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That evening was like any other evening. My father just got back from the office. He was sitting in his arm chair in our drawing com bedroom and waiting for the delicious ginger tea that my mother prepared every evening. Once she was back with two cups of tea they indulge themselves into drinking it and not until another hour they were going to stop their daily updates with each other. In the meantime I was bored and thought of going outside for bicycle riding. My father had a very long vision for me. So when I was just 6 months old, he bought a cycle which he needed to travel to and from the office. He directly bought a ladies cycle which was way more taller like a gents cycle. Now back to the story. When I was in standard 4th or 5th, my height was not enough to ride the bicycle. I could sit on the seat and push one pedal, but the other pedal was almost a foot below my leg. Still I didn’t care, took permission from my parents and gave the information on which route I was taking so that if something happened or If I was not returning home, my parents could start a search operation. Anyway I was having my fair share of fear to not go far from the house. So I got ready. I wore a peach color knee length cotton frock with a lace from both sides to tie around my waist. With my regular slippers I went out. The route was like a circle. From my house I took left, after a 100 meters distance I took another left inside a small lane which connected to the road which is right behind my house. So with half pedals I was sitting on the seat and moving until I couldn’t anticipate what was going to happen in the next 5 minutes that would change the entire color of my life.

I was moving, checking on the houses which I left behind, wondering who all the people were staying in. From the rows of houses I liked a particular one a lot. It was located at the corner plot of the lane which has a huge metal gate with a beautiful garden in front with lots of lovely flowers. A wooden chair was fitted in the lawn facing towards the road and water sprinklers were doing their job to keep all the plants alive. Behind the lawn, there was a white two storey house whose balcony had a triangular red roof. This design was kind of very rare in the location where I was staying as all the other houses were simple two or three storeys buildings which resemble match boxes from afar. So I was fascinated by the beauty of this unique house when I missed laying my eyes on the road. 

Before I could know what happened, I had a free fall from my cycle into some kind of water source. I closed my eyes due to the impact and reflex of my body. For a few seconds I was unaware of the situation and what was happening to me. I tasted some kind of salty water when I opened my eyes. I was disgusted with the thick black water from the drain that was laying just outside of the metal gate of my favorite house I was talking about. I was completely soaked with black water and my peach color dress turned into a coal black color. I was screaming from inside with the disgusting smell and the embarrassment I was feeling. Just then I heard a voice from a lady whom I recognised as the wife of my music teacher. She was standing in her balcony which was across the street where I fell and witnessed the most embarrassing moment of my life. I could see sympathy in her eyes. She asked me if I was alright and suggested I wash up before heading back to my home. I picked myself up and wondered how I was supposed to fall ? When I looked at the position of my cycle everything was clear. The lane which was connected to the road behind my house is separated by a drain and the junction point is covered with two big cement slabs. While I was riding without looking at the road, the wheel of my cycle got stuck between the two slab joints and as I was not tall enough to force the pedal to come out of that pit. As a result my cycle turned towards the left which made me fall inside the open drain, while my cycle was lying on the slab outside. I cursed at the unfortunate event, got up and went to my music teacher’s house. I cleaned my hands, legs and face, thanked her and started for my home. 

When I was at home, my parents were still not done with their talk. They were surprised why I returned so early and they were bewildered by my appearance. When I explained what happened, I could see mischievous laughter on their faces. My mother asked me to take a bath and put my dress in the washing machine to clean. After a hot bath, I felt new but the memory remained.