Budding Friendship

Melody’s POV

Nanmaya took a breath of relief watching her best friend Kushi. Nanmaya tried to show her the teasing session but Kushi was in no mood to listen to what her friend was talking about but pulled her to their spot.

She was cut off by Kushi’s blabbering about the food items their friends brought. Nanmaya involuntarily went but want to go back to that cute boy, so turned back to see his torn face. She frowned with a pout.

After that Nanmaya didn't pay attention to the class. Her thoughts wandered around the cute boy who doesn't even know his name. Her friends failed to bring her out of that innocent cute boy’s world. Finally, after coming home, she threw her school bag on the sofa.

“Mom, come outside,” she chanted until Sushma came come out of the kitchen.

"Nanmu, why are you shouting like that baby?" Sushma chided her impatient little girl.

"Mom, what’s dumb?" Nanmaya innocently asked pulling her saree.

Sushma didn't understand that where does her daughter heard this word? She sat on the sofa along with Nanmaya on her lap. In the meanwhile, Nanmaya pestered to answer her question.

"Where did you heard that baby?" Sushma questioned adjusting her little girl's hair.

Nanmaya jerked her mother’s hand and adjusted herself. Sushma chuckled looking at her cute antics. Nanmaya explained everything she saw during the lunch break. Sushma felt pity for the boy.

"Dumb means that boy can't talk like you," Sushma explained to her innocent Princess which confused her.

Tapping forefinger on her chin, she asked, "Why?" Sushma again smiled for her cute antics.

"Because God didn't give him a voice to talk," again Nanmaya questioned why.

"The boy is special to God. So, God doesn't want the boy to talk. That's why he can't talk," Sushma explained to her little girl in a way kids understand.

How can she say that some people are not blessed to have a normal life but should face this cruel society?

Nanmaya felt amused, "So the cute boy is special?"

Sushma smiled for her innocent Princess. "Yes, but you shouldn't call him dumb or some other way which can hurt him,"

Again her innocent Princess got confused and asked why. "See, if I say, you don't look beautiful, you will feel bad right?"

Immediately Nanmaya nodded her head with a sad pout. Sushma giggled, pinching her left cheek.

"Like you felt bad even the cute boy will feel bad,"

“I’m not beautiful?” Nanmaya pouted sadly.

“My baby is the world’s most beautiful Princess,” Sushma declared kissing her cute daughter’s right cheek.

Nanmaya felt happy, kissed her mother’s left cheek, “Thank you, Mom,” said while blushing.

Sushma went awe at her cuteness and gave more kisses on her face. Nanmaya giggled, wrapping her arms around Sushma’s shoulder.

After their small moment, "Can I do friendship with him?" Nanmaya asked innocently with the cute pout.

Sushma felt happy for this innocent little heart and accepted.

"Mom then how that cute boy talks?" Nanmaya twirled her orbs in confusion.

"They have sign language baby. They will tell or talk through actions, signals, and expressions too," Sushma explained caressing her hands.

"Oh..." Nanmaya said thinking deeply.

Sushma chuckled and told her to get ready for the bath. She jumped on the ground and ran away chanting, “No bath.” Sushma chased her naughty daughter.

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Next day at lunchtime, Nanmaya saw the cute boy sitting in the same place, eating silently. She happily went and sat to his left side. He saw her but resumed his task. She felt bad but ignored.

"Hi, my name is Nanmu," she excitedly said in her baby tone extending her right hand.

He smiled and gave a handshake with a confused face. He took a book from his school back and wrote something on it.

Nanmaya felt happy with his reaction and curiously observed his actions. He finally completed and shown to her.

"Your name is different, I like it," she smiled reading that. He smiled back feeling happy for not asking him to speak.

"Actually my full name is nan...nan...nan..." She struggled to pronounce her name. He understood and gestured her to write in the book. She blinked in happiness.

"Wow, you are so intelligent," she exclaimed, blinking cutely.

He smiled giving the book to her.

She wrote, “Nanmaya Mehra,” gave it to him.

He smiled and wrote, "What is the meaning of your name?"

After reading, she kept a confused face pulling her right pig tall.

"I don't know," she said with a pout, he smiled.

"What is your name?” She asked him excitedly.

He wrote, "Mahish Aurora," she smiled.

"Wow, your name is nice but it's hard to spell," she pouted.

He smiled and wrote, "Call me, Mahi."

"Really, thank you, Mahi," she beamed at him.

He smiled and offered his chapati role to her. She took it and stuffed mouthful of morsel. He giggled and shook his head in disappointment but she didn't observe him.

"What’s your name meaning?" She asked, munching the food.

"Mahish means king,"

"Wow, you are king. Can you please take me to your kingdom?"

He laughed, shook his head, and started writing.

The impatient Nanmaya read each word when he was writing itself, "I'm...not...king...and...I...don't...have...kingdom...my...name...meaning...is...king,"

She sticks her tongue out while he laughed. He again started writing and she read it again without completing the sentence. He pushed her away, hide his book, and wrote, she pouted.

"Please don't read while I'm writing. I'm forgetting what should I write," she read and laughed loudly. He smiled biting his lower lip.

"Okay, I will not read like that," she said with a smile.

She kept the role in front of his lips and gestured him to eat. He took a bite smiling, she too smiled eating. He felt happy for her presence.

"Will you make me learn your sign language?" She excitedly asked him.

He got confused as no one asked him something like this till now.

"Why?" He wrote.

"I want to talk to you," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

He smiled showing his left palm, "You can talk silly. I will listen," he wrote.

"Then how will you talk?" She asked him confused.

"I will write like this,"

"No, I want you to talk to me,"

"But I can't talk," he wrote with a sad face.

"But Mom told you can talk in sign language," she blinked her eyes innocently.

"Yes, but it’s hard to learn,"

"Oh,” she became silent and thought for a while.

“You know that language?" She queried him curiously, blinking innocently.

"Yes," he wrote.

"So, you make me learn," she stated simply taking a bite.

He stared at her blankly. She gestured as what.

"Why you want to learn my language?" He wrote.

"Because I want to do friendship with you," she said smiling sweetly.

He felt happy for a second but came back to the real world. Till now nobody wants to do friendship with him.

He kept a sad face. "No one wants to do friendship with me,"

She got confused and asked why.

"Because I'm dumb,"

"No, you are a special kid so God doesn't want you to talk," she said, remembering her mother's words.

He got confused because no one said to him like that, not even his parents.

"Who told you?"

"My Mom," she declared proudly.

"Hey dumb, what you brought today?" He got scared hearing boys.

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