And Then One Fine Day...The Morning

Clad in a blue and red sari, long black as midnight hair tied into two thick plaits, her only adornment a single thin chain around her neck, almond shaped doe-eyes, the colour of twilight with gilded flecks, a long dainty nose with a small nose-ring, cheeks the colour of pink roses, a pointy chin with hinted at a bit of stubbornness in her nature...who was she?

She seemed to be asking him something but for the life of him he couldn't bring himself to pay attention to whatever it is she was saying.

She finally stomped her foot in anger and thats when William was shaken out of his reverie.

"Who are you," he asked wondering if she knew English because he for one didn't know a word of Hindi.

The girl stared at him pointedly and thats when he realised that he was still lying down on the grass. He quickly got himself together, scrambled into a sitting position, adjusted his clothes and hair and repeated his question, "Who are you?"

"I am the Headmaster's daughter," she said in a sing-song voice with not even a tinge of hindi accent.

"Very well. I am...," before he could his finish his sentence she said,

"I know who you are. You're Sir Graham's son, the one who has come to oust us all from our homes and take away our land if we are unable to pay the tax this year." She finished in a puff of anger.

William was taken aback at the abject animosity evident on her angelic face. He wondered who had fed her such a load of nonsense about his father, a peace-loving man trying his damnedest to bring some amount of respite for the village of Rasgaon. But for some reason he knew that no matter how much ever he tried to clear his image, the headmaster's daughter wasn't going to believe him.

So instead he asked her, "Where did you learn to speak English?"

"Why do you ask? Have I surprised the imperialist in you?"

William was getting a tad angry with the sourness in her voice, he knew there was no reason for her to be this defensive. After all his question was asked in complete innocence.

"Not at all," he replied a little stiffly.

Antara was angry with the imperialists for having destroyed her beautiful village but she wasn't mannerless and inhospitable.

"I am sorry. That was rude of me. My mother was the nanny to Lord Hilton's granddaughter. I used to tag along with her and was allowed to sit for tuitions. Thats where I learnt to speak English."

"Oh well. Thats wonderful. I am glad you can speak English. Perhaps you can teach me your language."

"Certainly. You can join the village school. The fees is nominal enough for you to afford and the hindi lessons are in the afternoon."

William smiled at her cheekiness. But he was in the mood to surprise her it seemed so he said,

"Certainly. Shall I come down to the school tomorrow? Are you the Hindi teacher? Or do you by any chance take classes after school?"

William watched her expression change from mild disbelief to suspicion. He quickly added, "There would be other children in school too right. Its been quite a while since I've spent time with children. My eldest sister has 3 girls. Quite a handful those three. I do miss them dearly."

Antara found herself softening to the young man. She knew that should anybody see her speaking to him the entire village would be in uproar. But she was never one to follow rules.

"Will they be visiting you during their holidays? Have they been to India?"

"No they haven't been to India. I have requested my sister Charlotte to bring the children during their holidays to India. It will be quite an adventure for them."

Antara blurted out, "Why adventure? Is it because they feel that we are a country full of uneducated and backward villagers? We are quite an advanced country Sir. The world thrives on our rice and handloom. Your government survives on our trade."

"Why are you getting so agitated and defensive my dear girl? The children will love India for her culture and unity. The colours of this country are so varied and different. It will most definitely be a learning for them."

"I apologise for speaking like that Sir," she blushed.

"Apology accepted my dear girl. Please do not call me Sir. I feel quite positively old when you call me so. My name is William and my dear one ones call me Will."

"I don't know whether we will meet again. If we do, maybe then I shall. For now, Sir will do just fine," she grinned.

She turned to go, when William stopped her saying, "Wait. What is your name?"

She smiled, her right cheek dimpled and said, "If we meet again, I shall tell you. For now dear girl suits me just fine. I quite like the sound of that."

With that, she turned and scooted away into the woods, leaving William with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

He knew they would meet again. He knew.

After all how difficult would it be to find a girl who was not only the village Headmaster's daughter but also the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

Going back to school never sounded more appealing!

***********************to be continued*************************************