Bitten by Vampire
“What happened to you?” inquired Shaivi’s friend. “I got bitten by a vampire,” she replied. The truth was much less romantic, though. The girls had got ready for school in time, but the van was a little late. Aadya, Shaivi and I decided to take a walk in the morning air, talking of school, peacocks, cats, rain, creepers that were growing at an almost visible rate during monsoon, and similar important matters. The panel discussion was interrupted by the sound of the school van arriving, and both the girls ran to get their school bags. Shaivi slipped, and scrapped her knees and palms. There was a resultant delay during which we brought her inside the house, cleaned and bandaged her wounds, and consoled her as she got ready to burst in tears – the efforts succeeded and she did not actually cry. Five minutes later, she limped inside the van, carrying a face which announced to the world that she had just been through some great danger and has walked out of it alive