Tell us about M, mother!

Oh, she's a lovely child, my M. So easy to look after, so easy to nurture. She hardly ever throws a fit or a tantrum. So quiet and obedient, my little girl M.

Other mothers worry when their kids are quiet for too long. But I never do. I never have to. Silence defines her. That's how she is. So easily entertained by her own company. Never have I seen her yearn for a friend. Her toys and her books keep her occupied. Hardly ever is this little girl bored. Most other kids have siblings almost their age. This little one never talks about wanting a sibling to keep her company. She has, in fact, found a friend in herself.

Some days when I walk past her room, I see her staring into the mirror, all by herself. She finds it fascinating, staring at her own reflection in the mirror, pretending that there's a whole other person looking back at her, staring her in the eye. I know this because I've heard her speak. She talks to her own reflection in the mirror. She talks for hours and she's best friends with her tiny clone on the other side. Going out to play with the other kids bores her. I feel it's because she can't control what they say or do, the way she controls her own reflection.

One day, she came home with an empty school bag. They only have to bring a single notebook to school because they're still in pre-school. But she'd not brought that notebook home. I was worried that she might have homework for the next day. When questioned, she simply told me that a little boy in her school bus had thrown her notebook out of the window. She confirmed that she had homework for the next day but the boy had thrown her book, and there was no way we could fetch it back. I was outraged. How cheeky of that little fellow! I knew his mother. So I rang her up and told her what had happened. He deserved to get into trouble for what he'd done because you don't just throw someone's belongings out of a moving vehicle.

When she returned with her lost notebook the next afternoon, I didn't know what to say. She simply placed it on her table like she didn't owe me an explanation. When I asked her where she'd found it, she said the teacher returned all the notebooks after correction that morning. So the book had been with her teacher all along and I had no reason to worry. I asked her why she'd lied to me. And all I got in reply was a heart-warming smile, followed by silence. She never was a trouble maker. She's a lovely little girl. This is as far as her little pranks go. But whenever I try to get her into talking about the lie she'd told me, I'm always treated with silence and a smile.

~ M's mother.


Continue reading here.