The Relative Summer: The visit of the aunts

Threads, needles, and gifts ... would this visit be surprising or shocking?

Story so far : Nikita and Nikhil enjoyed Mona aunty’s visit and playing with little Jhilmil who loved cricket. 

(Narrated by Nikhil)

There were two of them and they were Baba’s aunts, which made them our Great-Aunts. There was something awe-inspiring about the title and I imagined the Great-Aunts as majestic beings who dressed like queens and sat on thrones.  

Instead, the two were small, with greying hair in tiny knots and soft wrinkled skin. Their eyes were bright and sharp and they discussed travel and family, gardens, and recipes.

Nikita and I had not been happy to hear we were having guests again because it meant that we had to share a room. Sharing a room made us grumpy and we were ready to hate the Great-Aunts. But we simply couldn’t.

Not only had they brought us sweets, but also gifts, beautifully wrapped in shiny paper. How my hands trembled as I ripped the paper off! Then the paper came off and I was staring at a box with pictures of jewellery. Nikita looked equally stunned, holding a box with pictures of smiling girls.

“Jewellery making,” Amma read out. “Embroidery!”