IF SUMMER COMES

Lily got off her bed in a full stretch. Outside the window the snow shone brilliantly, almost blinding her. She went to the window and closely peered at that lone apple tree in her backyard. The tree had reduced to nothing, but a few broken branches and the trunk.  The memory seemed so vivid as though just yesterday her father had hung her on his shoulders and dug a hole to plant it.

 A fleeting sense of sadness passed through her. She quickly went to her desk and pulled out a paper n started scribbling on it.

“When summer comes…..

Go fishing

Shopping

Gary’s rollercoaster yard

The city zoo

Ice cream

Skating

Go trekking in the woods

Camp fire in the backyard

Pluck apples off the tree and bake apple tarts”

Just as she was thinking of more things, mom called for her “Lily! Honey its time to get up. You don’t wanna miss your bus today or you’ll have to walk in the snow.”

She heard her mom climbing up the stairs and quickly hid the paper under the bed. Her plan was meant to remain a secret until the summers arrived.

Reluctantly lily dressed up and joined her mother and granny for breakfast downstairs.  At school the hours seemed to drag forever. It was a pleasant winter after noon and she had been in school for almost 3 hours now. She was in no mood to spend the remaining two, her mind kept returning back to the list hiding under her bed. She kept thinking of what more could she add to the list. School was a big torture to her today.

The final bell ringing never sounded so pleasant to her ears as today. “Summer isn’t far away, just a couple of months more” she thought to herself on her way back.

“Look at lily she is studying even in the bus” mocked tubby, “may be she is to dumb to finish her work in the class” mocked another kid, whom she didn’t even know. Lily didn’t care; she went on scribbling on the back of her book. What seemed like forever finally came to an end. As soon as she got off the bus, she ran towards home, eager to add her new plans to the list.

She was a bit surprised not to see her grandmother at the gate waiting for her to return. Nevertheless her excitement was to overwhelming for her and she opened the gate herself. At that moment her eyes fell on the green jeep parked outside the lawn. For a moment she couldn’t believe her eyes, a surge of excitement literally crippled her. Running she went straight inside the house from the backdoor. She halted near the drawing room door and sneakily opened it, careful not to let her father know she was back. Her plan was to jump on his back from behind and catch him unprepared. She opened the door all prepared to jump. But all she did was raise herself on her toes and subdued. She saw two men in green jerseys and blue jeans on one side of the table, her mom and granny on the other side and a white envelope with the red U.S Army seal lying on the table. One look at her mom’s teary eyes and she ran straight to her room. Closing the door behind her she pulled out the paper from under her bed and scribbled on it.

“When ^if summer comes…..

            ^/\