All through her life alone with her sister they only knew was hunger. Seeing parents buying food, clothes for their children Nora only felt heartache seeing her sister Dora by her side looking up at her smiling, they only face that relief her heartache, her hunger at once. She knew she had to survive, she had to work, she had to find food for her only sibling, her only family, her only responsibility, her small sister. How they both survive it was unimaginable, she couldn't imagine thinking back living in small hut looking for food, washing utensil, clothes for neighbours. The only thing they had a small land area push boundaries by neighbours a land left only for small hut in depleted condition to stand.
Now Nora was 15 years and Dora 5 years smaller was trying her best to look after her neighbours kids while her big sister was washing clothes and cleaning her neighbours house just for lunch and dinner. When she was cleaning the neighbours lawn, she just happen to saw a small kid just 6 or 7 years old selling mangoes. The sight of fresh mangoes made her tempting she just kept looking forgetting to clean the lawn, the small boy saw her and just shouted "do you wanna buy 1 mango I'll sell you for 10 rupees, if you buy 3 I'll sell you 25 rupees, 5 rupees discount".
Nora: "I don't have money".
Boy: "Are you lying, do you work for free, such a big house, big lawn, you are cleaning for free, do you think I'm just a small boy selling mangoes looks like a fool to you".
Nora: "Not free me and sister get lunch and dinner for work".
Boy: "Can you grow your own vegetables for food, do you have to work for food, there are so many things that grow in village freely you can cook and eat them, are you stupid, I live alone but I manage myself and make money I'll be rich someday," shows his arrogant proud looking face and left while handing out her one mango, " loan, I'll hunt you down if you don't payback after..... a year, I'm smart, not stupid to give you loan a mango, it just that you have eyed on my mangoes that it may get spoiled, so take it and pay back"
Nora: "No....no... I'm not taking your mangoes" and run aways.
Boy with wide open mouth to speak again but Nora just run away so fast, he just show a glimpse and wind passed.
Doro spend her time with kids, they pulled her hair she was pitiful, while Nora spend her time working cleaning untill it was time for house owner to have dinner, both sister with rest of workers at home waited for owners to finish their dinner, to have their dinner. Both had dinner with small portion of rice and some vegetables and they had to clean after dinner and left for their hut to sleep which was just left corner of their neighbour.
While returning after dinner, Nora felt turmoil, she toss left and right cramping and making cracking sound at bed. She couldn't sleep thinking hard she is already 15, her sister almost 10. What life would be in future, how will they both live, someday her sister has to marry. She couldn't sleep that night, she look at her sister, she slept like half-dead, whole day she look after the neighbours kids, those kids were very cruel to her, she is only 10, looking after kids she felt pain in heart, she felt like she can't even look after her small sister. Tears started to roll down her cheek thinking about her parents, why they died so early she was barely 7 when her parents passed away. She had aunts, uncle's all of them never visited them after their parents deaths, though they were poor but they never work in people's house for food, they had food to eat, land to harvest rice, they had cows, Chicken, all of a sudden Nora felt clueless, she remembers that their land was much bigger why now only they had small land just for hut to stand.
She remembered the boy selling mangoes how he lectured her as stupid working only for food which is free in countryside, lots of fish in rivers and lakes just to catch and eat, sell the surplus. She really felt like stupid and even more she felt disgusted with herself that she even made her sister suffer with her stupidity. She just vowed herself that first thing she will go with her sister to catch fish, mangoes, vegetables from jungle areas, she have to learn to make money, to make food to work and she have to save money for her sister marriage, she have to make their life better. Feeling better with her thoughts and thinking about the small boy she felt better for getting life lesson from such a proud, small boy.
She just smiled and was about to sleep the ray of light pass through their see through hut. She cried whole night thinking and now lack of sleep really made her eyes darker. She just shook her sister Dora, she opened her eyes and saw her sister smiling at her.
Dora: " Abi, why are smiling like witch and what happen to your eyes",
Nora: "We will not go for working at our neighbours, we will go hunting, fishing, we will make our own food, we will make money, let's go", Dora was so happy that she no longer have to look after the kids, she jumped from the cracking bed and said, "Let's go Abi".
They both were happy and enthusiastic although lack of knowledge about fishing, farming, cooking, but they both were happy to do something for the first time in their life of their own way. Nora felt blessed at least they have small hut that is their own, they just need fixing or else they both would have been homeless.
Both happy and enthusiastic, they set out early in the morning, it was the first time setting out further away from village. Both the sisters, felt little frightened but their hopes, dreams gave them new different kind of courage and happiness. They were little further and just reach bit hilly part when they look back they can see their small hut in the middle of big houses in the village. Little further walking they met the same boy selling mangoes now with axe looking at big tree. Nora smiled at him, boy making his eyes smaller, pouting then pointing a finger at Nora,
Boy: "You are girl who just work for food"
Nora: "Yes, I'm the girl who just work for food", looking up at sky feeling the little boys aura of proudness.
Boy: "What are you doing here away from your work"
Nora: (feeling little awkward to say that she is going to earn like him) "this is my sister Dora"
Boy: "So? I asked you first"
Nora: "We are going to catch fish and sell"
Boy: "Just like me hahahahahahahaha.... you are going to follow my footstep, do you know how to fish", with doubtful face.
Nora: (Making her head down feeling little awkward but happy) "Thank you, for making me realise"
Boy: (Feeling little awkward, puzzled) " I'm Tengkam"
Dora: "Are you cutting tree"
Tengkam: "Yes, I'm going to build big house for myself" (feeling proud)
Nora: "Where you stay before, where are you going to build"
Tengkam: (pointing his finger) "There, right side of that forest, do you want to see"
Nora and Dora feeling better that they were not alone, both nodded their head and followed Tengkam.
It was small one room hut which was better looking than Nora and Dora's hut. It had two bed one small and bigger bed and two chairs and table and some utensils for cooking and and firewood piled up. Nora looking around feeling bit shy felt that this small boys hut is much better than theirs. She is much older and she felt suddenly like inferior to the little boy.
Nora (looking around): "Are you alone where is your parents, oh! do they went for work?"
Tengkam: "My parents they are death, I lived with my grandmother, now she is death too, now I'm living alone"
Nora: "oh! I'm sorry"
Tengkam: "I'm not sorry, we all have to die one day that's my grandmother told me, but when we are living we should work to make things better, we should never regret while we live"
Nora (shock but felt happy) : "You can come with us, stay with us"
Tengkam: "No, boy and girl never should live together, untill they are married, I can't live with you two, I have to build big house, I must be rich then I should get married then I will live with the girl who I marry, I'm going to be loyal man for my wife"
Nora: (Her kind and soft heart cracked and molten lava appeared in her face)
Dora: "...." (blank look)
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