Rati is a small girl.
Today she has come to the fields with her grandmother for the first time.
She had often heard her family members talking about going to the fields, but no one had ever taken her along before.
But today her mother is not at home because she has gone to her maternal uncle's house with Rati's younger sister, and her father is at the shop.
So today only Rati and her grandmother are at home. Her elder sister is at school, and her uncle has gone to coaching for his computer course.
It is the season for cutting wheat, so grandmother had to go to the fields. But she could not leave Rati alone at home, so she took her along to the fields. Rati is very happy about this.
"Grandma, we are going to our field, right?"
"Yes, we are going to our field."
"What is in the field?"
"There is wheat."
"So all the wheat belongs to us?"
"No, only the wheat in our field belongs to us."
"Oh."
Jumping and chirping happily, Rati reaches the field. But before reaching their field, there is a small orchard on the way, and they must pass through it.
Rati sees many children there, all around her age, playing together.
Seeing them play together makes Rati really want to play too. But as soon as she moves toward them, her grandmother tightly holds her hand and says,
"Don't go there."
"Why?"
"Just don't."
"If you go there, I'll beat you."
After her grandmother refuses, Rati quietly walks with her to the field and does not go to the children. But even from their field she can still see the children playing in the orchard.
When grandmother becomes busy looking at the crops, Rati quietly slips away and reaches the orchard to watch the children playing.
She thinks to herself,
"I also want to play."
"But how should I ask?"
"All of them are boys."
"Oh my God! He climbed so high on that tree. He isn't scared at all."
"I will climb too."
But just as she is about to go toward the tree, someone taps her on the head from behind.
It is her grandmother.
"I told you not to come here, didn't I? But you didn't listen. Come from here."
Grandmother grabs her hand and takes her back to the field. But Rati's whole attention is still on the children playing in the orchard.
Even after trying a lot, she cannot get away from grandmother and cannot go to play.
After some time, grandmother takes her back home from the field.
All day long she keeps thinking about those children.
"No one lets me play."
"When I grow up, I won't let anyone play either."
"I will lock them inside the house and then they will see."
"Everyone does whatever they want, but whenever I try to do something, everyone catches me."
"No one listens to me."
Thinking all this, tears come into her eyes. She hides her face inside the blanket and starts crying.
While crying, she eventually falls asleep.
At around 4 in the evening, her uncle and her elder sister return home from coaching and school.
Grandmother says to them, "Come on everyone, eat food and then go to the field. We have to thresh the wheat."
Rati says, "I will go too."
"No, you won't go. You will stay at home."
"Uncle, I will go too."
"No, little sister, you can't go."
"Why?"
"You all are going."
"So why are you not taking me?"
"You are still small, that's why."
"I am not small. I will go too."
But no one pays attention to her words. Everyone locks her inside the veranda of the house and goes to the field.
Holding the channel gate, she cries loudly,
"Take me with you, Grandma! Uncle, take me too!"
But no one listens to her.
After crying for a long time, she gets tired and sits down there. Then she starts making a plan about how she will go to the field.
"When everyone sleeps, I will open the gate and go to the field."
"No… at night there are many jackals, dogs, and ghosts roaming around. If I go alone, they will eat me."
"No, I won't go at night."
"I will go in the morning. When everyone goes to the field early in the morning, I will go too."
Night comes, and everyone returns home tired from the field.
When her father comes home at night, he brings peanut namkeen and Parle toffees for everyone.
He calls Rati and says,
"Here, this is your share."
Rati becomes very happy after getting the toffees and snacks. She takes them and sits peacefully on the edge of the roof to eat them.
Then she suddenly remembers that the back alley of the house is closed from inside by grandmother.
So tomorrow, after everyone leaves, she can go to the field.
Thinking this, a big smile appears on her face.
The next morning…
Today again her mother and father are not at home. Her elder sister has gone to school, but her uncle and grandmother are still at home because the wheat threshing work will continue today.
Grandmother and uncle are getting ready to go to the field.
But today Rati does not insist on going with them. She just waits quietly for them to leave.
Her uncle teases her and says,
"What happened, Rati? Why aren't you crying today?"
Rati smiles slightly and thinks in her mind,
"Because once you leave… I will follow you. So why should I cry?"