Once upon a time...

Once upon a time, a sour spinster aunt went to stay with her two lovely nieces (princesses actually) and their (fairy) grandmother. None of them knew what to expect and all were excited at the thought of this unusual family gathering. The (fairy) grandmother was less fairy and more grandmother - all cliches, with white hair, rounded spectacles, a stoop and a shawl in any weather. When she wanted, she turned into a fairy - beautiful and straight and proud and created magic - in the kitchen, usually, but sometimes without. 

The nieces were small (figuratively speaking) and petite and cute like puppies and kittens usually are. In reality they towered over everyone and knew their mind and did they speak it! Do I need to describe the sour spinster aunt? She was round and short and wore loose clothes and of course spectacles. Her redeeming features were the twinkle in her eye and a booming laugh that could be heard two streets away. She had an easy sense of humour and a deep sense of irony and these saw her through her boring life. 

On the first day everyone wanted to please everyone else and so it passed quickly. There was ice-cream and waffles and French fries and every forbidden food amidst much laughter and giggling and hugging. The nieces pretended to study and the aunt and the grandmother were happy that peace reigned. They all happily watched as much TV as they wanted to. 

As expected, all that ice-cream in that cold weather ended in a fever. The atmosphere became a little stretched. The nieces couldn’t understand this new world where there were no rules. The sour aunt spread her sourness. The fairy retreated and the grandmother emerged. The smiles were strained. No one slept well that night. And it rained non-stop. 

The next morning the tired parents returned to a topsy-turvy order. Fatigued, they set things right and fell asleep to wake up at noon. Everything was back to normal. The nieces grumbled, but they knew this was the way their world should be. Rice and roti and vegetables and sambar and rasam and curd for a meal was just as it should be. The TV firmly switched off was right when exams were not too far away. Children should study and play - but each had its place and could not take over the other. 

The sour aunt sighed with relief that the house still stood. The grandmother receded and the fairy came up again. All was well with the world. It was normal. Two tired parents sat with their children while they did their homework. Outside it was Sunday and the world partied; not they; they had a destiny to fulfil. 

December 2017

I stayed with my nieces for a couple of days. When I was leaving, the younger one Anjali, asked me to write a story for her. This is that story :)