The day was humid, as usual. Evening brought in only more dust and dry leaves from the mango tree in the front of the house. It was nearly 7pm, and the city thundered around the house, though everything was quiet on the terrace, behind the huge, black water tank. Aparna was scared of it, just as she was scared of big, dark things - whales, submarines, water tanks, even sharks. But this time, the bigness and blackness of the water tank didn't stop her from sitting beside it, leaning on it, her legs dangling. She was two stores above the ground, and if she decided to take a leap, all her family would find will be a bunch of broken bones.
It wasn't often that Aparna visited the terrace of her house, but whenever she did, life's big questions - why do I exist, what am I doing with life, what does the future hold - bombarded her. She was thinking the very same questions when a bat whizzed past her. She froze, wondering whether the bat would attack or not. She did not know anything about bats, except that they were black with scaly wings and sharp little fangs, and that they sometimes turned into bloodsucking vampire leeches. She remained motionless for sometime, thinking they'd come back for her if she moved. But when nothing more happened after a few minutes of being a statue, she decided that they weren't going to attack after all. Shaking her head and mentally chiding herself for her fairly well-known stupidity, she returned to her contemplation of life.
Looking all around her in the trance, she also happened to look down at the 15 cents of land next to her house. It had an abandoned look, and was overgrown with banana trees, tall grass, wild flowers and the occasional adakka trees. It was home to a variety of crickets and frogs, and the city's favorite mosquitoes that had taken a special liking to her. They could be found all over her any time of the day, even if there were a million other people with her. She'd seriously considered burning the vegetation to rid the place of mosquitoes, but decided against it when it occurred to her that a fire would probably drive out all the snakes that had made the mini-forest their home, and that definitely wasn't what she wanted. Not that she hated snakes, but she didn't think she could take it lightly if she burned the forest one night and woke up the next day to find a dozen or so snake families wrapped around her bedpost or scooter, napping. Besides, a few of her dead kittens were buried there - what would those little souls think? Not to mention the number of crows that would probably be cawing around all day, and making her beloved mango tree their new home. No, definitely no fire to the forest. That would have to wait until all the snakes and the crows evacuated. That would take a while, but she didn't mind waiting; patience was something she was proud to have a lot of.
Turning her eyes away from the forest and gazing at the terrace of Mr and Mrs Next Door, she found Mr Next Door poking around their own terrace, his flashlight winking at her in the dark. He seemed to be looking for something in a pile of junk that had reached alarming proportions. She kept gazing at him when Mr and Mrs Second Floor From the House in Front's son began screaming at his mother for putting too much food on his plate. Mr Second floor From the House in front was saying nothing to the brat, and not a peep could be heard from Mrs Second Floor From the House in Front. At the same time, a lot of banging and frying could be heard from the kitchen of Mr And Mrs First Floor From the House in Front. Their son, too, was telling his mother off, but at least he wasn't screaming like he used to when he was younger. Aparna turned to glance at Mr Next Door, but he was gone.
Mr Konkani Next Door came out of the front door, but went back inside quickly. A few seconds later, his son came out, and went in the same way as his father. She wondered if they were spying on her, but laughed about it a second later. As far as she knew, Mr and Mrs Konkani Next Door and their kids - a boy and a girl - weren't nosy or snooping, unlike Mr and Mrs House in the End and their older son. The former was quite hard to find, while the latter was around in every corner.
Aparna lifted her gaze to the enormous mango tree standing wild in the mini-forest, and was startled to find a huge, green parrot, its colors leeched out by the moon, staring at her, it's eyes cruel, and a hookah in its colorless beak. She was breathless for a few seconds, and then took in the leaves of the mango tree that made up the evil parrot. It was staring at her as though plotting against her, and she gazed back at it, fascinated. She looked around at the trees, and found them transforming to show her amazing silhouettes - ballerinas, humans with wings of a butterfly, a beautiful dress, two mythical creatures sharing a bar of food and eventually kissing when the light wind brushed them, and a smirking puppy from her own mango tree. She stared at them for a long time until the mosquitoes came looking for her. Apparently, they had missed her a lot, judging by the way they poked and kissed the blood out of her veins. She was ignoring them, brushing them away, until one particularly excited mosquito dug into her with gusto. That was when she began slapping them all to their deaths, but most got away. She was just starting to think that she'd take the vampire bats themselves over these pests, when her Better Half came to fish her out before she drowned in the mosquito sea.
