of the tree and sprinted as fast as she could. Her heart filled with sadness every time she heard the distant sound of the tree branches breaking. As she ran, she noticed more and more tree limbs scattered on the ground. She thought about her favorite sandalwood tree. Would it be strong enough to withstand 112

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this violent rainstorm, Mira wondered. Her tears, rolling down her cheeks, quickly merged with the raindrops and trickled down her neck. The heavier the downpour got, the harder it was to see ahead. She desperately wiped her eyes with her hands even though she knew that it didn’t help at all. While that thick wall of rain stubbornly blocked her view, the strong blast of wind took her breath away. At times, she felt like the wind was going to carry her away. Every now and then, she grabbed a low-hanging tree branch and held on to it for a few moments before hesitantly letting it go as she tried to find her way out of the woods. The rapidly rising water now reached up to her ankles.

“Am I even going in the right direction?” Mira whispered to herself. Overwhelmed with fear and uncertainty, Mira froze in her tracks. The loud booms of thunder and the brightness of the lightning assailed her senses. She covered her ears with her hands and squeezed her eyes closed. She crouched down on the ground, hiding her face between her knees, and she began to sob loudly. The wind and rain whipped the back of her head and neck mercilessly, pushing her body in different directions. Afraid that the wind would lift her up, Mira curled her toes and dug them hard in the mud.

“You have a special bond with nature.” Oni’s voice echoed in her ears.

“Yes, but now it seems like it is going to kill me!” Mira mumbled to herself, her head still tucked in between her knees.

“And I am sure it is flooding our room, too!” Mira added bitterly.

“I just want to be home with Maa and Madhu!” Mira said between sniffles. All of a sudden, something brushed against the nape of her neck. Startled, Mira quickly swatted at it. Nervously, she turned her head and opened her eyes. She sighed with relief as she realized that it was just a long tree branch swinging in the wind. But something glowing inside the tree branches caught her eyes. To get a closer look, Mira, scooting up on her knees, moved closer. She smiled with excitement as she realized that it 113

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was a little firefly nestled in between the thick branches of the tree. As the leaves were being fanned violently by the storm, the lone firefly’s glow shone intermittently through the thick wall of water. It seemed like the little firefly was not affected by the gusty wind. That was odd. While Mira struggled to keep her eyes open under the heavy downpour, she watched the little glowing dot descend lower and lower. Holding on to the trunk of the tree, Mira pulled herself up. She looked up again, but the little firefly was not there. She swiped her hair away from her face and tried to focus harder. But the little glowing dot had disappeared as if it melted away in the rain. The wind blew it away, she thought sadly.

But all of a sudden, she spotted a little glowing dot a few feet away, again inside the thick leaves of another tree. Mira’s heart began to pound with excitement. She gathered all her strength and ran to the tree with the glowing dot. She looked up at the little firefly and screamed as loud as she could.

“Yes! I can see you! I will follow you!” Screaming as loud as she could, she shielded her eyes from the rain with her hand and looked ahead. And there it was, the little glowing speck shone faintly inside another tree. “I need to get home to Maa and Madhu,” Mira mumbled to herself, determined.

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25 “Maa, please slow down!” Madhu begged loudly as she pulled on her mother’s soaking-wet kameez. But her mother continued to walk very fast, almost running and splashing water around with each wide step. She can’t hear me, Madhu thought.

Everything was so loud. The thunderclap, the rain, people, and engines of cars and rickshaws had come to a crawling pace, with the water quickly rising everywhere. Frustrated by not being heard, Madhu put both hands on her ears and stood still in the middle of the busy sidewalk. She pressed the palms of her hands on her ears as hard as she could and continued pressing them until she blocked all the noise out. The rainwater rolled over her forehead and eyelashes and dripped down her nose and chin.

She watched with fear as thick bolts of lightning lit up the dark grey sky.

People bumped into her as everyone was trying to either run home or take shelter under the stores’ awnings that stretched alongside the road. Madhu stood still. She could hear the rapid sound of her heart beating frantically. She watched her mother’s green kameez moving farther and farther away from her. A few people pushed her and gave her dirty looks. A few women angrily waved their fingers at her while saying something to her. Madhu just watched as their mouths moved without any sound. She looked at the cars stuck in traffic. Madhu spotted a girl with a red shirt and long ponytails inside a silver car. She was staring at her.

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with her hands still covering her ears. For a moment, she closed her eyes. She imagined being in that car. Her clothes were dry.

Her hair was neatly braided with two sparkling boughs hanging from the ends. She was not afraid. Through the car window, she was the one who was looking at everyone running from the storm in search of shelter.

“What do you think you are doing?” An angry sound pierced through her silence-filled bubble as someone forcefully pulled her hands down from her ears. The silence melted away in the loud thuds of the raindrops. She opened her eyes and saw her mother standing in front of her. She grabbed her arm and pulled her hard.

“What on earth do you think you are doing? Standing here on the sidewalk and covering your ears, Madhu! We need to find Mira! And you are slowing us down,” she scolded her.

“I am scared.” Madhu managed to get those words out before bursting into tears.

Her mother lifted up her chin with her hand and stared into her eyes.

“I am scared too. I have never seen a storm like this before.

The wind is getting worse. We need to keep on moving,” she said.

“If you let fear stop you from moving forward, then you will be standing in one spot all your life. You are not alone. I am right here with you,” her mother said. She picked her up and kissed the top of her head. Madhu put her head on her shoulder, and from the corner of her eye, she glanced at the girl in the silver car. She was still watching them through the now slightly foggedup window of her car. Madhu lifted up her head and stuck her tongue out at her.

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26 “Mira!” Someone’s voice shouting her name brought instant relief to Mira. She looked up at the tree up above and saw the little firefly flickering faintly a few times before it disappeared within the thick and fluttering green leaves of the tree.

“Thank you!” Mira mumbled. She then took off running toward the voice. She yelled “Here!” as loud as she could. After a few minutes, she noticed three gray silhouettes walking toward her.

“Mira!” the voice got so much closer. Mira cried with happiness as she recognized her mother’s voice. Despite the constant whiplash of the wind and rain, her fears dissipated, and a sense of calm slowly crept through her body. With each step, as she came closer to those shadows, the heaviness from her heart was being lifted.

“Maa!” Mira threw herself into her mother’s arms. “I am sorry for leaving the house without telling you!” Sobbing and hugging her mother tightly, Mira barely managed to get those words out.

“Are you okay?” Mira’s mother asked, cupping her face between her hands.

“Yes,” Mira said quickly.

“Don’t you ever do this again, Mira!” Madhu hugged Mira with excitement.

“We need to turn around now! It is getting…” A strong gust of wind took Yug’s breath away, not letting him finish what he 117

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was going to say. Mira’s mother grabbed his arm in one hand, and with the other hand, she firmly held onto Madhu’s hand.

“Hold on to my dupata,” she said, looking at Mira. After what felt like an eternity of fighting the wind and torrential rains, they finally made their way out of the woods.

Mira’s mother stood on the sidewalk, still holding onto Yug and Madhu’s hands. Mira rested her head on her mother’s arm.

They all looked in horror as the water flowed rapidly on the road in front of them.

“What is going on?” Yug’s voice was barely audible. “If this rain doesn’t stop, our homes will float away.” He looked at Mira with worry.

Mira clenched her fists. Her left hand was still holding onto what Oni had given her. Her fingers still wrapped firmly around it. Her hand hurt and her little finger stung terribly. She opened her fist slowly. There in her palm sat a little oyster from Oni’s necklace.

“What is that?” Yug stretched his neck and looked at it with eagerness.

“Nothing!” Mira quickly closed her fist. “Maybe, one day, I will tell you all about it.”

“If I had not seen you venturing into those woods before, no one would have known that you were there,” Yug groaned with frustration.

“I know, Yug. Thank you. I will always be grateful to you.”

Mira said affectionately, hugging Yug. By the time they made it to the slums, the standing water was everywhere. Trash was floating on top of the fast-moving water.

