Arul

9 years old

"Mama..." that's what she said first and I couldn't be more pleased and prideful.

Akka's house was in our nearby street and I go there every day without fail to meet my niece. And I teach her to call me as mama and eventually, the first word that left her mouth was mama.

It was the most beautiful moment in my life. This cute bundle of joy looked at me and called me as mama-it stirred a deep emotion within me to protect her and love her limitlessly.

"Mama..." She calls again and rests her cheeks on my shoulder. "Enna ma?" (What ma?) I pat her head but there was silence. "She's sleeping, place her in the cradle...go," Akka says but I shake my head.

"Let her sleep on my shoulder," Akka sighs and watches the television while I wander across her home with my dozing off niece.

"Arul...heard that you got 1st place in all the sports competitions," Machan (sister's husband) says as he comes inside the home. He's a police officer and he often goes out of Village and returns after days.

"Yes...even in the group competitions, we got the 1st spot!" I utter out of excitement and as a result, my niece shrieks.

"Onnum illa ma...nee thoongu," (It's nothing ma, go back to sleep) I rub her back soothingly and she again retires to slumber.

"Seri, did you have dinner?" He asks me while moving towards my sister who was intently watching serials.

"No...not yet," I respond and he nods at me before paying his attention to my sister. I let them be and came to the room to lay her on the cradle.

I've to retreat to my home soon. The night has already began to curtain the world.

Once I position my niece on the cradle, I smile down at her before moving out of the room.

"Akka, bye!" I yell to her and run out of the home. "Dai, have dinner and go," I pay no heed to her words.

The food she prepares is nothing less than poison. She is terrible at cooking and that is why I'm hurrying away.

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