Diwali

It was only 2 weeks before Diwali when I knew my father was coming to visit me. I was so excited that I told all the people at home that he was coming.

Each day I looked at the date and said impatiently to my mother, ‘Mom it’s so awful that the days are passing so slowly.’ But at last, two weeks passed and the big day came when he was to arrive. On Wednesday, 3rdNovember, at 10:30 AM he arrived and that was an unforgettable moment when we hugged each other and I was almost crying with joy. That day passed and the next day zoomed in as Diwali. It was a special day and there was rice pudding for breakfast. Lunch was vegetable soup, corn and spinach sandwiches and yogurt.

After lunch, my father had a catnap while I spent some time with my grandma. Then we spent about half an hour playing football for playing games is our forte. We then started to burst crackers. Our first one was the multi-coloured shots and my father asked me to close my ears. And it was only after the thunderous sound did a big question come into my head. If even we humans couldn’t tolerate it then how could all the insects, worms, mini-beasts and the cow in front of our house, which was mooing in fear, tolerate it? Did they have the option to close their ears? I asked this question to my father. He just smiled and walked off. I knew the answer. It was a big no. And so, I thought of many other nicer ways to celebrate Diwali.

The next morning I went to have a look at the bird that lived on the shrub in our garden for years. I was choking with emotion. I realised it had flown away from the shrub it had lived on, since I was a baby, to spend the night in a safer place, for the sound of the crackers had scared it away. And later, in the evening when I was playing football I went to my father’s side and my heart leaped with joy for I could see the bird and it’s family chirping happily on the tree next to the shrub.

I wish we humans could think of better ways to celebrate Diwali and understand that all the tiny, teeny- weeny creatures and mini beasts could never tolerate the sound of the thunderous crackers we burst, nor can I. Not my forte! (Both French and Italian)

The End.