“They are set free and now running away from the narrow little alleys of the slums,” Mira whispered to herself. She saw plastic bags twirling around in the water. Even though they were being violently pelted by the heavy rain, they still managed to float on top. They know how to swim, Mira thought as she watched them 118

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drifting by her. “I wish I could float on top of the water like a plastic bag,” Mira whispered to herself.

The stench that preceded the piles of trash carried by the murky water was getting unbearable. Madhu’s head was bobbing up and down on her mother’s shoulder and her skinny legs were tightly coiled around her mother’s hips. She was squeezing her eyes shut and every now and then, she would open her eyes and look at Mira, making sure she was still following behind.

The wind was beginning to diminish a little, with its gusts not pushing Mira with the force it did before.

“I guess the wind gets tired, too,” Mira mumbled. “I wish the clouds would forever run out of water,” Mira said bitterly, looking up above at the dark grey sky. She felt so exhausted. Her legs felt heavy. There was chaos in the slums. Horrified children were clinging to their parents, some screaming and some crying.

People were perched up on the roofs and ladders that were horizontally erected against their homes. Some were trying to grab the plastic chairs and stools that seemed to be aimlessly floating away. Stray dogs were struggling to hold on to their footings on the steps of the homes or on top of the dumpsters.

They looked helplessly at everyone who passed by them, yelping every now and then. “And what will happen to these poor animals?” With a heavy heart, Mira whispered to herself. They passed some of the slum dwellers who were leaving the slums.

They carried old metal trunks or old suitcases on their heads, and they were groaning and cursing their fate. Like Mira’s family, most of their possessions fit in just one trunk or a suitcase. Mira worried about their room; what if it was too flooded? Where would they go? They didn’t have anyone to go to. Mira began to sob softly. Her heart was so heavy with fear and sadness. She felt sorry for Oni, for her mother, for Madhu, and for Yug, who had already parted ways with them to go to his flooded house. Her heart ached for her favorite sandalwood tree. She wondered if it had withstood the storm or, like so many others, lost most of its 119

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branches. As her tears streamed down her face, she looked up at Madhu, who had opened her eyes and was staring at her. Mira didn’t feel the need to hide her tears from Madhu. The rain was already taking care of that. She is not going to know the difference between the raindrops and my tears, Mira thought.

“Why are you crying, Mira?” Madhu shouted, her lips quivering.

“No, I am not crying, Madhu!” Mira shouted back, surprised by her little sister’s question. “It’s the rain! Don’t worry! We will be fine.” Forcing a smile, she tried to sound reassuring.

“You are a liar! You are scared, too!” Madhu yelled at her.

“You are crying because you are sad, just like me. Maa said it’s okay to be afraid! Maa will try to fix everything and keep us safe!” saying that Madhu tilted her head back and looked at her mother’s face, who was tirelessly carrying her through the flooded narrow alleys.

“Maa, tell Mira that we cannot be afraid,” begged Madhu.

Either her mother didn’t hear her, or after witnessing the conditions in the slum, she was just too devastated to offer any reassurances. She kept threading the standing water silently and deep in thought.

“Maa!” Madhu screamed louder, trying to get her mother’s attention.

“Stop it, Madhu! Let her be! I believe you!” Wiping the water off of her face, Mira hissed at her.

Mira watched as Madhu pressed her little forehead against her mother’s neck. She seemed like a drenched and frightened baby bird. She just wanted to hide under her mother’s wing.

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27 All their fears were realized once Mira and her mother stood silently in front of their home. Madhu still clung tightly to her mother and refused to open her eyes. The rain was finally slowing down. The bolts of lightning were moving farther and farther away. The explosive sounds of thunder were not as loud as they were earlier. Maybe the bolts of lightning are lighting the path for the thunder and rain and slowly leading them away from here, Mira hoped. She looked down at her feet, submerged in the murky water. She could see the vague outline of her feet.

She then glanced at her mother’s feet. The only thing that she could see somewhat clearly was her mother’s small, silver-toe ring. Mira imagined the little flower-shaped ring rising to the top of the water. As it rose to the surface of the murky water, it slowly transformed into the most beautiful lotus flower anyone had ever laid eyes on. Madhu, Maa, and Mira comfortably nestled in between the gigantic silver petals and slowly sailed away out of the slums. Mira closed her eyes and imagined sailing to the pond where Oni was waiting to be rescued. After hoisting Oni up inside that dove-colored floating nest, they set sail toward the most beautiful land. She imagined a small house by the most scenic lake, with its water glowing brightly in the moonlight of the starry night. Sitting by its bank, she would spend hours talking to Oni.

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“Is our house all gone?” Startled by Madhu’s voice, Mira opened her eyes. Her vision of the lustrous lake was immediately replaced by the cloudy water and the stench that rode it tirelessly.

“No, Madhu. You can open your eyes now.” Mira replied.

“Is it filled with water?” Madhu asked, still squeezing her eyes shut.

“Even if it is, we will sweep the water out.” Her mother finally spoke. “You can’t shut your eyes forever. What you are trying to hide from will always be there when you open your eyes again.

The reality doesn’t change or flee by you shutting it out. You have to stare it in the eye and face it like a brave little girl.”

Sometimes her mother’s unemotional and cold reactions puzzled Mira. But she knew she loved them dearly. It was her way of teaching them not to have unrealistic expectations from life, Mira thought. She was raising them all alone, Mira tried to justify her mother’s bitterness, which surfaced every now and then. As soon as the rain stopped, the loud swishing of brooms made out of coconut leaves and the noise of water being emptied from the buckets in the already-flooded alleys filled the air. Children cried loudly either for food or because of their parents’ lack of attention, who were working hard to make their tiny homes livable for the night. Cheap plastic chairs in front of the homes were covered with soggy wet clothes, mattresses, and blankets in the hopes of salvaging whatever they could.

Cross-legged, sitting on a tall step stool, Madhu watched as Mira and her mother tried to push the water out of the door of their room.

“Push it harder, Mira! See, it comes right back in!” she screamed every now and then, her eyes wide with worry.

“Don’t worry. I am trying hard not to let it back in, but it sneaks back in through the leaves of the broom.” Mira tried to explain, wiping the droplets of sweat with the back of her forearm, “It is much faster than you are, Mira!” Madhu said, raising 122

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her eyebrows. “You have to do it faster! Please don’t let it come back in.”

“I will not allow it to touch you,” Mira promised.

“I wish we lived in a very tall building.” Madhu raised her arms up in the air. “And a roof made out of concrete. So strong that it never leaked. Even in the monsoon. And if you looked out the window, the people seemed like small ants. And the cars looked like little toys. I bet right now we seem like ants to those who live in those tall buildings,” Madhu said, sighing.

Mira’s heart melted with sadness. In the light of the kerosene lamp, Madhu’s face looked even smaller and paler.

“If you want to live in one of those houses, then you study hard and change your destiny.” her mother said, spreading a thick piece of plastic sheet on the dump floor of their room.

“How can I study if my school is closed, and how can Mira study if she has to work?” Madhu protested. “Does this mean we will be ants forever?” Madhu gasped dramatically.

“Yes, Madhu. In that case, we will have to hurry and climb up those tall buildings,” Mira said. “And you better make sure your little ant legs are strong enough to cling to the surface of the wall firmly if you don’t want to get washed out by the flood!” saying that, Mira began to tickle the bottom of Madhu’s feet. Her thin frame convulsing with laughter, she tried to push Mira away.

“Stop it, Mira!” Madhu begged, sitting up, “It is so hot in here.

When I laugh, I feel even hotter! We always lose power when it storms. I wish we had a fan that could work with batteries. Do ants feel hot, too, Mira?”

Surprised by Madhu’s question, Mira rested her chin on her knee and fell silent. Once again, the memory of everything that had happened earlier that day crowded her mind. Oni’s worried and frightened face every time she glanced up at the sun, the shadowy, dark force that was responsible for the destruction of her kingdom. Is it coming for us? Or has it already arrived? That thought sent chills down Mira’s spine.

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“When the weather is this hot, everything feels its wrath,” Mira’s mother said quietly. “Nothing is spared. Animals, insects, plants, and trees- nothing can escape from them. Nothing.”

