Close Encounters Of The heh? ok Kind

I started writing and then the internet explorer gave out on me. So if you notice the curt tone, kindly endure. I'm trying to tell you a story that's essentially happy.

People always manage to surprise me. The last week has reaffirmed my belief that at the point when your cynicism reaches its unwholesome peak, you will meet someone or the other who will make you shake your head and wonder how you let yourself get jaded so easily, time and time again.

Anyway, I'd been part of a team that had organized a mall activity sponsored by a stuffed toys manufacturer. Part of the event was a stall dedicated to the display of the aforementioned plush animal companions, and I happened to be sitting behind the desk at this stall when the first encounter happened. She was three, he was eight. She had a look on her face that had been designed to charm the rest of the world, he merely looked amused at the thought that this might actually work. She came to me to look at the pink bear on the desk, and he followed. I asked her if she liked the bear. She blushed, smiled and said 'No.' He had a wry grin on his face, as though she had just lived up to his expectations. Then I began talking to him (lets call him A).

Me: - Do YOU like stuffed bears?
A: - No.
Me: - Then what kind of bears do you like?
A: - The kind that lives in forests, not shops. That's what they're actually supposed to be doing.
I started blinking at this point.
A: - These bears must be rich. They're all wearing snazzy clothes. And you must be very rich to own all of them.
Me: - Oh no, I'm quite poor. They've hired me to tell the world about them.
A brief conversation about the banking practices prevalent among bears followed. We were interrupted by his elder brother who refused to talk to me.
Me: - Your elder brother doesn't seem quite as friendly as you are.
A: - He's friendly enough to me. Hahahahaha.
Me: - So you're the one in the middle, just like me. I have a younger sister who's taller than I am, and an elder sister who's shorter than I am. We're quite a strange family.
A: - There's nothing strange about it. People are like that; it happens in all families. My eldest brother is only 13, and already he's as tall as my mum. Its not so strange.
Me (slightly flabbergasted): - So you're saying I shouldn't take it to heart?
A: - Absolutely not. They're your family after all. There are other things to love apart from height.
He left after that. I'm still trying to believe that this little boy was for real.

The next encounter was again at the same mall, where some 50 kids from a local NGO were visiting. Her name was Nisha, she was dark, bald and crying. All of two years of age. So I picked her up, and gave her a tour of the ground floor of the mall. She put her arms around my neck, trying to understand the bewidering brightness around her. When the volunteers took her from me, she screamed her lungs out. After a minute or two, she was sombre again. Two years of life had already taught her resignation.

The third meeting was with one of the workers in the cafe at work, who makes me hot chocolate every morning. He took me by surprise, asking me to tell him exactly how Harry Potter's life turned out, and what happened to Ron and Hermione in the end. That takes my tally of friends made over Harry Potter to three, the other two being Kitkat and SKT.

Also, a very scared and liquid brown eyed black stray mongrel followed me and a very scared someone around for fifteen minutes on the street today. The poor thing couldn't keep up in the end. Hope he doesn't sleep hungry.

P.S.: - On a Kailash Kher trip right now. I have placed him right next to RHCP on the list of 'must-watch' performers. Okay, its not a list, just two names right now. So sue me.

Comments

see... there's a reason that some ppl are scared of the dogs okay.. i go on to defend the poor scared "someone".. probably hez one of those who's been time and again attacked upon by the dogs.. have u faced it? have u faced it? god.. those eyes! those canines! those barks! they still haunt me! tell that certain someone that i totally feel him! its alrt.. u cant trust those well-disguised eyes which probably are checkin out the vulnerability of the person :P

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thank u for introducing me 2 those songs of kailash kher.. thank u thank u :)

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u conveniently forgot about the kid u'd scared away the other day at the same mall :P
Punvati said…
Hahahahaha! oh u could make out who the scared someone was from a mile away :)

Hehehe A seems cute... one of those kids who's wayy too mature for his age.. hey if a kid can make u feel dumb, what does tht tell u abt the kid or urself? :P
Jim said…
Two years of life had already taught her resignation.

Thanks for that... it put a few things in perspective.
i've always maintained that children are the wisest people on earth, and that is why grown ups give them such a tough time.

anasua went at me tooth and nail to read yoru blog, and i'm glad i did. i loved this post.
heh? ok said…
@ brick
honestly, you're beyond reason and redemption.

@ divya
tells you that the much hyped growing up is a waste of precious time.

@ jim
no problem. :)

@ priyanka
i should probably write this on your blog, but i'm lazy. i read your entire blog in one go, and i loved it. and thank you.
wow.lovely. SO much more wow than all the girls who ever said "ooohh, how cute kids are." they just don't get it, which is why the kids squirm away from their taloned hands.
and the little boy is, as you say, unbelievable. my little boys(two) will be just that way. i'll name them calvin and hobbes, interchangeably.
and the strangest thing - my maid asked me, in an authentic north bengal accent, who the bespectacled boy with the scar on his head was, as her daughter recently bugged her to buy a water bottle with him on it. why do most people know of harry potter as a brand than as a book?

on second thoughts, dont answer that. and can i add you on my blog roll?
heh? ok said…
@ anasua
calvin and hobbes shall appreciate the understanding. :)

@ priyanka
ok i won't answer, because it'll make the morning gloomier. and of course you can, and likewise.
**She was three, he was eight. She had a look on her face that had been designed to charm the rest of the world**
These twin sisters at the restaurant last night -
I would have given anything to be three once again.
:))
heh? ok said…
@ toothless wonder
i wanna be eight. :)
probe said…
Didn't A call you auntie in the meanwhile?
btw, enjoyd reading.. cheers :)
heh? ok said…
@ probe
when i said, "you're a very interesting boy and i'm glad i met you", he replied,"i'm glad i met you too" and tugged on my hand really hard so as to make me fall.

as for 'auntie', hmph.
zypsy said…
that talk with A is simply wonderful!
Kids.

My jury's still out on that one.
heh? ok said…
@ zypsy
agreed. :)

@ aqc
the wonderful thing is, i don't think they care.

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