Sundri’s reward

 Sundri pressed her face against the smooth glass plane. Everything looked so crystal clean. The sales girl was going about putting on the lights. She looked every bit like a fairy illuminating the stellar bodies. As each LED shone, under it a glittery, shiny outfit came to life. There were so many mannequins adorning designer frocks and skirts, suits and pants, all for the little ones of those who had bedrooms as large as this showroom.

Sundri had her eyes on a white frock whose frills were pristine white like a fresh, frothy sea wave. So engrossed was the pauper in admiring her dream frock that she never realized her muddy palms were creating smudges on the polished glass pane.

“Bhago, idhar se!” The sales girl shooed Sundri away. It was an everyday ritual for Sundri to worship her dream standing on the fringes of the shop as the sales girl went about organizing the showroom for the day. In those ten minutes, Sundri in her superlative imagination would have worn the frock, her friends Mangu and Chindi clapped for her, then Mai would have kissed her and said, “My beautiful little fairy!” That’s it! Then the sales girl would fracture her dream and with the broken reality, Sundri would go back to her shanty and begging endeavors. Not before promising herself that she would come again tomorrow and complete her dream just a little more.

One fine morning, Sundri was late. Mai had given her some task and that ended so long that the showroom was now flooded with customers. Today, there was no scope Sundri could daydream with her frock. Yet, she managed a glimpse on it as a little girl was trying it on. The girl spread the frills wide like a butterfly ready to take the first flight. Soon, the frock was packed off and the girl carried the wealthy possession as Sundri wiped the tears with her muddy hands. 

There was nothing left for Sundri to look forward in a filthy childhood. The frock was a glimmer of hope in her dark, shanty life. It was a dream where everyone loved her as she actually looked like a Sundri. Mangu and Chindi didn’t tease her for the tattered, shabby clothes she wore. Mai never cursed her for being a girl child after whose birth Mai had lost a home and hearth. 

Sundri never expected to own the frock. Just those blissful dreamy minutes were sufficient for her to trudge on in a disjoint world. Dreams are like windows to a heaven which can never be build on earth. They are the baits of pulling through a turbulent life. They are the intangible assets of a mundane living.

Whatever happened, Sundri didn’t give up on her dream. She still came everyday to the showroom in the hope that some miracle would happen and she would see her white frock on the same mannequin again. Faith tided her through the impossible. New frocks were put on display – pink frills with  blue beads, sky blue frills with rainbow coloured lace but not the white frock which Sundri dreamt of.

Days snailed into weeks, the ritual of coming with a sprint in her leg and returning with a limp continued. Sundri would now be hit occasionally as the sales girl had lost her patience with Sundri’s tenacity. For the first time, Sundri all of ten years felt angry and deceived. She felt robbed of her modesty to even dream. 

Sundri did visit the showroom now but she didn’t stick her face to the window plane. She didn’t dirty it with her muddy palms. She just stared blankly at the other mannequins. The sales girl had no reason to admonish or shoo away this pauper. She, too, missed the ritual. 

Then one day, there was an early morning ruckus at the showroom. Sundri as usual had planted herself outside. 

“Such cheap materials you people sale! Just used once and there is a hole on these frills!” A woman with a white frock in her hand barked at the sales girl. It was evident that the woman had paid a good amount for a defective piece. The sales girl tried calming her down but to no avail. Finally, the store manager intervened, accepting the folly asked the woman to pick up a replacement. 

“Discard this from our collection.”

He instructed the sales girl. Sundri was watching all of this with her large brown eyes not even blinking once. After the manager left, the sales girl opened the store door. Sundri was about to escape considering the girl would reprimand when the sales girl caught her by the muddy hand and pulled her into the shop.

“Ye lo.” She offered Sundri the white frock. The pristine white frock with frothy frills. The sales girl had proved to be the fairy illuminating stellar objects. Sundri was rewarded for believing in her dreams.