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Clinging to my storm-tossed yacht, not ready to give in yet,
I thought about everything that has gone terribly wrong-
All the wrong choices, misplaced trusts, broken promises…
Never again! The tumultuous sea of emotions roared in reply.
You can’t fool me again. I see my enemies clearly.
The snake behind the smile; the fox in the goat’s attire
I know them all; stay away from me; leave me alone.
A whisper in my ears caught me off guard.
“Think about your husband; your sweet, innocent child;
True friends who have stood by you – You are blessed indeed!”
Who? Who is that? Another fake messiah?
Confusion! Caution! Suspicion! What’s happening?
My yacht is steadier; the sea is calmer.
Who is that? What do you want?
No answer- just a smile which stops itself halfway.
A face emerges. It dawns on me- it’s the face of a FRIEND!
Neither male nor female; neither upper class nor lower class
Neither brother nor sister – just a FRIEND and that means a lot.

After a year of planning (We don’t use the term postponing in our family.) , we finally went to the Adventure aquarium, Camden. Some uninvited jobs barged in and put off our journey for about 5 hours. But our son’s infectious joy finally caught up with us and brightened our day (or evening).
Next day, we showed up bright and early at the aquarium. He was over the moon to see the Hippo. It was Button, the Hippo’s birthday. He just loved every minute he spent with the animal. Even we began to feel that we were in the presence of the cutest animal in the world.
He could identify the seahorse, jellyfish , crab and of course fishy .He had a wonderful time running around and playing hide and seek (or just disappearing).
Time just flew. Soon it was 11:30 a.m. Dora’s adventure 4D show was about to start.  We were flabbergasted to see Achu put on the glasses and enjoy the show. Wow! To watch something fully and together – that has never happened since we became parents. When did he become so brave?
Afterwards , he was ready to go to the Please Touch museum. There were lots of cars and trucks and even a bus and a train. He was adventurous and tried everything. I was really happy to see him share and let other kids take turns.
He did not understand things like the “grocery store” or the “hospital”. Those were the least of his worries. The day ended with him getting wet in spite of the waterproof coat at the water-plays. Even I was fascinated by the water turning the turbines.
When we got back to the hotel, he was really sleepy. So I went alone to see the Freedom bell, leaving my husband in charge of the kid. As usual I lost my way but managed to get a Starbucks coffee for my helpful hubby before finding the way back to the hotel.

On our way back home we went for the Six Flags , Safari. “Where’s the giraffe ?”. that was all he wanted to know. All others were “bum bum animals”. Even the proud peacock failed to fascinate him. To his great delight, the giraffe decided to take a look at him. To see the tallest animal in the world up close – it was awesome. No wonder he was so thrilled.

After giraffe, he didn’t want to see anyone else. He just declared, “nambada veeti poovaam”. His day was a success. And so was ours.

“Do you not know I am a woman? when I think, I must speak.”

Funny , but true.
Have women always been programmed like this?
We talk and talk and at the end of all the talking we finally understand what it is that we really want to say.
God help us!

So, finally, I got to the University.
It was a dream come true.
I imagined myself in a gentle stream of Mathematics.
Things are going to be totally different now.
Serious study, no-nonsense people and great Math.
Am I up to it?
I hope so.
Wow! It’s already Lunchtime.

I have a friend in the Physics department.
I’ll have lunch with her and come back.

God, the class has already started.
It’s good thing I don’t have to ask ,”May I come in please”
anymore. I feel really grown-up.
The Professor is writing on the board.
So, I’ll just slip into my place in the front row.
What happened to the people who sat in the nearby chairs?
They must have moved to the back.
But I like the front row.
Good, he has not seen that I am late.

Muffled laughs?
I am a little late. What’s so funny about that?
Leave it. Concentrate. There’s no time to waste.
Think about the Math.
Wow! the Professor is really fast.
I can’t follow a word.
What subject is this?
Scratching my head, biting the pen – the usual techniques are
not working. This is serious.

Two guys entered the class, took their things and left.
Wait a minute!
I know these guys.
They are in my class.
What ? Have they decided to skip the afternoon session?

Someone just touched me from behind.
I turned.
I saw the kind face of a super-senior.
He told me I better get out.
A lot of unfamiliar faces and giggles.

Which class is this?
These people- they are all super-seniors.

I didn’t know that the class belonged to them in the afternoon and
we were supposed to sit elsewhere.
I took my things and “apparated” out of the classroom.

Outside I saw those two guys (my classmates) scratching their heads and thinking,
“What is she doing with the super-seniors?”

What can I say, I am super intelligent.