Child of Spring Read Online Free PDF

the tamarind tree? How much longer until I could be alone?
    “Let’s ride a rickshaw home, Amma,” I pleaded.
    “
Daiyya!
Why?”
    Because,
I thought,
I want to admire my ring and because I want to talk to Dinoo Kaka and to Old Nahni hiding behind a star and tell them that I wished really hard and my wish came tru
e
at last.
    I hugged Tikki to my chest and felt the weight of the secret that lay inside her. It reminded me of the fiery mango pickle and her countless cries of “Basanta, do this! Basanta, bring that!” Where were the smiles,
hanh
? Where were the “pleases” and the “thank-yous”?
    “I’m tired of all this walking,” I replied.
    “Daiyya!”
Amma exclaimed. “You’ve never complained before!”
    A dip in the road made me stumble and I clutched my doll more tightly. I knew I had to hide the ring better as soon as Amma’s back was turned, and I knew the perfect place to put it.

    “Wash up,” Amma told me as soon as we got home.
    I ran to the water pump without being told twice. “I might be gone a while,” I called over my shoulder. “I’ll be visiting Dinoo Kaka too.”
    I threw some water over my face and sped to the knoll, looking out for Paki and Raju on the way. Luckily, they were not around. I sank to the ground under the tamarind tree, lifted up Tikki’s dress, and fished out the secret hidden in her middle.
    Now it was just me and the ring and Dinoo Kaka in the branches above, and he wouldn’t breathe a word. I slipped the ring on my finger and gazed at it for the longest time. I held my hand out to admire it. As I twisted it this way and that, a ray of sunshine struck up a ruby red spark.
    “Look, Dinoo,” I cried. “Look how the ring shines against my skin!”
    “Caw, caw!”
Dinoo Kaka crowed in admiration.
    “
Hanh,
Dinoo, it is very beautiful, is it not? But I have to put it away soon. Tikki’s getting married in the next hour,you see, and I must attend to a thousand things before Dear Boy’s arrival.”

    As soon as my mother left to scour the pots with coconut husk and ash, I dived under Bapu’s
charpai
and pulled out the Big Box. I rummaged under Amma’s bright red sari and Bapu’s white muslin kurta, teased up the splinter in the corner, and dropped the ring into the hidden little hollow, where it now nestled as snug as a bug in a rug. I pushed the box back under the cot, satisfied that my secret was safe for now.
    When Amma had returned from the water pump, it took just a little cajoling to get her to agree to another wedding. Just as soon as the sweet milky tea and the
laddu
were secured, I ran to tell Lali about it. I warned her in no uncertain terms to be prompt and punctual.
    As I waited for Lali to arrive with Dear Boy, I prepared for the wedding. I coaxed the pink back into Tikki’s cheeks with the help of a little spit. I twisted her brown ringlets around my finger and creased the folds of her red bridal sari. I gently nudged aside the mica in my treasure box and picked out a tiny bead necklace for her to wear. My little bride was finally ready.
    I looked about with satisfaction. The dowry was arranged for Lali’s inspection, the tea was piping hot, and the
laddu
had been divided evenly into seven pieces.
    But Lali and Dear Boy were late! I paced back and forth until Amma told me to stop skittering about like a cockroach, but it was hard to be still. My mind kept going back to the ring.
    At last I heard a drumbeat, winding its way closer and growing louder by the minute.
Rat-tat-tat … rat-tat-tat!
    “They’re coming! They’re coming!”
    “No need to shout,” Amma admonished me.
    I heard commotion outside. “They’re here, Durga!”
    Lali lifted the curtain and peered into our hut. “Ganga couldn’t come,” she announced. “He’s helping his father mend the old cobbler’s thatch. He’s so sweet,
nai
?”
    I didn’t care if the Milk Boy was absent; that’d just mean more bites of
laddu
for the rest of us. But the crowd outside still