Meena's Pot

“Madam ji! Please hurry, it looks like it's about to rain,” shouted Raju, the autorickshaw driver, looking at the sky from outside.

- Ruchi Gontiya

“Yes, I'll be there in two minutes,” Mum called out to him through the window.

“Mummy, I want to go to the market with you too,” Meena said, seeing her mother getting ready quickly.

“Meena, it's going to rain, and it rained so heavily last night that the roads are full of mud and water. You'll only get dirty. I'll be back soon,” Mummy reassured her.

“If the road is in such a bad condition, then why are you going?” Meena argued.

“I have to go. We've run out of all our vegetables, and in two days your aunt and Tipu-Mintu will be visiting,” Mummy explained.

“Mummy, please take me with you. I don't know why, but I’m really worried about you. Besides, I'll help you carry the bags,” Meena pleaded, making a pitiful face and listing the benefits of taking her along.

“Alright, fine, let’s go quickly,” Mum gave in, tired of the back-and-forth. But, just as one problem was solved, another one silently took its place.

“If she is going, then I’m coming too,” said Rita, Meena’s overly clever sister, who had been listening intently to the whole discussion.

“I already need to leave quickly, and now you've started too! Neither of you are coming. That’s final.” It wasn’t clear what the weather outside would do next, but Mummy’s mood was certainly about to thunder. But there was a fourth presence in the house, someone with the rare power to clear clouds without invitation in an instant.