When Meenal woke up and was fed, Rupali decided to try and see if she liked the idea of water and swimming pool. She had read up about many autistic children enjoying swimming. She also wanted to check up on Sugata and Soumitra.

The sight she witnessed at the pool warmed her heart. Paritosh was enthusiastically teaching Soumitra and Sugata. They laughed when either of them did something stupid and Paritosh laughed with them.  And open, loud, heart-felt laughter.

“Meenu. Water. Meenu. Water,” Meenal’s voice drew her attention. Rupali was carrying her in her arms. She was pushing down, indicating that she wanted to get down and go in the water. Rupali let her walk while holding her hands and went closer to the pool.

“Dr. Khanna.”

Paritosh panicked for a bit when he looked at them. Was it safe to have Meenal near the pool? But he saw Rupali holding her hands tightly, and relaxed.

“She seems to like the idea of going in the water. Have you tried to take her to pool earlier?”

“No. I haven’t. I wasn’t sure.”

“There are floatation devices; do you have one?”

“Are you sure it is safe?”

“I have read about it, Sir. And you are here. If she doesn’t like it or can’t handle it, we will take her out immediately.”

“Meenu. Water. Meenu. Water,” Meenal tugged at her hands. She definitely wanted to go in.

“Hold her for a while. I will find a lifebuoy we had bought for a friend’s son. I will need to test it.”

Rupali gasped when Paritosh came out of the water wearing only his swimming costume. He had strong, muscular, shapely body. Did he swim regularly? What was he doing being a professor? He should have been an actor, or a model.

She averted her eyes quickly, hoping that her goose bumps didn’t show and a blush did not visibly creep on her cheeks.

When Paritosh came back with the device, he saw Rupali and Meenal sitting on the edge of the pool, with their feet in the water. Meenal was splashing water with her little limbs and obviously enjoying it.

Meenal was on cloud nine when she was put in water with a lifebuoy. She showed no fear. She wasn’t bothered with strangers. Paritosh continued teaching Sugata and Soumitra while keeping an eye on Meenal. The small gathering in water looked perfectly harmonious.

—

“You have turned her into a devil,” Paritosh said good-humouredly when she reached there the next day. It was a Sunday and Soumitra and Sugata were accompanying her again as Paritosh had requested.

“What happened?”

“She was in the pool for full two hours this morning. She loves the water.”

Rupali smiled and stretched her hands for Meenal. She came to her as usual and held her hands.

“And how are our young swimmers doing?” he asked about Soumitra and Sugata.

“Going ooh-aah-ouch with body pain,” Rupali chuckled, “So much for swimming!”

“Don’t be dissuaded by that. With regular practice that would go away.”

“See. I had told you,” Sugata told Rupali in a challenging tone.

Everyone laughed.

Them spending the weekend at Paritosh’ place became a routine.

—

It was the last day of the month. Paritosh left a cheque for her before leaving for university. She opened the envelope after he left and was surprised to find that the cheque was for twenty thousand rupees.

“Dr. Khanna. There has been some mistake,” she told him when he came back in the evening, “This cheque is for twenty thousand. We had decided only for…”

“No. That’s fine. There is no mistake,” he walked off signaling the end of the discussion.

Rupali wasn’t sure whether to be happy or be worried about it. Extra money would obviously be of great help. He might have given it because he was happy with her work. But what if… what if he was just being charitable given her tough situation. But talking further about it would be uncomfortable for both of them. She kept the cheque in her purse. He came back after washing his hands and went to Meenal.

“I had to show you something,” Rupali said.

“Yeah?”

She handed him two exercise books. One was for Maths and other for drawing. Paritosh was surprised to see the content.

“Who has…”

“Meenal did. She is making great progress with drawing and Maths.”

“You have been teaching her? Who got her these books?”

“I thought of trying. Picked these up from the stationary shop. They are the regular children’s exercise books.”

“She has made these drawings?” Paritosh could not believe it.

“Yes Sir. Her observation is very sharp. She doesn’t miss a thing. Hand-eye coordination is also excellent.”

“And these sums? And multiplication?”

“She progressed very fast. It has hardly been two weeks since I brought these books. I thought I’d tell you after she had made some progress. I didn’t think it would happen so soon. Sir, what have you thought about her schooling?”

He sighed sadly, “I know the principal of Greenwood International School. I spoke to him about it. He politely told me to put her in some special school.”

“But she doesn’t need that…”

“As much as I resent it, I understand his point of view. Their teachers are not trained to take care of children with special needs. She would probably be left out. And yet I can’t put her in… I was thinking of homeschooling. And also of hiring a therapist.”

“But in this country we need certificates and…”

“I don’t know yet…”

“Can I suggest something…” an idea suddenly struck her.

“Go ahead.”

“Can you talk to the principal to see if they would let her take the exams. They don’t need to let her attend the school. Just let us have access to the syllabus and books they use. And if I could talk to the teachers once in a while about what needs to be taught, that would be great…”

Paritosh thought about it for a few moments; then asked her, “You really think that would work?”

“I am thinking aloud, Dr. Khanna. There would be issues, of course. While she made dramatic progress in Maths, English and Hindi have been a challenge with her. I haven’t tried other things yet. But then all kids are good in some subjects and weak in others. It is worth trying. And if you were thinking of homeschooling, you could hire tutors for the subjects she has problems in. Probably teachers of the same school if they agree…”

“Let me think it over,” he said.

“Sure Sir.”

“And… thanks a lot. For these,” he pointed at the exercise books, “You have no idea how much they have bolstered by confidence.”

“No need to thank me, Sir. It’s her own doing. I am only doing my job.”

“If you say so…” he smiled and didn’t argue. She wasn’t just doing her job. Her job was only to keep her safe. She had gone far, far ahead. He wasn’t complaining!

“Irrespective of schooling, if you find a suitable therapist, it would definitely help.”

“I have spoken to someone recently. She might come here for couple of hours every day.”

“Okay.”

—

To be continued