#FirstLove

FIRST LOVE

The attic was dusty and gloomy and the air tasted musty and stale. The pale dust drifted through the murky brightness as she opened one of the old cardboard boxes. With a childish inquisitiveness, she started removing the contents. She found some junk jewellery and trinkets which lend a twinkle to her eyes. She tried to recall if she had bought them in her good old youthful days or did someone gifted them to her. Without straining her memory too much she reached down to grab the pile of greeting cards under there. As she glanced and read through the warm Diwali and New year messages in fainted ink, a gentle smile of reminisces adorned her. She thought about the glorious ancient days when people actually exchanged paper greetings. Her thoughts were distracted by a glittery blue piece of metalized plastic at the bottom of the box. She knelt down to pull it out. And the moment she caught a clear sight of it, she gave out a delightful squeal and just held it close to her heart, which was now beating hard with joy and excitement. She quickly turned aside and started to smoothen the crinkles off it with the palms of her shaky hands. She was filled with exhilaration as she remembered that this blue plastic was actually a flattened balloon! It read, “my little brother!”

She recalled the day when her mother got discharged from the hospital with her newborn brother. She and her dad had bought this balloon to put in their room to welcome them home. She had loved her precious little brother, cared for him selflessly ever since the day he was born and had become a part of her life. She excitedly got up and pulled out her cell phone from her pocket. She wanted to video call and show her brother the treasure she had discovered today. After all, her younger brother was the first love of her life !

VANDANA OKE