Eleven years earlier

"Hey don't you wanna get up, lazy slug ?"

"No."

"They've got a good breakfa....- wait, have you been crying Indigo ?"

Indigo broke into a fit of sneezes, pretending that it was cold that was making his eyes watery. He managed himself some water from the nearby bottle and choked (pretending to choke, honestly) in his drink.

"No Suzie, I just had got drenched in the rain last night, that's all, caught a cold...So what were you saying ?"

"It's a matter of concern Indigo. But what concerns me more that there was no rain last night, I'm afraid. "

Suzie was deadly convincing, Indigo knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with his lies for long. His nostrils trembled and the familiar wave of emotion came bulging through his eyes, as he abruptly broke down, howling and crying.

She sauntered up close, hugged Indigo tight and started caressing his hair with maternal affection. She could feel the sobs of the boy close to her heart where he had buried his face, and soon felt the fabric of her apron getting wet with the warm tears of Indigo. She kept looking at the beams of sunlight that were streaming in from the window, bringing in the soft white dust particles that floated within its vicinity.

When Indigo looked up, his eyes were red and swelled up. Suzie held him by his shoulders and peered straight into his eyes; Indigo looking back blankly, a little embarrassed.

"You are a brave boy Indigo, don't cry like this each day ! See, you've ruined my dress...freshly ironed as it was.". She smiled.

Indigo couldn't help this, he thought. Whenever the days were such, with mornings so bright and birds so chirpy, with school kids of his age going hand in hand with their moms and dads, skilfully nagging for a ice cream or two.....he always went about thinking what he was missing- the security of a home, the comfort of a parent, the belongingness of everything.

Then a thought, a rather painful one, came sinking down on him, and he began crying again. Suzie grabbed him for the second time and kissed the top of his head. But this time she was not able to hold back the tear that streamed down her cheek, and wet her apron even more.

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