Diplomacy

I don't remember too much of my time in kindergarten, it's all a big haze to me now. There are brief bits here and there that I can recall; making little papers ships and fighting over the Lego blocks, that sort of thing. Whenever class got over, the teacher used to make us sit outside, on on straw mat on the floor while we waited for the bus to arrive to take us home. I always used to sit next to this one curly haired kid with green eyes. We used to fashion little pieces of paper into tiny little guns, and play thief and policeman. We weren't allowed to move off the mat, so we just usually kept shooting each other as quick as we could and squabble over who would have died first. Finally, after a week or so, I finally decided to ask him for his name, and he replied "Salhi". Sahli means phlegm in Tamil. I burst out laughing and he asked me why. I didn't tell him, mainly because I didn't know the word phlegm at the time, and I had no clue how to explain it to him. He asked me everyday, and everyday I didn't reply. One day, I had a cold, and also a brainwave. I blew my nose into my hands, and held them out before him. "This is you", I said, as I gently wiped my hands on his shorts.

I lost a friend that day.

Sanju