As she descended the steps from the terrace, she could swear that the mosquitoes said, "We miss you!"
It wasn't often that Aparna visited the terrace of her house, but whenever she did, life's big questions - why do I exist, what am I doing with life, what does the future hold - bombarded her. She was thinking the very same questions when a bat whizzed past her. She froze, wondering whether the bat would attack or not. She did not know anything about bats, except that they were black with scaly wings and sharp little fangs, and that they sometimes turned into bloodsucking vampire leeches. She remained motionless for sometime, thinking they'd come back for her if she moved. But when nothing more happened after a few minutes of being a statue, she decided that they weren't going to attack after all. Shaking her head and mentally chiding herself for her fairly well-known stupidity, she returned to her contemplation of life.
Looking all around her in the trance, she also happened to look down at the 15 cents of land next to her house. It had an abandoned look, and was overgrown with banana trees, tall grass, wild flowers and the occasional adakka trees. It was home to a variety of crickets and frogs, and the city's favorite mosquitoes that had taken a special liking to her. They could be found all over her any time of the day, even if there were a million other people with her. She'd seriously considered burning the vegetation to rid the place of mosquitoes, but decided against it when it occurred to her that a fire would probably drive out all the snakes that had made the mini-forest their home, and that definitely wasn't what she wanted. Not that she hated snakes, but she didn't think she could take it lightly if she burned the forest one night and woke up the next day to find a dozen or so snake families wrapped around her bedpost or scooter, napping. Besides, a few of her dead kittens were buried there - what would those little souls think? Not to mention the number of crows that would probably be cawing around all day, and making her beloved mango tree their new home. No, definitely no fire to the forest. That would have to wait until all the snakes and the crows evacuated. That would take a while, but she didn't mind waiting; patience was something she was proud to have a lot of.
Turning her eyes away from the forest and gazing at the terrace of Mr and Mrs Next Door, she found Mr Next Door poking around their own terrace, his flashlight winking at her in the dark. He seemed to be looking for something in a pile of junk that had reached alarming proportions. She kept gazing at him when Mr and Mrs Second Floor From the House in Front's son began screaming at his mother for putting too much food on his plate. Mr Second floor From the House in front was saying nothing to the brat, and not a peep could be heard from Mrs Second Floor From the House in Front. At the same time, a lot of banging and frying could be heard from the kitchen of Mr And Mrs First Floor From the House in Front. Their son, too, was telling his mother off, but at least he wasn't screaming like he used to when he was younger. Aparna turned to glance at Mr Next Door, but he was gone.
Mr Konkani Next Door came out of the front door, but went back inside quickly. A few seconds later, his son came out, and went in the same way as his father. She wondered if they were spying on her, but laughed about it a second later. As far as she knew, Mr and Mrs Konkani Next Door and their kids - a boy and a girl - weren't nosy or snooping, unlike Mr and Mrs House in the End and their older son. The former was quite hard to find, while the latter was around in every corner.
Aparna lifted her gaze to the enormous mango tree standing wild in the mini-forest, and was startled to find a huge, green parrot, its colors leeched out by the moon, staring at her, it's eyes cruel, and a hookah in its colorless beak. She was breathless for a few seconds, and then took in the leaves of the mango tree that made up the evil parrot. It was staring at her as though plotting against her, and she gazed back at it, fascinated. She looked around at the trees, and found them transforming to show her amazing silhouettes - ballerinas, humans with wings of a butterfly, a beautiful dress, two mythical creatures sharing a bar of food and eventually kissing when the light wind brushed them, and a smirking puppy from her own mango tree. She stared at them for a long time until the mosquitoes came looking for her. Apparently, they had missed her a lot, judging by the way they poked and kissed the blood out of her veins. She was ignoring them, brushing them away, until one particularly excited mosquito dug into her with gusto. That was when she began slapping them all to their deaths, but most got away. She was just starting to think that she'd take the vampire bats themselves over these pests, when her Better Half came to fish her out before she drowned in the mosquito sea.
As she descended the steps from the terrace, she could swear that the mosquitoes said, "We miss you!"
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