She wiped the dripping sweat from her face with the edge of her sleeve. Mosquitos had already started buzzing around the lantern. Attracted by its glow, they congregated on its thin metal handle. Every now and then, they would make the mistake of getting too close to the hot glass that covered the flame. Some were fast enough to fly away from it, but some just crashed into the glass and fell to the floor. Just like the sun, it is beautiful from a distance but lethal if you get too close to it. Mira remembered what Oni had said to her. Mira slipped her hand into her pocket and very subtly pulled the little oyster out. She gently caressed the smooth surface with the tip of her thumb. Catching the light from the lantern, suddenly, the little oyster cast a rainbow-like shadow on the worn-out wall of their little room. Madhu quickly jumped up to her feet. Her mother let out a muffled shriek.

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28 “What is that, Mira?” Her mother asked. Her eyes widened with curiosity mixed with shock. Astonished by what she was seeing, Mira stood there speechless.

“And where did you go so early this morning?” her mother asked. “Did you think getting distracted by this monstrous storm, I would forget to ask you about your whereabouts this morning?

Do you know how irresponsible it was to sneak out without letting anyone know? What were you thinking, Mira? Give that to me!” Her mother stretched her arm out toward Mira.

“No!” Mira wrapped her fingers firmly around the little oyster, hiding it from the view. The rainbow disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

“Mira, please don’t hide it!” Madhu begged. “Can you please show me that rainbow again?”

“Hush up, Madhu!” her mother looked at Madhu sternly, then fixed her gaze on Mira and stared at her for a few seconds before she spoke again.

“Where did you get that from? Did you steal that?” she asked.

“No! Maa. I didn’t steal this. Oni gave it to me!” Mira yelled, feeling frustrated.

“I am not a thief! I don’t steal things!” She tried hard not to cry. All the memories of the pond, Oni, the scary storm, and her escape from the woods formed a lump in her throat.

“Who is Oni?” her mother asked, sounding surprised. “Is she a friend?”

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“Well, you may not believe it if I told you about her.” Mira sounded defeated. “I don’t even know if she is even alive now!”

Mira tried very hard not to cry, but her voice was shaking. She felt overwhelmed by sadness. I may never see her again, Mira thought.

“Enough of this, Mira!” Her mother warned. “Why would she not be alive? What happened in those woods?”

Mira could feel the panic and fear in her mother’s voice.

“Maybe we should go back to the woods and bring Oni home!” Madhu said. “Not now. Tomorrow morning, when the rain stops and there is light.” Sounding afraid, Madhu quickly corrected herself.

“It is not that simple, Madhu. Oni is very special. And she lives in the pond. She can’t live on the land for too long. She is already very sick,” Mira added helplessly.

“Bas Mira! Enough of this nonsense! Making up one story after the other! Are you taking me for a fool?” her mother screamed at her.

“I am not lying!” Mira screamed back, feeling frustrated.

“Don’t you dare talk to me in that tone!” her mother said, getting up and walking toward her.

“Oni is real, Maa! She spoke to me because I have a unique bond with nature! That is why she chose me!” Mira yelled, covering her face with her forearm. She was sure that her mother was going to slap her hard.

“And why would she choose you? A poor girl from the slum?” her mother said with sarcasm and bitterness. “The only unique bond we have is with poverty, suffering, and hunger.” The quickly pooling tears in her mother’s eyes reflected the light from the kerosene lamp. Overcome by sadness, Mira covered her face with her hands and began to sob loudly.

“Because not everyone discriminates against people like us,” Mira said, crying. “You may not see anything special in me, but my friend Oni does.”

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Her mother stopped in her tracks. After silently standing there for a few moments, she turned around and sat down on the floor. Mira instantly regretted talking back to her mother. I hurt her feelings, she thought.

Madhu quickly ran and sat on the floor next to her mother.

She caressed her mother’s cheeks with her little hands, and then, very gently, she put her head in her lap. Mira wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve and got up on her feet. She walked over to her mother and sat next to her.

“Here is the oyster. Oni wears a necklace with oysters dangling from it. She gave me this one.” Mira opened her fist and the little oyster shone brightly in the palm of her hand. “You can have it, Maa.” “Can I have it?” Madhu tried to grab the oyster from Mira’s hand.

“No, Madhu!” but before Mira could move her hand away from Madhu, the oyster fell down to the ground with a loud clunk, making a cracking sound. And just like that, a big, gleaming crimson pearl rolled out from inside of the oyster.

Everyone gasped out loud. Utter silence took over the room. The only audible sound was the drops of water falling in the bowls and buckets from the leaking roof. All the mosquitoes and little moths that were circling the kerosene lamp began to fly toward the shiny, red pearl.

“Laal Moti! A red pearl! The color of vermillion,” Mira’s mother whispered in disbelief. Moments passed in complete silence. Enthralled by its mesmerizing glow, no one moved or spoke. The red pearl’s reddish glimmer encased the little room fully, giving everyone and everything a crimson hue. Finally, Mira got on her knees and gingerly moved closer and closer to the pearl. After cautiously picking it up, she gently placed it in the palm of her hand.

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“I never thought that you were not special, Mira.” Her mother spoke softly. “In our world, being special doesn’t mean much. There are certain things that will follow us like deep, dark shadows no matter where we go.”

“But maybe if we walk far enough, those shadows will get tired of trailing us, and eventually, we will be free of them,” Mira said, sitting on her knees next to her mother. “How would we know if we don’t try?”

“Because God knows that I have tried many times and I have failed.” Her mother’s voice trembled. “I just don’t want you two to dream big dreams and get disappointed each time. Maybe this is my way of protecting you two. It may be flawed, but it comes from a place of love.”

“If I can’t afford to go to school full time, then we need to help Madhu break this vicious cycle, Maa,” Mira whispered, hugging her mother.

“Tell me all about Oni, Mira,” her mother said lovingly as she patted her head with affection.

“Can I hold the red pearl, please?” Madhu begged.

“You can hold on to it while I tell you both about Oni and how I was able to see her. At times, it may sound incredible.

There were times that I also thought that it may all have been a dream, but Oni is as real as this red pearl that you are holding.”

Mira pointed to the dazzling bead that now sat on Madhu’s palm.

A loud sound of thunder jolted their little room. They all looked at one another with fear.

“This storm is not done with us.” Her mother mumbled. She wrapped her arms around both Mira and Madhu and hugged them as tightly as she could.

“Oni warned that something bad was going to befall us,” Mira whispered quietly. Maybe whatever was lurking overhead, outside, or somewhere close was watching them and listening to them, she thought as her whole body quivered with fear.

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“And this is how I met her,” she began as she hoped and prayed that her mother would believe everything that she had to say. She cleared her throat. It felt like all her emotions had turned into a ball and lodged themselves in her throat.

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29 A long, drawn silence followed after Mira finished telling her mother all about Oni and all the events that led her to the magical pond in the woods. Madhu looked at her with disbelief.

Looking astonished, her eyes kept on shifting from Mira’s face to the red pearl still sitting in the palm of her hand. Her mother, awestruck, sat motionless. She just stared at Mira quietly.

“In the beginning, even though I thought it may all have been a dream, Oni is real. As real as Madhu and as real as you, Maa,” Mira whispered, sounding desperate. “I need to find out if that monster is coming for us. What if it destroys our land the way it dismantled Oni’s kingdom? I wish I could go back to the pond.”

“Do you still have any of those leaves?” her mother finally spoke.

Mira quickly searched her pockets. Frustrated by not finding anything, she turned them inside out. But her pockets were empty.

“I must have lost them when I was running out of the woods,” she said, sighing dolefully. She added, “Now I can never see Oni again.”

“I don’t know what to think,” Mira’s mother mumbled, feeling helpless. “I remember the day when you were no older than four and brought the neighbor’s withering little plant home. And when I told you to return it, you threw a fit. You refused to part with it.

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it diligently, but it was too late to save it. The little plant’s leaves continued to wilt and fell regardless of all our efforts. One day, I caught you pouring your glass of milk into the pot. I got very angry since we barely had enough food for ourselves. So, later that night, as soon as you fell asleep, I threw it away. You cried and refused to eat the next day when you found out the plant had gone missing. I was worried that maybe something was wrong with you. Why would a child be so attached to a plant? I found it so odd. But you never stopped asking us about it. Finally, your father bought you a new plant, one that looked very similar to the old one.”

