I was 6 years old

I was 6 years old

I learnt to ride cycles

Learnt to swing

Learnt to not be afraid of

cockroaches

Still working on that one

I was just learning…

Then she came along

The most beautiful girl I’d seen

Everyone loved her

And boy was she fun

She’d walk in and I’d dare

you to not look up

She’d tuck her hair behind

her ears

She’d flash her pretty smile

And you were hooked

And she wanted to play

with you!

What an honour it was

To be the chosen one

We played ghar ghar

& doctor doctor

I didn’t know either

She was a patient teacher

And I was just learning…

Then one day, she mixed the two

I was confused

“It was a special, secret game”

She said

“Just between us girls”, she said

It made me feel… icky

But.. but I was the chosen one!

How could I say no?

And so we played

And I learnt

I learnt to look away

As every bone in my body

Screamed

I learnt to keep it

a secret

Just between us girls

Illustrated by Sambita Modak

Comments

comments