The Color of our Sky: A novel set in India by Amita Trasi

Author:Amita Trasi [Trasi, Amita]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw
Publisher: Bloomhill Books
Published: 2015-06-29T23:00:00+00:00

Over those first days, I had arranged the apartment as best as I could, the way Aai would have, had she been here. I covered the cream-colored walls with cheap paintings bought at the supermarket; garish curtains from the Indian store adorned the windows, and the tablecloth spread on the dining table had been a gift to Aai from my grandmother, handed to her before she had eloped with Papa. Aai had treasured it, spread it on the dining table in our apartment in Bombay, and I had carried it with me in my suitcase to this foreign land. I was afraid Papa wouldn’t like it, but he didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he didn’t comment on it.

In my closet was a special place for Aai’s things—things I had carried with me that made me feel closer to her—a half-empty bottle of coconut oil and a spray bottle of rose water I sprayed on my pillow so I could imagine her lulling me to sleep the way she used to when we were in Bombay. Some nights I would get out of bed, sit on the ground, and look at the stars, pretending Mukta was by my side, giggling as if nothing had ever happened.

There were times when the loss of a mother seemed unfathomable to me. Like on the day when I stood up to read a chapter aloud during English period. A girl pointed out the blood on my skirt, and I sobbed, thinking I had gotten a dreadful disease after coming to this foreign country. The teacher took me aside while girls sneered; teasing me that I knew nothing, and explained to me it was just the beginning of my womanhood. I stared at the teacher’s face, wondering if that was what Aai had meant when she wanted me to remember I was a girl and had no business playing with boys.

Papa took me to school in his used Camry. He left me at the school gates, saying, “I’ll see you at home. Be safe when you walk back.”

I always wanted to ask if he would pick me up, but all I did was nod, shut the car door behind me, and stand there watching his car disappear around the corner.

As I watched other children carrying their school bags, heading toward school, I remembered what Mukta had asked me one day: do you like school? I wondered what I would have told her if she had asked that now.

One day when I stood outside my school, a girl’s voice came from behind me. “You’re new!” The accent was strange, something I was still getting used to. “Hey, you’re that new girl!” she repeated as I turned around to face her.

Her hair was like spun gold, her eyes were shining as bright as hope. I nodded.

“I’m Elisa.” She smiled.

She walked with me to class, and the day after that she was standing near the gates, looking for me. Soon she began sitting next to me

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.