“He did?” Mira asked, feeling surprised. “Did he love me so much?”

Mira’s mother quickly looked away. She didn’t respond. For as long as Mira could remember her mother always ignored her questions about her father. Her questions about her father’s whereabouts were repeatedly met with silence. Mira looked at Madhu. She was caressing the gleaming pearl with the tip of her finger. She didn’t seem to be listening to them at all.

“Maa, why didn’t father love us? Why did he have to leave us?” Mira asked in a whisper. “Because you didn’t bear him a son? I remember that day when you were crying and pleading with him not to leave.”

Mira’s mother just stared off into the distance as if she wasn’t hearing Mira at all. A wisp of her hair was almost covering her left eye. Her beautiful big eyes lined with kohl seemed even larger in the dim light of their room. Her nose ring sparkled brightly every time she moved her head, giving her otherwise tired face a little spark. Looking fondly at her mother, Mira smiled.

“Maa, was father good to you?” Mira asked again.

She ignored her question again. She finally spoke after a few minutes, but not to answer Mira’s question. Feeling disappointed, Mira decided to listen to what her mother had to say.

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“When I was little, my Nani would often tell me the story of the Little Girl and the Sea. I never got tired of listening to it. I begged my grandmother to tell me that story as I loved listening to it over and over again.” Looking at Mira, her mother said.

“If it is scary, I don’t want to hear it.” Madhu hastily spoke up.

“You hold on to that magical pearl, Madhu, and nothing will harm you,” Mira said lovingly. I wish that were the case, Mira thought, her heart heavy with worries and fear.

“There was a faraway village that was burrowed between a huge forest and the sea,” her mother began. “The village was very small. The men were fishermen who sailed their small fishing boats into the sea every day, hoping and praying for a generous catch of the day. There was no school in the village, so most of the children either helped their fathers by unloading the fish, untangling the fishing nets at the end of the day, or repairing them if they were damaged. Sana loved the sea. As soon as she was done helping her mother with the household chores, she ran to the seashore. She spent most of her free time by the sea.

Every morning at dawn, she would follow her father to his boat.

All the boats were painted with bright, vibrant colors: blue, red, yellow, or green. She loved the color of her father’s boat the most.

It was the brightest amber color that one had ever seen. In the forest, there was a wide variety of different flowers. Every flower was unique and beautiful. But there was one particular tree with the brightest yellow flowers. It grew in the densest part of the forest. Even though it was not easy, every year, Sana and her father would go deep into the forest and collect those flowers.

And after drying them in the sun for a few days, he then made a paste out of them, adding it to the white paint. Sana loved how the vibrant yellow paste made gilded swirls as her father mixed it with the white paint. She watched the yellow paste dissolve slowly, making the white paint disappear more and more with each turn of the wooden stick. Finally, the whole mixture was a bright amber color. Her father named his boat Sona (Gold.)

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“‘This is my secret of a color that doesn’t fade in that heat of the blazing sun.’ He would say it every time they mixed the paint.

“Every morning at dawn, Sana would sit on the sand and watch all the boats sail out to the sea. She watched the fishermen push their little boats onto the sea, heaving and panting and once the water bore the weight of the boat and it began to sway weightlessly up and down, they would jump in and take control.

After watching the little boats get smaller and smaller in the distance, Sana waited for the waves to reach her feet. And every time the waves got close to her toes, she would quickly step back.

“You are not as quick as me! She would say to the sea, giggling with excitement. She considered the sea her friend.

The waves played games with her and they brought ashore the most beautiful shells. Most women in the village wore jewelry made out of seashells. Intricately crafted necklaces, anklets, and bracelets were also taken to the markets, along with the fish, to be sold. But as time passed, the villagers began to discard the waste from their fishing trip and cleaning the fish in the sea. Old pieces of lumbar from old boats floated in the water aimlessly.

At times old, discarded fishing nets washed ashore with fish and other sea life helplessly trapped inside. At other times, bottles and pieces of discarded objects made their way out of the sea and to the shores.

“One day, a huge storm arrived from the horizon. It seemed like the dark grey sky blended with the sea that had suddenly turned colorless. The rough, rogue waves began to crash against the seashore. Sana and her parents ran to their small hut, but the ear-piercing sound and the impact of the rolling sea waves could be heard and felt as the ground beneath them shook violently.

“Our hut will not be able to withstand this storm,” panicked and afraid her father said, grabbing her arm. They began to run inland, ‘The waves will reach our hut soon. We need to go deep inside the forest.’ They ran as far away from the seas as they could.

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storm had passed. The next day, the sun arose over the sea and cast prisms of light that looked like fireworks frozen in time. The terrified villagers slowly emerged from the forest. Children ran to the seashore, and women hurried toward their huts to survey the damage, praying that their huts stood the wrath of the sea.

Sana knew something was wrong as soon as she looked ahead. The seashore was no longer dotted with the long line of colorful boats.

“Father, the boats are gone!” she screamed out loud.

Panicked and shocked, villagers ran to the edge of the sea.

Loud gasps and cries filled the air.

“We are ruined!” One woman screamed out loud.

“We are done for!” Another person joined in.

“We will starve to death!” someone said. “We are too poor to get new boats!”

This was the first time that a storm had carried their boats into the sea.

Sana looked up at her father. His sunken cheeks made his face look even skinnier. His thick eyebrows seemed more slanted than before, making his eyes appear sad. Sana looked at the sea with resentment. She watched a wave rushing toward her. This time, she didn’t move back. She stood still, and as soon as the wave reached her feet, she stomped on it as hard as she could.

She kicked it so hard that her toes dug deep into the sand. And when the wave receded, she could see her footprint in the sand, “I hate you!” She whispered.

The whole village was in chaos. People were salvaging what was left of their homes. Some had already started to bring wood and branches from the forest to rebuild their huts. Some just sat on the sand and stared aimlessly into the distance.

Saddened and dismayed, Sana snuck away from everyone and sat on the ground in a secluded spot. She worried about her father, his amber-colored boat that was probably gone forever.

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“You are a thief!” Looking at the sea, Sana whispered. But there was nothing but silence. It is not hearing me, she thought.

“You are a thief! You stole my father’s boat!” this time, she said it out loud.

She looked at the sea again. The waves sill forged ahead, calmly and carefree.

Angered by its seeming apathy, Sana now screamed as loud as she could.

“You are a thief! You stole my father’s boat!” Her throat burned as she screamed. “I thought you were my friend.” She laid her head down on the sand and cried. She dug her fingers in moist sand so hard that the tip of her fingers hurt. “I hate you! I don’t even want to see you anymore!” she said, closing her eyes and resting her head on her arm. The wind began to blow gently.

It tickled her ears.

“You stole from me!” she heard a voice. She quickly sat up and looked around in disbelief. The waves had washed an oversized conch shell very close to where she was sitting. This cannot be, Sana thought. She cautiously poked the shell with the tip of her finger. I am just imagining this. Maybe it was just an echo of my own voice, she concluded.

“You stole my fish every day, but I never called you a thief!” said the voice again.

This time, Sana was sure the voice was coming from the direction of the sea conch. She scooted over and gently picked it up. “Are you talking to me?” hesitantly, getting even closer to it, she asked.

“Yes, to the one calling me a thief.” The voice answered.

Shocked and in disbelief that the sea was talking to her, she stayed silent for a few moments before she spoke again.

“But you did steal everyone’s boats,” Sana mumbled, trying hard not to cry. “Now our whole village will suffer hunger and pain. All caused by you. I thought you were my friend.”

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“Not even once has anyone thanked me for everything that I bestowed on you and your village.” Said the voice. “Food, beautiful shells, rain for the forest, lulling you to sleep every night and waking you up with my breeze every morning. Instead, I received trash and disrespect in return! You humans like to take and take without gratitude and only appreciate the value of things once you lose them. The storm is not my doing. Your kind is responsible for that, too. Today, it may have taken the boats, but with the passage of time, there will be much more to be lost.”

