Peekaboo with Ruli

Out of breath, Namita dropped her bulging duffle bag on the bench, pulled out the water bottle from her daypack and emptied it in a few long swigs. Beads of sweat lined her forehead. Twenty more minutes and she’d have missed the train home. The traffic jam leading to the station had sucked the life out of her. 

Namita sat on the bench and was about to grab an energy bar, when another wave of panic washed over her. Hope there was no change in the platform number. She’d checked it online and it showed the train to Howrah, West Bengal would depart from platform 6. But what if an announcement was made that she missed? Namita’s eyes wildly searched for the digital display board.

There was one to her left but a short distance away. Namita hastily walked up to the board and matched the details on the screen with the ticket. Reassured, she returned to the bench where she’d left her bag only to be greeted by two twinkling eyes and a set of high pigtails tied with yellow bows. The instant Namita made eye contact, the little peanut broke into a disarming smile. Comfortably perched on her mother’s lap, the sweetpea was all playful. Namita adored children and here she was getting exclusive attention.

Initiating a little game, Namita placed her hands in front of her face to cut the view. And then to a count of five, she removed them and called out 'peekaboo!!' The hazel-eyed beauty burst into a torrent of giggles. She was so cute, Namita could eat her with a spoon. It was joy unalloyed. After a few rounds of hide and reveal, Namita couldn’t resist asking the toddler's mother, who'd just got off a phone call, her name.

Ruli had dissolved all her anxiety. The energy bar, thought Namita, could wait its turn to come to her rescue.    

(This post is part of the A to Z Challenge)