Normal

She found comfort in her mother’s anger. It may have been a strange thing for most people around her. Yet, it was a fact. She felt most comfortable when her mother was having “one of her days” – which was during most days of her childhood.

She rang the bell a few times. No answer. The house wasn’t locked. She knew, mum was inside. She waited on the porch for a few minutes. The wait seemed to be never ending, because, she was tired from a long day at school and terribly hungry.

But patience had become second nature to her. She stood still, staring at the door before knocking one more time. No answer.

Her brother would soon be home from school as well. He would be hungry too. He would know what to do next, as he was older and seemed very mature to her.

Finally she sat on the front steps, dropped her schoolbag on the step below and started digging inside the bag for remnants of some old snack. Nothing.

The evening was quite normal. People around were going about their business as usual. Kids drank their milk and came out to play. She observed. "Clean clothes would be nice", she thought, smelling her school shirt. At a distance she saw a bunch of women in white sarees marching away with big banners and signs in their hands. All she heard was a rhythmic, musical rumble. She couldn’t make out the words properly. She observed. Her brother finally walked toward her, after getting off the school bus. What a relief!

She ventured to knock again. No luck.

He decided they needed to call their father. They went to the neighbour’s and asked to use the phone. The neighbour’s house was dark and scary. The delicious aroma of dinner was quite a tease, though. Unlike their parents, this family wanted to save electricity, she concluded.

Her brother’s voice was bit shaky during the call, she noticed. “Father would be here soon”, he said.

“May be we should call out to her from the backyard”. She knew he would have better ideas! They went behind the house, dropped their bags on the grass and started calling out after their mother. The calling became a game, to find out who was louder. It developed into a competition of sorts and they fell into a fit of laughter, at the end of it.

That sure made her forget about how hungry she was.

After having tried to knock and ring the bell a few more times. They decided to play detective and tried to get in through some window. They were all locked.

Finally dad was home. The door opened effortlessly. “I was busy writing and studying”, mum said. Her hair was a mess. There was no delicious aroma of food. Dad raised his hand to slap mum's face, but didn't.

Father decided, he would have to cook today. She would help.

Although, the neighbours stared at them in disbelief during the evening, she and her brother had learned to ignore them. This was their “normal”. Their, very own, personal “normal”.