Sana didn’t know what to say. She just stared at the shell in disbelief. She felt sad for calling the sea a thief. It is right, we have stolen the fish, she thought. The sea was right. She considered the sea her friend, but she had never thought of thanking it before.

She picked up the conch, put her mouth on the curved opening of it and whispered: “Thank you!” She waited, but no one spoke again. The only thing that she could hear was the distant sound of the waves. Holding the conch in her lap, she sat there until dusk cast its reddish light on the calm surface of the ocean. Leaving the conch shell back where she had found it, she finally got up to her feet and walked home. That night, as she lay on the floor next to her mother in the roofless hut, she gazed at the sky dotted with thousands of stars and wondered what the sea had meant by saying it was their doing. Maybe one day I will find out why, but in the meantime, I will be grateful for everything that I have.

Even my roofless hut, she decided.

The next morning, she woke up by the gleeful and loud laughter and excited voices. She quickly got up on her feet and ran to the door. She couldn’t believe what she saw. She rubbed her eyes with astonishment and looked again. The little colorful boats were all washed ashore, once again dotting the seashore with their vibrant colors. And the one that shone the brightest was her father’s amber-colored boat, Sona.

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Children danced while drumming on the metal plates with the wooden sticks. Men hugged each other, and women cried with relief. The sea had returned their boats.

“Thank you!’ Sana mumbled. From that day onwards, the villagers never forgot to stay thankful and showed their appreciation and thankfulness by keeping the shores clean and free of anything that could pollute the water.”

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30 Everything was quiet in the room except for the constant buzzing of the mosquitoes that were still tirelessly circling the lantern. Mira looked at her mother.

“That is what Oni said too!” Mira exclaimed with amazement.

Her mother shook her head in agreement. “Maybe some of these stories are not just fairytales. They might be admonishing tales,” her mother said, sounding afraid. “I may be uneducated, but there is one thing that I know for sure. Nowadays, there are more storms, cyclones, floods, droughts, landslides, and earthquakes. Something even worse might be on its way.”

“Can we please get out of here now?” Madhu pleaded, listening to her mother.

“With the first light of the dawn, we will head out,” her mother said, sounding determined, “No!” Mira protested. “We have to let everyone here know, too. We can’t just leave them behind. The alleys are already flooded.”

“We will knock on each door and warn them, but chances are that most people will not believe us,” her mother said.

“We will warn them anyway,” Mira said as she put her head on her mother’s shoulder. “I wonder where Avni is now. She lives under the bridge with her family. I need to tell her to get to the higher grounds, too. I hope she is okay..,” Mira’s vision got blurry as the quick pooling of tears began to sting her eyes.

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“I don’t want to lie down on the floor!” Madhu’s fearful voice trembled. “What if the water rushes in and sweeps us out while we are sleeping!” Her fearful look and raised eyebrows made Mira’s heart melt.

“Then we will sit up against the wall. You two get some sleep and I will keep an eye on the crack under the door and the leaks in the roof.” Patting her head with love, her mother tried to reassure her. It didn’t take too long before Madhu fell asleep.

Mira’s head was buzzing with what her mother had said earlier.

More than those words, it was the look on her mother’s face that spoke volumes, Mira thought. Why did father leave? Mira looked at her mother, who had shut her eyes and her head resting against the wall. She knew that her mother was not sleeping.

“Maa..” Mira lightly tapped her on the forearm. She didn’t respond. Mira stubbornly tapped her on the arm again.

“What do you want, Mira?” her mother asked, her eyes still closed.

“What actually happened to father?” she asked. “You can tell me. I am old enough now.” Mira kissed her mother on the shoulder.

“So, you are old enough now?” Opening her eyes, her mother looked at her with love.

“If Oni can trust me, then why can’t you?” she said.

“It is not a matter of trusting you, Mira.” Her mother slid her body upwards against the wall very gently in an effort to sit up higher and not disturb Madhu, who was peacefully sleeping with her head in her lap.

“Then what is it? Are you keeping a secret from me?” Mira asked.

“It was your father’s wish, Mira,” her mother’s voice trailed off, and she added, “To tell you everything once you were old enough.”

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a sudden, feeling hopeful, she asked, “Do you know where he is?”

Suddenly, her mother covered her face with both hands and began to weep uncontrollably. “He was just too sick..” She managed to say before her whole body shook violently.

Putting her head on her shoulder, Mira embraced her mother and held her firmly until she was able to speak again.

“Working in a pesticide factory came with risks. We knew it, but not having a job and not being able to feed our family was even more dangerous,” she said. “He worked hard. Never missed a day. He always said the smell of sulfur followed him all the way home like a ghost, never leaving him alone. He even smelled it in the freshly washed clothes. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I would find him sleeping outside, sitting up against the wall in the alley. But I began to notice other troubling signs. He was getting thinner and thinner. He would refuse food and go to sleep with an empty stomach. I noticed pigmentations on his skin, and he often seemed to run out of breath. I was worried sick. I begged him to go to the doctor, but he laughed off my worries and reassured me that he was just fine. By the time his cough began, it was already too late. Shortly after Madhu was born, one day, he came home and said to me, “Do you remember that I always said the stench followed me home like a ghost?” I didn’t know what to say, so I just looked at him with surprise. He said, “Looks like it didn’t just follow me home. It also burrowed itself in every cell of my body. Poisoning me slowly.” Holding each other, we cried a lot. He had already known it for a while but didn’t have the courage to tell me. That day, he begged me to grant him two last wishes. His first wish was to allow him to go back to his village, by the sea, to spend his last days looking at the ocean. He grew up by the sea. His father was a fisherman.

His second wish was to never tell you two until you were old enough.”

“But all this time, I thought he had abandoned us.” Mira broke down crying.

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“That truth was not any better,” she said, and her mother kissed her forehead.

“Living as a young, lonely widow would have been more difficult. It was much easier to pretend that he was alive and perhaps one day he would show up. Only I knew that he was never going to come back. Your father loved you both dearly. You saw me begging him not to leave, but I never told you that he was not leaving us because of you and Madhu,” she said apologetically.

“Maybe we should have told you the truth. But, sometimes, love will make us do irrational things. When emotions run high, we do things that we might regret later. Sometimes, carrying this burden made me so bitter, and at times, I blamed him for my misery and suffering.”

Putting her face in the crook of her elbow, Mira’s mother sobbed harder as she kept mumbling, “It is all my messed up destiny.” Tightly holding her mother in her arms, Mira sobbed with her. He loved me. He loved Madhu. But I will never see him again, Mira thought and sobbed until her eyelids began to burn and sting. Her heart got so burdened with pain that she thought it was going to burst with sorrow. She didn’t know which pain was bigger. The thought that he had abandoned them, or, now, knowing that he was gone forever. Never returning. Maybe Maa was right. Maybe she wasn’t old enough to bear the pain, but it was already too late for that. The burning pain of that loss had already lodged itself in the deepest part of her heart. But there was also a part of her heart that housed that little joy of being loved and not abandoned.

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31 “Is the water coming in?” Lifting up her head from her mother’s lap, Madhu squealed.

“No, Madhu. Go back to sleep. I will not let the water get to you,” Mira said as her eyelids began to get heavier and heavier with each passing moment. I need to stay awake. I have to warn everyone, she thought. She tried to open her eyes, but she was too exhausted to fight the fatigue that was lulling her to sleep. It was much mightier than her willpower. But it also felt good to let go, close her burning eyes, feel light as a feather, and drift away.

“Maybe for a little while,” she whispered to herself before her eyes slowly closed.

Mira looked down and let out a scream. She was standing on the rope. I don’t know how to walk on the rope like Avni does, she thought, ridden with fear. She looked around. No one was there. No one had gathered to watch her walk on the rope. Her legs trembled, and her heart palpitated. Filled with anxiety and trepidation, she screamed out loud. “Can someone get me down?” There was no response. Her voice just echoed back, “Can someone get me down.” She screamed again, “Can someone help me, please?”

“I would, but I have to wash these dishes. There are piles and piles of them today,” said the voice.

