Subramanian’s two flash fictions explore contrasting acts: a child’s selfless gift amidst competition and a maid’s fear of obsolescence, countered by human connection, exclusively for Different Truths.
#1
A Heart on Display
A school function it was with a minimal glow of warmth and friendly greetings and expectations. And the chirpy girls in their early teens flitted on the stage in various displays of emerging talents—Bharatnatyam, elocution, songs, and gigs.
Who will steal the show? Those expectant faces did not know…nor could dream of. None knows the imponderables.
Ten-year-old Susheela stole the viewer’s eye with a singular, expressive display of an episode in Bharatnatyam. She got the prize and was the cynosure of all eyes.
Her mom was thrilled. “To get the first prize in what we took pains to train her was stupendous.”
The parents were proud—rightly so. After all, life needs such moments, perhaps many of them.
Daisy, Susheela’s friend, sauntered with a shy, disarming smile. She too was an accomplished student.
“This for you, Susi… Susheela opened the plastic box to find a sparkling ring and was stunned. So was her mom. A flustered thanks from both to Daisy.
But the mom couldn’t help but ask in turn.
“It must have cost a bit. Why dear?”
Her reply was a shy, engaging smile of innocence.
“All for a dear friend, Aunty.” Then came the coup de grace.
“I pooled the money out of my birthday gifts…”
Susheela stole the show. Daisy their hearts.
***
#2
A Device is a Device
She buzzed sharply at 10 a.m., where she was expected to do her chores as a maidservant.
It was a single-storey house spreading from a veranda to bedrooms on either side and a hall. The kitchen was slyly away from a culinary eye.
Kamala, the household help, knew the young couple and the family very well. She was paid well, and her periodic needs for financial help were also taken care of. After all, loyalty pays if… (the if here matters), and the employer was kindness personified.
Kamala thought it was not unfair that she was part of the family. They too played along, especially the kids.
It took the usual three-quarters of an hour to finish her work. She was struck by a saucer-like whirring device that meticulously scanned the floor, inch by inch, devouring every spot of dust and muck. The floor looked all shiny and clean.
Kamala, curious and alive, asked, “What’s this? A rolling tortoise with a gasoline smell?”
The daughter of the household smiled. “It’s a cleaner Kamala. We have one more upstairs… bought it yesterday. No need for a broom anymore.”
“Does it mean no need for me, too?” Her smile was acidic. She knew what it meant.
But the answer belied all her latent natural fears. The daughter’s smile widened.
“Don’t let your imagination go off the radar. A device doesn’t replace a relationship.”
Kamala’s eye smiled now.
Picture design by Anumita Roy
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