The Gift

"Mom, can you please stop pestering me with these questions?" Rajesh could hear Mehak say to Nirmala even as he was catching up on his Sunday reading list. It was not uncommon to hear squabbles between mother and daughter and Rajesh more often than not preferred to keep out of it. But today was a bit different. Mehak's tone made him look up and take notice. She seemed a bit agitated and though she did have differences in opinion with Nirmala, it was unlike her to speak rudely.

Rajesh walked up to the bedroom to find Mehak gesticulating and trying to put across her point to Nirmala. As soon as she saw him come in, Mehak fell silent and both the ladies turned to look at Rajesh. "Can you please tell me what's happening here Mehak beta? Why are you so agitated and surprisingly rude to your mom?" Rajesh asked Mehak. She looked at him sheepishly but did not say anything. Seeing her silence, Nirmala spoke out, "You know, she has blown away five thousand rupees in purchasing some material and when I am asking her on what she has spent so much money, she is not ready to answer." It was Rajesh's turn to be surprised. Mehak was a very mature girl for her age. She was fifteen and unlike many in her peer group, she was managing her sundry expenses from the money she earned by giving tuition to younger children in our housing complex. Rajesh had seldom thought it necessary to question her spends because she earned for herself and she could definitely spend it the way she liked. But five thousand was a big amount to be spent by her and even Rajesh was concerned now.

"Beta, I believe your mom is right. We seldom question your spends but this is a huge amount and I think we should know what you have spent it on, even though the money is yours?" Rajesh asked Mehak in a very soft voice. Mehak looked uncomfortable and not ready to answer him. Rajesh tried once again. "You can tell me about it. Don't worry, we won't scold you. I am sure there is some very logical explanation to this. If you needed something this costly, you could have told us. Why did you spend so much money on something without bringing it to our knowledge?" But Mehak was still not ready to speak and this was making Rajesh a bit nervous and angry. What was she hiding? Many bad thoughts started creeping into his mind. Had she fallen into some bad company? Was someone blackmailing her? His mind was filled up with many such frightening thoughts. He was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts by the ringing of the doorbell. Gloomily, he started walking towards the door and opened it to find a courier delivery boy standing there with a huge parcel in hand.

Rajesh was surprised as he had not ordered anything and neither had Nirmala. But the package contained their names and was paid for in advance. It was beautifully gift-wrapped with a nice little card attached on top. Rajesh signed off the delivery receipt, thanked the courier guy and brought the package in and placed it on the dining table. He took out the card from the package and even as he read out the message, his eyes swelled up with tears of regret, joy and pride. The card read, "To the Best Couple in the World! Happy Anniversary in advance. From your Darling Little Daughter, Mehak"

Rajesh picked up the package and started walking back to the ladies, gleaming with pride and joy. He no more needed to know why Mehak was trying to behave the way she was and where she had spent all that money. The answer was in his hand! She had done a good job of faking her state of agitation and displeasure to keep the surprise intact. His darling little daughter had grown up.

This post is a part of #MyFriendAlexa. I am taking my Alexa ranking to the next level with @blogchatter

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