There was a reason why Shyla loved summers. It was only during the summer break that she could be with her distant cousins who would arrive in Channipur to spend their holidays. It was only during their time in the village that the otherwise dull haveli would breathe alive with their incessant cheepings.
Shyla Lal lived with her elder sister Pallavi and parents Ramesh Lal and Beenita Devi in a huge haveli in Channipur. Ramesh Lal’s father, Chaggan Lal, was bedridden due to old age and was looked after by Beenita and the servants. The Lals were farmers by profession with plenty of land in the village. They were very kind people and the villagers always looked up to them. Ramesh Lal’s brother Kamlesh worked in the city and lived with his wife and two kids. Their sister Shyamli was married to a contractor in the city as well and had three kids.
The massive haveli was situated next to Birma Lake, where people often went for dips. The Lals had built stairs next to the lake for people who didn’t want to swim but wished to casually sit and cool off. There was an isolated shallow area built and meant only for the children which the cousins leveraged during their vacations. When nobody was able to find them, they would always be seen having a quiet siesta near the steps.
Amongst the cousins were Jisha and Brij who were Kamlesh’s children while Topi, Rimi, and Badri were Shyamli’s. Badri, 14 was the eldest in the group. The rest of the kids, like Shyla, were either 5 or 6 years of age. Shyla’s own sister Pallavi was 10 years old.
Cousins in Channipur meant extreme levels of unbridled fun. The grown-ups would mostly be busy during the daytime allowing the kids to be alone. Sometimes the kids would wander off into the farm, sometimes into the big orchard next to the lake, and then on other days they would play hide and seek in the haveli. The children wouldn’t rest even during the nighttime with their parents chasing after them and urging them to sleep. It was downright chaos, and Shyla loved every bit of it.
Badri was Shyla’s favorite. He was the most fun person to be around. During their little scuffles, it was he who would always take Shyla’s side. Both shared a unique bond. It was as if they had built their own squad. Shyla and Badri were inseparable. Even while playing games, Shyla would always team up with Badri, and they would barely lose. They would share the same plate while eating. They would race to the fences to feed the cows and perform household chores that no one else was interested in. Badri even taught her things that she was yet to learn in her academics. She looked up to Badri for everything.
Shyla enjoyed her piggybacks home with Badri. They would secretly head out with whatever little money Badri could grab to the nearby shop to have the chocolates that their mothers forbade. They would pull pranks on Brij, Rimi, and Jisha. Once they bought water balloons and smashed a bucket full of them on Topi. Pallavi, Shyla’s elder sister had often gone to Beenita Devi crying after being targeted with their silly pranks for being too fussy.
But today was the day when things felt different. Today the haveli was unusually quiet, even though some kids still played in the verandah. It didn’t boast of the same energy for there was no sign of Shyla. Even though nobody had announced it, Chaggan Lal knew that it was the day of leaving.
The party was leaving two days before their actual departure date. An urgent work had summoned Kamlesh back to the city. Shyamli had decided to leave with him as well, with the kids. All the plans that the children had laid out for the last two days were upended. Shyla was devastated. But it wasn’t just because of the butchered plans that she was upset. She was having a hard time dealing with the news of their sudden departure.
“Why wasn’t it the same last year when everyone was leaving?” Maybe she had the most fun this time. Maybe she hadn’t thought about it back then coz probably she had outgrown herself. After all, last year she was only five.
Both the families had decided to leave early morning. Two autorickshaws were summoned. They were waiting outside near the gate. A flurry of hastening steps echoed throughout the corridors of the haveli. Everybody was on their toes because their conveyances had arrived.
“Where’s Shyla?” asked Badri after taking blessings from the elders.
“Probably still in her room,” replied a very busy Beenita Devi who was still wrapping up pooris for the relatives to eat on their way back home.
Badri walked into Shyla’s room. She was sulking in one corner of the bed.
“What are you doing here? C’mon, it’s time to leave,” Badri tried to pull her from bed. Shyla pulled her hand away. She was learning today that she wasn’t really good with goodbyes. She barely cared for others but felt broken particularly by Badri’s leaving. With him gone, life would slide into bleak quarters once again. All of the fun she had that summer would cease to exist. On top of that, plans to visit the lake and eat ice cream were shattered as well.
Badri looked at her blank face. Not a hint of emotion.
“Are you angry with me?” he inquired.
No answer.
“We are leaving, c’mon!” Badri tried to pull her again. Shyla recoiled.
He waited to listen to Topi’s voice calling him out. There was silence after a prolonged bellow.
“Won’t you come downstairs to bid us goodbye?” Badri made one last effort.
Shyla looked at him, waved her hand at him and feigned a smile, and then dug herself under the sheets.
Badri stood there for some time, shuffling, not comprehending what to say to make things right with Shyla. When there was no response from her, he began retreating. He ran down on hearing Ramesh and Kamlesh’s voice calling him out.
“Where is Shyla?” asked Pallavi.
“She won’t come down,” Badri shook his head in defeat.
Shyla got up from her bed and moved towards the window that overlooked the verandah. She saw Badri talking to Ramesh and then rushed back to her bed. There was so much she wanted to say. She wanted to scream at him for leaving so soon but she couldn’t.
“He’d be gone, he’d be gone for a year,” a voice in her head said.
She got up at once when she heard the engines chugging. Her heart thumped fast. She ran towards the roof that gave her the full vantage of the road ahead. The whole family was standing next to the autorickshaws. Her eyes fell on Badri who was busy placing suitcases inside. The rest of the kids were already seated. Families were hugging each other. The autorickshaws were chugging smoke.
“They are leaving,” a voice inside her crackled. It was followed by, “He is leaving too!”
Something in her craved his attention, but he was unaware of her presence on the roof. Shyla ran down at once. Her little feet was meeting the challenge of the sinuous staircases of the Haveli.
“I could have said a proper goodbye. How hard was that?” she was questioning her behavior.
Tears began rolling down her face when she realized that she wasn’t fast enough.
“Badri! Badri!” she began shouting at the top of her voice helplessly.
When Shyla reached the main corridor, she was stupefied upon finding that the autorickshaws had left. A small trace of dust was visible where they had been moments ago.
She stood next to the gate with her eyes welled up. Her parents were returning from the road ahead.
Shyla tried to contain her tears, but they kept running down her cheek. She was realizing what a fool she had been to mistreat Badri when he was leaving. She wanted to tell him how much she was going to miss him, that these summer holidays meant the world to her. She wanted to explain to him that it wasn’t her, that she would never generally show such a bad temper.
Just then Badri emerged from behind the gate she was holding on to. He teased, “Why have you come down now when everybody has left?”
“Badri!” she screamed in joy and hugged him. “I thought you had left,” she sobbed.
Badri hugged her tightly lifting her up, “I let them go ahead, you know. I told Mother that I would take a bus in the evening now that I am old enough to travel on my own. After all, we still had plans, right?” Badri winked showing Shyla wads of notes that he had received from all the elders.
The day that followed was a pleasant one. Shyla and Badri not only went to the lake, but they also took with them loads of chocolates, and ate ice cream swinging under the branches of a big Banyan tree. Shyla had pocketed tiny rolls of dough to feed the fish just like they had planned. Later they ran towards the farm to play with the goats and the calves and did not return till it was evening. They had played so much by the day that Shyla was feeling drowsy when they returned.
When it was time for Badri to leave, he tucked Shyla into the bed and kissed her forehead. He whispered that he was leaving and made sure that she was asleep before heading out.
Shyla turned into her bed content. Even though those extra hours didn’t change the fact that Badri had to go, it still managed to change something. She was finally at ease.