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But no act in the world, no sky in the universe could have torn away Surya’s attention at that moment from the little scene unfolding in front of her eyes.
Two girls.
A little girl and a big girl.
The little girl was teaching the big girl ballet.
The big girl was being silly, falling over repeatedly, and the little girl was giggling nonstop.
And then, the little girl ran the short distance between them and hugged the big girl tight, burying her face in her legs.
The big girl wrapped her arms around the little girl, picked her up, said something into her ear and they both started laughing.
The dark skies.
The snowflakes.
The carousel.
The little girl and the big girl.
Surya watched in silence, and when her eyes became wet, it took her but a minute to understand why. A passer-by would have looked at the two girls and taken them to be mother and daughter.
Surya took a deep breath, pulled out her phone, dialled a number and asked for Mrs Verma.
‘She is here,’ she said into the phone.
23
Koyal had been staring at the door for an eternity now, expecting Atharv to show up each time it opened. But so far there had been no sign of him.
Reluctant to come face to face with Atharv, Koyal had initially declined to attend Mansha’s birthday party but one look at the big, fat tears that appeared instantly and she had decided to put aside her apprehensions regarding Atharv.
Her dread at meeting Atharv quickly turned to concern when the birthday cake, a ridiculously intricate confection, was being brought out and there was still no sign of the girl’s father.
‘Hema Aunty,’ Koyal whispered. ‘What about Atharv? Shouldn’t we wait for him to come?’
‘He is busy,’ Hema said, shaking her head, and Koyal couldn’t believe her ears.
‘He’s not coming?’ she asked, aghast. ‘Does Mansha know?’ Hema nodded. Koyal looked at Hema, confused. ‘Do you mean he has already wished his daughter and spent some time with her to make up for this?’
‘I stayed over last night, Koyal, and by the time I arrived, Atharv had already left for his thirty-six-hour duty. And no, I have not seen him call,’ Hema said gravely.
‘This is insane! What is wrong with him?’ Koyal exclaimed, staring at Mansha.
‘Don’t worry about Mansha, she is not expecting him to come.’
‘What? Why?’
‘He never attends her birthday.’
‘Why?’ Koyal’s heart was already breaking, yet again, for the little girl.
‘I don’t know, Koyal, and not my place to ask,’ Hema said, a tinge of sadness in her voice.
Koyal slumped into the sofa, a little distant from the madness that surrounded what was the most beautiful birthday cake she had ever seen. She looked around – it had to be one of the most lavish birthday parties she had ever been to.
Yet, it was the saddest birthday party. How could any birthday party of a seven-year-old be complete without her only parent? How would that feel, Koyal wondered. Somewhere deep down, a little ball of anger – anger directed at Atharv for doing this to a girl she now dearly loved – began to take shape.
