Bit Broken.

Promise?

"Mom what  is inside the palace?" I would ask my mom while eating the dinner together. I wasn't allowed inside the Malhotra Mansion. No one was. Except for guests and servants. I was the daughter of the servants. My father was one of the many gardeners and mom was one of the many cooks. Our house, the servant quarter, had one room, a kitchen, a*****e which I modified to my study room and a damp bathroom. The place was small but big enough for the three of us.

"Everything a palace should have. All the riches, all the pleasures and all the lights! Everything just as magnificent as they show in the dramas." Mom replied. Her mouth stuffed with food, her eyes glued on the television screen. We had a ritual to watch the dramas while having dinner. Mom made me an addict too!

"And the princess?"

"Yes, of course there's a princess. Beautiful like a fairy. Just like you." She smiled.

"I am not a princess...I don't have pretty dresses, "

Mom face blanched at once. I was ten but I spoke the truth. I knew the difference or rather felt the difference. "Why am I not allowed to meet her then? Tell me?"

Mom had no answer then.  I know now. The rich and the poor never make good friends. The princess of the palace and the princess in the servant quarters could never be together, according to the society.

And then the day came when I finally got to get inside the palace...the Malhotra Mansion.  As I entered the through the giant doors, my ten years old self got lost in the grandeur of the mansion. The white walls with paintings, the sweet smell of flowers, the stunningly decorated staircase. I wondered if I had entered heaven. And then I saw her. Crying in front of the table. The cake lay on the table with multiple gift boxes covered with colorful papers and ribbons.  How stupid is she? I wondered. She had got everything I could have ever dreamed of. She was about my age, my size. And I could see nothing but her. Beautiful long waist length hair, hazel brown eyes, chubby cheeks with a tint of red, small pink lips. I wondered if she was the fairy of the heaven.  It was Tara's birthday but no one turned out. It rained like crazy. To stop her from crying her mother allowed the servant kids to enter the mansion.  I saw her. She saw me. I smiled, she stopped crying.

"What's your name?" She asked in a buttery voice.

Tanvi..." I uttered with a pause, "Tanvi Mathur." It seemed illegal to stare at her like that. I dropped my gaze and stared at my feet. The toe peeping out of my right shoe.

"Where do you live?" She asked and held my hands. Her hands were so soft. I hadn't touched silk yet but I knew that's what it might be like.

"The servant quarter..."

 "Come..."

"Princess?" I was scared. The lady who stood beside Tara seemed angry.

"You called me what!" She giggled. I noticed the dimples. I wanted to touch them.

"Are you not the princess of this palace?" I asked. The lady still staring at me. Making me nervous.

"Baby, Do not talk with them that much..."She uttered finally. She pulled Tara's hand and my hand fell dangling at my side. "Do not touch them!"

"Why? She is my friend, Mom!" She with all her innocence answered.  I realized the lady was the evil queen, Mrs. Malhotra."She is my princess." Tara again held my hand and pulled me with her.  "Let's cut the cake, then we will play with the toys in my room."

I was called princess. I was awestruck. By the beauty, the kindness, the innocence.

And then...he entered. Vijay Raj, the word 'privileged ' was written on his glorious face.  Short height, round face, spiked hair...puberty had not hit him yet. Tight leather pants. A sun-glass, I don't know why....he looked like the villain to my still nonexistent love story. Later I realized he wasn't. He was just stupid. Villains are smart.

The servant kids were told to get out at once. The rain had stopped. The rich were now entering the party. Apparently kids like me were not pretty enough for the photographs!

I felt two new feelings. One was the strange breathlessness when I saw Tara and other was the strange pinch on my pride when I was kicked out of the mansion. I later realized, one was love and the other was anger. And both are deadly.

I tried getting into the mansion many times just to see Tara but I was always caught by the guards. I tried other ways. I tried climbing the tree, the branches of which reached her room in the first floor in the left corner of the mansion. I saw her dancing, singing, reading. My princess was in her world and it was beautiful. I would hide behind the large leaves of the tree. I fell many times. Got hurt. Brushed myself, carried the multiple bruises and again would climb the f*****g tree.

"Why do you have so many bruises on your skin lately? Father would inquire. "Did you fight in your school?"

"No papa, I just fell in the sports period." I lied.

"You should concentrate on your studies more..."Papa sighed, "If you fall sick like your mom God knows...."He paused at once.

"Mom's sick?"

"No it's just ...."

"What happened papa? Are you hiding something?" I was losing my patience. Mom did look pale for some days. I thought she was just tired from the work.

"You just concentrate on your studies. You have to become something. You won't become a servant...to these people." Papa's eyes welled up. "Can you promise me that?"

That was the first time I saw papa cry, that was the first time he seemed a bit broken. Papa loved mom so much. I always wanted a love similar to their.

"I promise..papa. I'll work hard."

That was the day when I stopped watching television dramas. From that day I decided to hustle my best to gain good grades. To fulfill the promise I had made to papa...I won't be a servant. I would own my world!