By Samanvitha Oruganti

“Pull the windows open, nice weather is here, with the sky oh so blue and a tinge of grey splattered around in an artistic smear, accompanied by the musical backdrop coos of the birds returning after almost a year, so spread the word to near and dear, and welcome the fun without frost fear.” 

Hearing this impromptu rhyme from my little niece repeatedly that she picked up from her English classes made me grin ear to ear. It compelled me to walk up to the window by the study pausing from a long day of work only to see her jump up and down the trampoline in the backyard, waving frantically at me whenever she was up in the sky while the sun shined on along with her. 

“You should come, join me, Aunty.” she hollered; I just let it go by waving back a no; she repeated her gesture while I just stayed and looked on. It’s been months since I got out of the house when the sun was still out, the sky was still clear, and the afternoon breeze playfully twirled my hair because I could not afford to leave work behind and not juggle between the meetings. As the deadly virus is still somehow around, the winter seemed longer, the nights seemed quieter, and the mornings followed seemed gloomier. 

After some time of zoning out, I felt a tug, a small pair of hands pulling me down to the backyard; halting her did not seem like an option; placing her hands on the waist, she said again, “Come join me, Aunty” letting my guard down, a laugh escaped from my mouth. I began jumping with her. “Keep your arms wide open, Aunty,” she instructed, and I followed. Her happiness radiated onto me as I began reciting her rhyme, giggling she repeated the last line after me “So spread the word to near and dear and welcome the fun without frost fear… It’s a spring thing, Aunty.” From then on, this became our afternoon jam; after long cold winter days and nights, embracing spring was more than a delight. 

Samanvitha Orugant is an avid storyteller who likes narrating stories about people, emotions, and places. She believes our world has innumerable tales, some hidden, some not, but all waiting to be told. She can be reached via email at samanvita.krishna@gmail.com