The First Bicycle
The secrete plan about buying a bicycle was hitting our evening study hours from last couple of weeks. My brothers used to count the money they had three four times every evening. I used to sat by them and watch their eager face. The total budget consists of the fixed deposit of my two brother’s last three Dashain total gross collection. I tried to buy the share with my gross collection of the last year’s Dashain but my proposal was rejected in unison from the two chief investors.
‘Sale tuke’ they both turned their head toward me. (By the way tuke(2k) was my pet name back then, how I got that is a different story)
‘You want the share huh?’
I nodded.
‘It’s no you fool’ that came at the same time from both mouths. ‘You’ll give your money now and later you’ll go and cry in front of mom’ said Sandai.
‘Mom, they took my money huuuuu huuuuu’ Thuldai rubbed his both eyes with his hands acting like me crying in front of mom. And both of them burst out into laughter. What more, I was like the reserve player sitting out in the bench and watching the match.
‘How can they buy the bicycle without telling mom dad?’ I used to be frightened imagining the reaction of mom and dad once they notice about it. But my elder brothers were bindas, they were not even thinking about it.
‘What if mom dad notice?’ I showed my fear.
‘How will they know? Will you tell them?’ Thuldai asked.
‘No, I won’t’
‘So’ they started counting the money again.
The answer didn’t settle my worries so I asked again.
‘But, they can see the bicycle once you bought it’
‘You stupid go to sleep else I will kick your ass’
And one more word was just the conformation of two feast one from Sandai and the other from Thuldai. So I pulled the Sirak and pretended sleeping. I piped from Sirak making small hole to watch them and breathed heavily acting as if I was asleep.
‘500, 600,700 annnnnnnnnd its ……… 780, we have 780 in total’ Thuldai said.
‘I think he will give it in 700, won’t he?’ Sandai was curious about the cost.
I think they used to talk about it all night. In the morning it was different, all busy with our own stuff.
It was holiday. They finished their errands and went out with the money. I tried to follow them but Sandai found out. ‘Don’t follow us else I will slap you’ he threatened me.
I paused for a little while and again I followed them. Second time it was Thuldai, he turned back.
‘Go home and don’t tell anyone, I’ll give you a ride after we are back’ he tried to bribe me and I got bribed.
‘Promise’ I was happy. He turned to the sun and said ‘God promise’ and what more you want than the biggest promise; god promise. My feet were in air with joy. I’m gonna ride a bicycle yeeeeaaahhh.
I returned home singing
‘साझा बसमा जो पानी चढ्दछ, किलिन्डरले २ रुपियाँको टिकट काट्दछ’
And I started waiting them. It was certainly the longest wait of my life. And finally they appeared in the road after an hour and a half. Thuldai was walking the nearly broken black Hero Ranger and Sandai was pushing it with his right hand and in the left he was carrying few pieces of metal. Later I realized they were the bicycle parts.
‘Why are you not riding it?’I asked them.
‘We will ride it after little maintenance’ Sandai told and let me push it.
I happily started pushing it.
‘But dai, who will mend it? Do you have money for the maintenance?’ I was thinking about investing some in the antic Hero Rangers.
‘No, we will mend it ourselves’ Thuldai said.
And my second attempt to buy a share again went in vain.
‘Is mom home?’ Sandai asked.
‘No, I’m alone’
‘If so let’s put it in the store room and we will work on it later’ Thuldai explained the plan on how to put the bicycle out of reach of our parents.
We put Rs. 700 worth Hero Rangers in the store room and hide it using straw mat (गून्द्री). We used to sneak into the store room whenever we got chance to mend it. When both of my brothers worked it I used to squat at the side and look eagerly. I used to dream sitting at the back of the bicycle with my big brothers riding it.
After two day when I was alone at the house. Mom found out our Hero Ranger. She was so furious.
‘Who brought this trash in the house?’ she came to me with her furious face and grabbed my arm.
‘How would I know, it’s not mine’ I tried to escape.
‘It’s not your, but you know it, tell me whose idea is this?’ she juggle me and that was enough for me to burst in tears, and there was no other option to get away from that trouble other than shading some tears.
‘Why are you scolding me, go and ask your son?’ I stared sobbing. ‘They won’t even let me touch it huuu huuuu’ I started rubbing my eyes.
‘I don’t wanna see it in my house, just go and return it before father comes home, else I’ll tell him’.
That was the real trouble so I ran to find the real owner of that trash. Mom put her hands in the forehead and sat at the front porch.
‘How can you guys spent money in such useless things?’
Later when dad was home, mom told him about the bicycle. Dad sat with both of them in our room the whole evening, I didn’t dare to go into the study so I walked with mom in and out the whole evening when she was doing her kitchen work. Later when it was time to sleep I tip towed into the room. Dad was not there and both of them were busy with their study.
‘Oie tuke, did you told mom?’ Sandai saw me first.
‘No, I didn’t, why would I?’ I climbed in my bed.
‘I think he told mom yar dai’ Sandai was skeptical on me.
‘I told you, mom found out herself’ tears started filling my eyes. ‘He’s just scolding me without the reason huuuu huuuu’ I burst into tears. Same old tricks to get away from the trouble, shade some drops of tears.
Thuldai hurried towards me and block my mouth with his palm.
‘I told you don’t scold this cry baby’ he whispered to Sandai.
‘Why is he crying?’ Dad heard me crying in the next room.
‘It’s nothing’ Thuldai replied. ‘He just tumbled with the table’.
‘Watch your step you dumb and stop crying’ Sandai tried to support Thuldai. That was their best trick to deal with my best one. Make something to put mom dad away from our room.
‘Shuuuuuuu, don’t cry, else I won’t let you touch that bicycle’ Thuldai pull his hand off me. Hearing about bicycle my tears stopped. I dried my eyes using the sleeve of my sweater and went to bed. As usual I popped from the sirak and asked ‘Do we have to return the bicycle tomorrow?’
‘No, we can keep it’ both investors opened their mouth at the same time. That night they just studied and didn’t talk about the bicycle. And I saw myself riding a bicycle in a dream.