“Is that you, Zayn?” Mira yelled, relieved that someone was there. “Where are you?”

“I am here!” Zayn said. “Down here!”

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Mira looked down. Trying hard not to disturb the rope, she cast her eyes downward without moving her head. Zayn seemed so little from where she was.

“I am stuck on this rope. I don’t even know how I got up here, Zayn. I can’t even move forward without that stick to help me balance myself on this thing. Please help me!” Mira pled desperately.

“Yes, you do have something!” said another voice.

“Yug! Is that you?” Mira shouted. “Where are you?”

“Here!” Mira looked down again.

Yug was sitting on the ground. Surrounded by his colorful balloons, from up above it was difficult to see him.

“I haven’t sold any balloons today,” he said. “I don’t sell; I don’t eat. But look at your hands, Mira.”

Mira looked at her hands. She was holding a giant red pearl.

“Mira!’’ That is Maa’s voice, Mira thought. Someone was shaking her hard. I will fall off of this damn rope. Mira tried to curl her toes firmly around the rope.

“Don’t worry!” A man’s voice said. “I am right here! I will catch you if you fall.”

Mira looked down. There was her father smiling lovingly at her.

“Father!” Screaming with joy, Mira let go, and as she fell down below, she wasn’t afraid at all. Her father was there to catch her.

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32 “Mira, get up!” Urging, her mother shook her gently. “We need to go now!”

She opened her eyes. Relieved that her nightmare was over, she smiled at her mother. “Father was there, Maa, in my dream.

He told me that he would catch me if I fell.”

Holding her hand, her mother helped her up. She kissed the top of her head and her forehead, too. She looked at her lovingly without saying anything.

The light of dawn was trying hard to pierce through the dark and the thick storm clouds. They seemed to have lowered themselves even more than the day before. They looked like gigantic furry, grey spiders suspended from invisible threads, descending slowly and steadily. Mira looked apprehensively at the sullen sky.

On their way out of the slums, they knocked on as many doors as they could. Carrying their belongings in two black garbage bags, they threaded through the standing waters slowly.

Her mother carried Madhu on her back and at times, she used her foot to bang on the doors.

“Get to the higher grounds now!” she yelled each time. “Leave now! The storm is not over!”

Some would hurry in to gather their things to leave, some just looked at them as if they had gone mad, and some just wanted to question the accuracy of her warning.

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“We have a Laal Moti to prove it!” yelling loudly, Madhu joined in every now and then. And if anyone laughed at her, she stuck her tongue out and made funny faces.

Once by Yug’s house, Mira pounded on the door as hard as she could. When no one opened, she impatiently banged on the door with her fist.

“Take it easy.” Yug’s voice came from the little rooftop. “The doors to our houses are very fragile! One more time and our entire house will crumble. Some of us huddled on this wobbly rooftop last night. There is water everywhere. My cousins were too scared and wouldn’t part with their parents. But thank you for allowing them to stay with you one night.”

“You need to get out now!” Mira said with panic. “Please, Yug, take your family and guests and head to somewhere safe.”

“And, now you are a fortune teller?” Looking down at her from the rooftop, Yug said teasingly. “Can you predict how many balloons I will be selling today? Don’t bother telling me if it’s only a few. I don’t think I can take that news very well, considering what is happening to us now.”

“Stop being such a funny, smart mouth!” Mira said sternly.

“This is not the time to make jokes, Yug!” “Who is that?” Mira recognized Antara’s voice before another head with long braids looked down at her from the rooftop.

“I thought you said it didn’t flood here the way it flooded in my village.” Antara’s voice was filled with disappointment.

“Yes, Antara. I have never seen anything like this before. And I think something worse is to come. Please get everyone out! You have seen what can happen, right?” Mira begged.

“And where do we go?” Yug asked.

“I don’t know. To a school building, office buildings, anywhere but here!” Mira yelled. “Just get the hell out!”

“Mira, I don’t think a lot of people are taking us seriously.”

Panting and heaving, her mother approached her. She looked up at Yug. “And what are you waiting for, Yug? Go and get your 145

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mother. I need to talk to her!” She squinted her eyes at Yug and mumbled something under her breath. Her mother’s threatening tone was enough to make Yug’s head disappear from the rooftop instantly while his voice calling his mother could be heard.

Mira’s mother stood on the little step by their door and talked to Yug’s mother quietly. Every now and then, Yug’s mother turned around and looked at Mira suspiciously.

Mira firmly squeezed the little pouch hanging from a thick thread around her neck. She could feel the smooth pearl through the thick fabric of the pouch. “You are safe here.” She whispered.

“No one will ever believe me. Who will believe a poor girl from a slum? And there is no one I can trust with this pearl. I wish Oni had chosen a better person. I wish I could go back to the pond.”

“Let’s go, Mira.” Walking in the knee-deep water- her mother arduously moved toward her. “We have tried everything. Even our friends doubt us. Some listened and will leave, but the rest might not be convinced. At least I was able to convince Yug’s family to leave.”

Frustrated, angered, and desperate, Mira cupped her hands around her mouth and began to scream at the top of her voice.

“Leave now! Leave now! Leave now!” She said it over and over again until she ran out of breath.

Putting her hands on her ears, Madhu closed her eyes.

“She is hurting my ears,” she whispered, putting her mouth close to her mother’s ears.

Little children, some half-naked, looked at Mira with shock.

Some burst out in tears, while some laughed at her heartily. Some imitated her and began to scream, too, echoing her words. A little girl with black curly hair sitting on the last step of a wooden steps leading to the doorway of their small room looked at her with a smile. She ran inside and quickly emerged back, holding a colorful, plastic pinwheel. She stretched her little arm all the way toward Mira. “You take this.” She said it in a tiny voice.

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“I don’t want your pinwheel.” Mira smiled back at her. “Thank you.” Feeling embarrassed, she added. “I want everyone to listen to me. I want you to be safe.”

Touched by the little girl’s act of kindness, combined with the pain in her throat from all the screaming and an overwhelming sense of frustration, Mira burst into tears. How can I persuade anyone? Covering her face, she sobbed. All of a sudden, she felt something stepping on her foot. She removed her hands from her face and saw a brown stray dog sniffing her shirt. His little paws were submerged in the water, just like Mira’s feet; only his little legs were covered entirely in the water. He looked at Mira intently. Mira patted his head.

“They are not listening, but maybe you can be a good boy and listen to me. Run and run fast! Go somewhere safe!” The little dog stood there. Mira could feel his little paw still resting on her foot.

“Go Now!” Mira ordered. The little dog refused to move.

Continued to stare at Mira, wagging his tale every now and then.

“Are you the one who was creating so much commotion, urging everyone to leave?” a man’s voice from behind her startled Mira.

She turned around and saw a man standing there next to her mother. He was probably her mother’s age. He was wearing glasses with round frames. He was tall and lanky. He was wearing khaki shorts and a faded red T-shirt. His eyes looked wide and big from behind his thick, round frames. His thick, wavy dark hair was messy, some strands tucked behind his ears. Mira noticed a white bullhorn in his hand.

Mira looked at her mother. She was smiling at Mira.

“Yes,” Mira hesitantly responded.

The man looked at her with curiosity. “I rushed here to do the same thing,” he said. “When I was heading here, I heard someone scream. Who are you?” the man asked Mira. “And what do you know?” his voice filled with eagerness.

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A distant crackling of thunder made Mira jump up. She looked up at the sky and quickly looked at her mother and Madhu. “We need to go!” Ignoring the man, she walked over to her mother.

“Wait!” the man said. “I am a scientist. You can trust me.

Your mother told me a little about your gift. But I need to hear the whole story. I am intrigued by what I heard.”

There was something kind about him, Mira thought. He sounds sincere, but how can I trust him? Mira debated with herself. At least he is willing to listen to me. I don’t have many choices.

“Maybe we can help each other out.” The man shrugged his shoulders and smiled shyly. “Many people don’t believe me either. That is why I came here all by myself. Actually, not alone.

I brought help.” Saying that, he held up his megaphone. “But I have to say, the volume of your voice was very impressive! I could hear you from the street.” He tried to laugh but noticing Mira’s untrusting stare, he stopped.

