A Little Girl's Adventure with Medicines

Far far away, in a small beautiful island nation surrounded by mighty ocean, there lived a small girl and her little baby. She named her baby as doll. It was not her best friend - her best friend was from her school, but it was her baby. She took her in arms when she was back from school, and fed her when the doll was hungry and comforted her when she was sad.

Oneday the small girl came back from her school, and found the doll lying on the wooden floor. It was a clear afternoon.

‘What happened?’ She asked. Her head was little bent, as she leaned forward to her doll.

‘I’m ill. I fell down from bed, and now can’t get up’, the doll said. Her voice was melancholic.

‘Okay. I’ll help you’.

The girl grabbed her raised hand, and then took her to bed. Then she kept her palm on her forehead to feel the temperature. It was hot. Her face grimaced. Her doll had fever, and nobody in this house did care for that. She had to do everything on her own.

‘You lie down here. Don’t try to get up’, she said to her doll on a serious note, and then got down from bed. She knew her Mamma was in office and Granny in kitchen. She hurriedly went to her Granny and pulled her saree.

‘Didi. Doll has fever. Call doctor. We’ve to give her injection’, she said.

Granny was busy preparing her food. She didn’t look down but said, ‘I’m now busy Babu. You go and play. I’ll give to you lunch right-away’.

‘I don’t need lunch. Doll needs medicine’, she tried to explain again.

‘Yes. Play with your doll. I’m coming with rice and fish. Babu likes fish. No!’

Uff. How stupid the grown-ups are, she thought. They even couldn’t listen properly. Stupidity increases with growing-up. She thought of calling her Mamma, but then how could Mamma help now! She was in office. The girl was in deep thoughts. What should she do now?

Then it came to her. Like in those moments of her ingenuity, when Mamma and Papa clapped their hands together and shouted, ‘Bravo bravo bravo’. She could give medicines to her doll on her own. Yes, she could do it.

She went back to her room and looked for the medicine box. There it was. On the table. Little higher than her. She stood on her toes and slowly pulled the box towards her. Oh my. It was heavy. She carried the box to her bed, where her doll was laid down in the same position she left.  ‘Good girl. As a reward, I'll not give you injection’, she said. And then she opened the box. She took out the thermometer and inserted it in doll’s mouth. She emptied the container and took out a small glass bottle containing a colorless liquid, shook it a little like her Granny used to do before giving her a drop in mouth and poured it into her doll’s mouth.

‘Oh my God. What you are doing? This time I’ll seriously beat you up little devil’.

She heard her Granny yelling from the door. She couldn’t understand what she was shouting about or angry for. She tried to explain.

‘Didi..doll..’

‘Don’t utter a word. Who told you to play with medicines? Put back everything in box and come here. Now.’ Her Granny said with a firm voice. She held a plate with rice and other things and her eyes were big. Rolling.

She knew that Granny wouldn’t understand. She was growing old afterall. She put all medicines back into the box, and winked at her doll before getting down. Now you’ll be fine.

*****

At evening, when Mamma returned from office, the little girl ran to her and jumped on her lap. She wanted to tell her everything happened. Her doll was okay now. But before she opened mouth, Granny started to describe the incident of afternoon. She heard her telling that how this naughty kid had wasted medicines and all. She thought Mamma would scold her. She hugged her tightly and kept her head hidden into her hairs. But Mamma did nothing.

Then when they were on bed, and she finished reading all of her books including alphabets and numbers, Mamma asked, ‘What happened Babu? Why did you waste medicines?’

The little girl didn’t say anything, and then brought her doll and said, ‘Doll had fever Mamma. I gave her medicines. Now she’s fine’.

Mamma touched the forehead of doll, and then pulled and cuddled the little girl and said, ‘Oh my little doctor. Can you say, I have fever or not? I too need medicines’.

The giggling girl knew her Mamma was playing with her. She too stretched her hand and held Mamma’s nose, and then Mamma said, ‘Meow’.

It was a funny game invented by them. She knew, when Papa would come back from office, he’d play too.