Hello there! Happy mother’s day! I hope you all are doing great! Today, I am posting another short story that I wrote for a competition a long time back. This story is dedicated to all the mothers out there. Happy reading!😊

It was the middle of the night and everything was pitch black in the house except for Ankita’s table. It was Friday, the sixth of May and when the clock struck twelve, her dad played the happy birthday tune on his ukulele for her. Ankita blew the candle and cut the delicious chocolate cake made by her mother for her sixteenth birthday. Once the cake was cut and each of them had a share of it, everyone went back to sleep. 

Ankita was excited about her special day and woke up a little early. She did her regular chores, dressed herself up in a nice baby pink shade of Anarkali and paired it up with a pair of statement jhumkas. And when she had no work to do, she was daydreaming. She was dreaming about her fourteenth birthday when she and her friends had gone to a theme park. She was dreaming about how much fun they had at that time and how they had an ice cream party on her fifteenth birthday. She was indulged in her world and did not pay attention to her mom who had been talking to her for the past two minutes.

 ‘Ankita, arrange these plates on the dining table. Move this chair here. No, there. No, let it remain where it was before. Papa is going to get juice. Which flavour do you want? Ankita? Ankita? Ankita?!’

‘Ha, yes mama. I would like mango flavoured juice. Yes, I will arrange.’

‘Where were you? It is your birthday today and I told you to arrange it because your friends are coming over, aren’t they?’ asked her mom.

‘Yes mama, I know. It is my birthday party and my friends are coming over. They will leave only by 6 pm.’

‘Okay, but what will you kids do for 8 long hours?’

‘We will watch movies, eat, play some games and mostly talk.’

‘Okay, fine. After all, it is your day. Enjoy!’

‘Thank you, mama.’

Just minutes after their conversation, she heard the doorbell and her friends started arriving one after the other. Though there were only four of them including Ankita, the house was very noisy. They waited for Ankita’s father to arrive and cut another cake. This time, it was a creamy red-velvet cake from her favourite Magnolia Bakery. Once they had done eating, they watched some movies and played many games. 

The clock struck six and everyone left. As Ankita went down to leave her friends, she received a package with no sender’s address on it. Though a bit scared at first, Ankita opened the package and found a small pocket notebook inside. It was blue and had white flowers on it. It looked like her own book that she used to have once. She had lost it two years ago when they shifted their house from Mumbai to Dubai.

She used that notebook as a journal where she drew, scribbled, and wrote some notes to her mom. Along with the notebook, a handwritten note read- “I am your greatest supporter, I care for you more than anyone and I am always there for you when you need me. Who am I?” The backside of the note read- “The best gift ever”.

Ankita was confused as to who had sent this. But as she read the lines again, she started to think that all these words had described a friend. While thinking of who the friend could be, she messaged her long-time friend, Karthik. Since the notebook was blue, she thought that Karthik had sent it because blue was his all-time favourite colour.

‘Hey, Karthik, did you send me a gift by any chance?’ she messaged him.

‘No Ankita. Is it your birthday today? Happy birthday! I am sorry to wish you late, I forgot about it.’

‘Thank you. It is all right. Thanks for replying.’

Karthik was checked off from the list and now she had no clue. But the handwriting seemed a bit similar. Her other friend, Shweta, had similar handwriting. 

‘Hi, Shweta. Did you send me a gift by any chance?’

‘Hey, Ankita. Yes, I did. Did you receive it? Amazon said it would reach you only by tomorrow.’

‘Did you send me a notebook?’

‘It is a surprise. But no, it is not a notebook.’

‘I am excited. Thanks.’

She was so confused because she did not know who had sent it. The sunset was down and the moon rose but still, no answer. She went to bed that night still thinking about who it would have been. 

‘Ankita, why do you have dark circles? Didn’t you get enough sleep last night?’ asked her mom.

‘No, I did not mama.’

‘What bothered you? Nightmares?’

‘No. Yesterday, I received a package in which there was a small blue diary like the one I used to have before. The thing is that I do not know who sent it, for it does not have the address of the sender. It just had a few clues to find who that was.’

‘I think today is the day you need to think. You will find the answer soon, do not worry about it. Chalo, get ready for school. The bus will come soon.’

She hesitantly went back into her room and started to get ready. She wanted to sleep very badly and was looking very tired. She got ready and left for school. She was so tired that she could not even keep a step forward. But something that a girl read during the assembly gathered her attention. 

‘A mother is your first friend, your best friend and your forever friend. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers.’

‘Why can’t it be mama?’, she thought. ‘She cares for me the most. She is always there when I need her and she has been my greatest supporter.’ Her uniform collar and tie started to get wet as she realised that her mom had given her the gift in the first place. 

‘But why did she give me a notebook?’ This question left her thinking throughout school time.

Somehow, Ankita recollected that she used to write her mother small notes that described what had happened each day when she was young. Her mom used to come late from the office and would patiently read them. As she grew older, she somehow lost that habit. Ankita realised that the reason for this was the same as what her science teacher had taught one day- ‘Children get emotionally detached from their parents once they reach their teenage years.’

Ankita was able to understand her mother’s emotions. Once she reached home, she waited patiently for her mom to return from work. Exactly at 5:30 pm, her mother entered the house. 

Ankita hugged her mother tightly and said, ‘Thank you, mama, for the best gift ever.’

‘How did you find out that it was me who sent it?’

‘Who can be more caring and supportive than you, mama? And who could be a better friend than you?’

‘Of course, I am.’

‘I can understand that your expectations are fair and thank you once again for the best gift ever!’

---

The story ends here. Hope you liked reading it! Do drop in your thoughts in the comments below! Until next time! 😁