Little drops of rain began to fall, hitting the standing water with muffled sounds. Panicking, Mira looked at her mother again.

“We need to trust someone,” her mother looked at her with love. “This is not your burden only. Let people help you by sharing it. Maybe that is why he was sent our way.”

“I am pretty sure that we will need a lot of help from everyone if this is what I think it is,” the man said, looking upward at the sky. “Time is of the essence and we need to hurry. But before we do anything, I need to know if what you are going to tell me is profound enough to render the support that I desperately need.

I need a lot of convincing to do to get help on a large scale.”

Looking at Mira, he took a deep breath.

As the rain began to fall at a steadier pace, the little brown dog inched closer and closer to Mira.

“We have to convince everyone to leave, Maa.” Ignoring the man and trying very hard not to cry in front of him, Mira begged 148

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her mother. “We can’t just leave them behind! It is not right!”

“We haven’t been able to persuade too many people, Mira,” Sounding helpless, her mother said. “If you want to help them, then you need to be willing to share your story with them. He might be able to do something for all of us.” Her mother added in a somber tone.

“I will do everything in my power to get them out of here.”

The scientist promised.

Mira stood there motionless. She looked around with sadness.

Some people were beginning to gather around them, and in spite of standing in the knee-deep water, they didn’t appear to be aware of what might be heading their way. I needed to tell this man everything; her mother was right, she decided.

“I can tell you the whole story, but I need a safe place for my family too.” Looking at her mother’s tired face, still holding Madhu on her back, Mira demanded. “Also, a friend of mine and her family live under a bridge. I am not sure which one, but I think it is the one closest to the bazaar. Can you use your megaphone and ask them to leave?”

Scratching his beard, the scientist smiled at Mira and shook his head in agreement.

“And what about your dog here?” he asked, pointing to the dog.

“He is not…” Mira stopped mid-sentence. She looked at the little dog looking back at her. His short, wiry black mustache quivered in the wind, which was gradually picking up.

“Yes, Channa, you must come with us, too.” Clearing her throat, she demanded again. Chickpea sounds like a perfect name. He does look like one, Mira thought.

“Channa?” her mother rolled her eyes and Madhu giggled giddily.

“I love animals. Animals are family.” The scientist agreed.

“They can’t be left behind.”

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“Scientist Sahib, do you have a name?” Mira’s mother asked.

“Yes, luckily, my parents did not name me scientist,” he said, chuckling. “My name is Amanjeet, but Aman for short.”

The sound of thunder was getting closer.

“We need to hurry! My car is parked farther out on the street.” He said, quickly picking up the little dog and they all began walking hastily out of the small, twisted alley.

Once they got to the bridge, Mira was relieved to find out that no one was there. It was already flooded. She hoped that they all had gone to a safe place. The scientist nervously ushered them back into the car. Mira, Madhu, her mother, and Channa squeezed into the backseat of the old white car as its loud engine roared through the narrow roads until it finally came to a screeching halt in front of a tall apartment building.

“I hope he lives on the highest floor.” Madhu quietly whispered in Mira’s ear.

With every flight of the stairs, as everyone ran out of breath, the smile on Madhu’s face got wider and wider until they stopped in front of a freshly painted white door on the eleventh floor.

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33 Madhu and Channa didn’t move away from the window overlooking the street until Mira finished recounting her entire encounter with Oni to the scientist. At times, he would take his glasses off and rub his eyes with disbelief, as if Mira’s story was erecting a realistic image of Oni right in front of his eyes. And at other times, he would just hold his head between his hands and fall deep in thought. He asked many questions and jotted down some of them on a piece of paper every now and then.

“This is remarkable! Undoubtedly remarkable!” He would say over and over again.

Once Mira finished chronicling her encounter with Oni, she nervously looked at her mother, who was sitting right across from her at a small oval dining table covered with a sheet of clear plastic.

What if he steals my pearl and then kicks us out to the street, she worried. However, revealing the red pearl was essential for validating her story. Otherwise, he would not believe a word of what she had said, she decided. She slowly opened her little pouch and very carefully took the red pearl out.

The scientist seemed mesmerized. He stood there in disbelief for a few moments before finally walking toward Mira. Without taking his eyes off the gleaming red pearl, he knelt down on the floor next to her chair. The red pearl dazzled and emitted a warm glow that Mira could feel on her face. Entranced by its astonishing luster and color, no one spoke. Even though Mira 151

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and her mother had seen it before, its beauty left them speechless again.

“May I hold it?” The scientist finally asked.

Mira looked at her mother, who nodded in agreement.

“Yes.” Mira agreed reluctantly.

“Don’t worry! This is yours and will always be Oni’s gift to you. I need to study it before making some urgent calls.” Holding the pearl cautiously, he walked over to another room. Mira looked at Madhu sitting by the window, and then she looked at her mother. She seemed older. She noticed the little fine lines under her eyes for the first time. She worked so hard to take care of them. She felt guilty for thinking that her mother was so bitter at times. Her mother had carried a painful burden for so long.

But what mattered the most was that they were safe now. She didn’t care if the scientist kept the pearl, stole it, or never gave it back to her. Her family was her treasure and as long as she was with them, she had the entire world.

Channa began to bark loudly, looking at something out the window. Mira and her mother walked up to the big bay window and looked out. Flocks and flocks of birds were flying out overhead. Against the background of the dark grey sky, they seemed like big puffs of smoke that were quickly rising and spreading.

“Mira, this pearl has four elements. Water, earth, air, and fire!

And possibly more!” Finally exiting from an adjacent room, the scientist exclaimed with disbelief. “Maybe Oni knew that your message needed to be accompanied by proof. And that was the only way that people like us would believe you.”

“But who is that monster that destroyed her kingdom, the Kingdom of Wondrous Corrals?” Mira asked. “Is that what is coming for us, too?” Mira said, pointing to the window.

The scientist quickly walked over to the window and looked at the flocks of birds.

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“You want to know who that monster is?” he asked, looking at Mira and her mother.

“Then you need to meet the people I work with,” he said. “We need to do this as fast as we can. We don’t have much time left.”

He turned on his computer and within a few minutes, Mira could see so many faces on the screen. It was like a magic trick.

This was the first time that she had seen people actually talking to each other on a TV, or whatever else the scientist had called this thing.

“This is Mira, everyone,” he said, gently pulling Mira by her arm and getting closer to him.

“Hi, Mira,” everyone said in a friendly chorus of different voices and accents.

“They are my colleagues. They live in different parts of the world. But we all have a common goal. We are all working on global warming and climate change. The monster that Oni was referring to and is responsible for eradicating her habitat is climate change and global warming. It has already made its way to us, too. It is wreaking havoc everywhere and if we don’t do anything about it, our fate might be the same as Oni’s kingdom.”

Pointing to the computer screen from where different faces framed into little square boxes were looking at them, the scientist continued. “Our job is to collect information about our planet, its land, atmosphere, ice, and oceans. What we know for sure is that our planet is getting warmer and warmer. This rise in the temperature is not good for anyone or anything. It is hurting everyone.” The scientist fell silent and seemed deep in thought.

“But she said that we created it here.” Feeling confused, Mira asked, “What does it look like? Does it look scary? Oni said it was faceless, but one can feel its presence.”

“Yes.” Someone with a long beard spoke. “Everything we do here affects our planet. Every day, we are hurting our planet.

Like cutting down forests. Air pollution. Plastic pollution.

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would look horrifying. But honestly, I wish that this monster did have a face. Maybe if people saw a gigantic entity made out of gases and plastic, exuding heat and stomping around destroying everything, perhaps they would take it seriously. Unlike others, this monster gets bigger and mightier by neglect. The more we ignore it, the more powerful it gets.”

There was so much that Mira couldn’t understand, but all she knew by then was that the monster was hurting everything. She remembered Zayn’s story. Once the prince got greedy, the land rebelled and stopped giving. She was afraid. What if that monster was not faceless after all, she wondered. What if it was the master of disguise? Sometimes, it rode the dark storm clouds, creating hurricanes, cyclones, and storms, and sometimes, it sparked fires and spread its fiery red cape around the forests and its helpless trees. And sometimes, it rode the waves of the oceans like an army of angry horsemen, trampling on everything in its path.

