My Childhood Dream (Tell A Tale Prompt)

Mother was sitting cross legged on the stone floor, clutching knitting needles and a scarf. Anjali, her sister, had bought Mother knitting needles finally. When they were younger, living in the streets of Mumbai begging for scraps of food, they could hardly afford clean water, let alone knitting needles. The sisters' mother (my Grandmother) had died when Mother was only 8 and Anjali was 13, causing them to fend for themselves. They had barely survived until Anjali got a job, which was a cleaner for a rich family. Anjali came home late at night every day, starting very early the next day. While Anjali was at work, Mother would beg passers for food and money. Very few were kind enough to give so Mother searched dustbins for food. Sure enough, there wasn't fresh food, she told me, but there was still enough scraps to at least survive.

Anjali told me about a time when it was Mother's fifteenth birthday. "I knew she wanted knitting needles," Anjali began. "But I couldn't afford them. I felt so bad,"

When Anjali was twenty-two, she got a job as a waitress, and Mother got a job as a chef in the same restaurant. After a year, it was enough to buy a home. It wasn't the ideal home. It was a hut, but at least Anjali and Mother had a roof over their heads.

Today is Mother's thirtieth birthday, and I am twelve years of age. This is the first time Mother has got a birthday present from Anjali, because Anjali needed to pay all the bills and buy food and did not have enough for a present. As Mother unwraps the present, she starts laughing! "Anjali! It was my childhood dream to get knitting needles and now I have finally achieved it!" They hug and smile and everyone (including me) is happy.