What form is it taking now as it is moving here? Mira wondered as the hair on her neck stood up. She could see the goose bumps rising on her arms.

“And my school is still closed because it is too smoky outside,” Madhu yelled from the other side of the room, startling Mira.

“Yes, that is called smog due to air pollution.” The scientist explained. “We have been studying this incoming weather system. There is something sinister about this. We have never seen anything with this intensity before. We have been trying to sound the alarm, but it seems like not too many are taking this as seriously as it should be.”

All of a sudden, something crashed loudly against the window, jolting everyone.

“It was a bird!” Madhu screamed, withdrawing from the big window. Channa ran and hid under the table.

“Please urge every weather and space station to engage and call for evacuations of vulnerable locations!” The panic and fear in the scientist’s voice sent chills down Mira’s spine. She ran to 154

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her mother, who was already trying to comfort Madhu. From the corner of her eyes, she spotted thick bolts of lightning. The bolts were spinning around like a dust storm, and Mira felt terrified.

The scientist was frantically pacing up and down while talking to someone on the phone. Occasionally, he got very angry, cursed, and swore. Mira’s mother snuck into the kitchen and gave him a big cup of chai, but it just sat there on the table, untouched.

Finally, after a couple of hours, an ear-piercing sound joined the howling wind. A siren. Mira had never heard that sound before.

“What is this?” feeling terrified, she asked.

The scientist dropped his phone on the table and slumped on the sofa, sighing loudly.

“This is the warning alarm! I hope and pray that people heed the warning and run to safety and take shelter.” The scientist said, holding his head between his hands.

“What if there is not enough time?” Mira asked as her heart filled with sorrow. The scientist’s defeated look did not need to be accompanied by any words. Mira knew the answer.

“And what if there is not a safe place for them to go?” Mira asked in a somber tone.

Her heart ached as she thought about Zayn, Yug, Antara, and Avni. She hoped they would all be safe. She felt sad for everyone who wasn’t fortunate enough to be in a building with an actual roof on top. Even though she was very grateful for being in that tall building, she felt terribly guilty. She ran to her mother, put her head in her lap, and began to cry. She felt someone’s hand on her head.

“You have a gift, Mira,” the scientist spoke gently. “If you combine that with science and hard work, you can achieve so much. You have managed to help so many people,” he said, patting her head with affection. “If we survive this storm, then there is so much we can do. You were kind to nature and nature entrusted you with its message.”

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“Then why can’t we all be kind to nature?” Mira asked, still crying. “That way, we all can be entrusted with its message.”

The scientist didn’t say anything. He got up and walked over to the window. He stood there in silence. Mira lifted her head and looked out the window, too. The city’s sky had darkened substantially. It seemed like an angry face, screaming, and the bolts of lightning were like swollen veins that popped up with anger. This is not faceless, after all. Feeling terrified, Mira wiped her tears.

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34 The gigantic sandalwood tree’s leaves had cast dancing dark shadows for as far as the eyes could see. The tree sitting in the middle of a vast field was surrounded by thousands of white and blue flowers. Its branches swayed in the cool, gentle wind of a bright spring day. Mira looked around, hoping to see what she had seen years ago. She came here often. She wished for that magical place to reappear. She wished to see that old friend, perhaps just one more time. The storm had uprooted every tree except her favorite sandalwood tree. It was the only surviving one that stood tall and proud but lonely nonetheless, Mira thought.

She sat on the ground and folded her legs underneath her. It no longer looked the way she remembered it. That lustrous pond had vanished just as magically it had appeared. The kind scientist and his colleagues had fought hard to preserve that piece of land.

Mira closed her eyes and allowed the cool breeze to summon those memories. She imagined herself sitting by that pond and listening to Oni. There was so much she wanted to tell her. She wanted to thank her for trusting her. She wanted to thank her for her friendship, even though it was so brief, but it had changed her life in so many ways. Oni’s place in her heart was a very special one, a unique bond that she would always treasure. She wished she could tell Oni about her father who loved her and her sister dearly. No, she was not the unwanted one. She was the sheltered one, a faint smile spread across Mira’s face. Her mother wanted

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to protect her from the pain and hurt that she herself felt every day.

“Where are you?” Mira whispered quietly. A praying mantis buzzed by her ear before perching itself on her purse, which was lying on the ground next to her. Mira smiled and gently picked it up and placed it in the palm of her hand. She stroked its green triangular little head and watched as it rubbed its forelegs together.

She looked at its long neck and leaf-shaped body. Her cell phone began to ring and vibrate at the same time. She gingerly put the praying mantis on the ground and answered her phone.

“Is this Dr. Mira?” a voice with a deep accent asked.

“Yes, this is Mira. How can I help you?” she asked.

“My name is Ryan Donohue. I am also a climatologist like you.” The man introduced himself. “I am calling you from Australia. I got your contact information from your mentor, Dr. Amanjeet.”

Mira smiled. He is more than a mentor to me, she thought fondly. He is like a father to me. He is my family now. And above all, he believed in her. During that historic storm, many lives were lost, but many were also saved. They were inseparable since then. They were his adopted family. Mira quickly wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks.

“We wanted to reach out to you as we may have a situation of great importance on our hands.” The man’s voice shook. “As we are monitoring an ominous weather phenomena which could be cataclysmic. Not just for us here but for the entire planet.” He stopped and cleared his throat before continuing. “Someone has contacted us about the sighting of a…” he hesitated.

“Sighting? What kind of a sighting?” Mira asked curiously.

“Mermaid of some sort,” he hesitated again.

Mira’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly got up to her feet and took a deep breath.

“I thought it might sound familiar to you.” The man said. “It has been spotted by someone twice already.”

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“In a pond?’’ Cutting him off, Mira impatiently asked.

“No, in a lake,” he said. “Is this a warning sign of what is to come our way?” the man asked in a very somber tone.

Mira couldn’t speak. She could hear her heart pound in her ears. Could it be Oni? Her head was spinning with disbelief. She firmly clenched the little pouch with the red pearl inside. She always wore it on a long silver chain around her neck. She never parted with it.

“We can arrange for a flight for you if…” After a few moments of silence, the man spoke again.

“I am on my way!” Mira interrupted quickly. “Time is of the essence, and yes, this might be a warning!” As soon as they hung up, Mira began to run.

The little praying mantis clung to the strap of her purse as she ran out of the vast field with the sole surviving sandalwood tree casting dancing shadows on thousands of white and blue flowers.

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Books by Zahra Omar Shansab The Shoeshine of Kabul Light Chaser Mira and the Magic Pond Awards include Gold Mom’s Choice Award Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist Silver Medal Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Readers’ Favorite Book Award Finalist Hollywood Book Festival Honorable Mention Paris Book Festival Honorable Mention New York Book Festival Honorable Mention San Francisco Book Festival Honorable Mention

◆◆◆◆ Zahra Omar Shansab is an award winning author and started writing poetry and short stories when she was in 4th grade in Kabul, Afghanistan. She was forced to flee Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. She lived in India for several years before immigrating to the United States.

She has a degree in psychology and enjoyed working with children of diverse backgrounds.

Her personal experiences as a woman and an immigrant compel her to tell the stories of the downtrodden and the desperate. Her first two books, The Shoeshine of Kabul and Light Chaser were recipients of multiple awards, including Mom’s Choice Award, Readers’ Favorite International Book Award, and Next Generation Indie Book Award.

Mir nd M gic Pond

Twelve year old Mira has to sell her mother’s homemade samosas to motorists and commuters at one of the busiest intersections of a city in India. Living in a tiny room in the slums is also getting harder, as the monsoon storms are becoming fiercer and more violent. She often wonders why the weather is becoming hotter and more unpredictable.

One eventful day, as she heads home, Mira decides to take the long way back and stroll through her favorite forest. What happens next in the forest makes Mira realize that nature had chosen her to relay an important message that could save nature itself and life in a race against time.