The warmth of early summer was in, which meant that all the heavy winter blankets had to go back into the store chamber of the Pai bungalow. And though Ashu was always glad to deposit the thick quilts, today she just did not feel up to it. In fact she felt so low down she wished today did not exist. Or better still, she did not exist.

Ashu still could not believe she had fought so rudely with her own Mom. She had never felt so angry and so hurt as far back as she could remember. But then never before had she been denied the simple pleasures of her life - the joy of taking long walks, of sitting in the park bench and watching the birds fly by, of reading her beloved comics and whodunit novels.

And this bitter change in her attitude and her life all boiled down to one thing - the ICSE Board exams.
Her parents had started their lectures right from the beginning of the school year. “No more comics or bird-watching or computer games, Mom had said. The only books she would get to read through the course of the year would be of Maths, Science and Geography. “It is a tough, competitive world,” Mom had added. And if she wanted to be at the top, she had no other alternative but to ace not only the Boards but every other exam that came her way through the course of her studies. And for that she would have to wave goodbye to… what had they called it?... “time-wasting activities.”

The strict study regimen had done her no good though. Ashu's mid-January preparatory exams had been a disaster. Her thirteen hour-long study routine and zero leisure time had done nothing to keep her in the usual top six. But why couldn't her parents see that as well? She had been counting on Mom to understand. But when even she had not, they had ended up arguing bitterly.

Ashu stepped into the store chamber with her third and last load of blankets. The chamber was just like any other room of the Pai bungalow - enormous and well lit by sunny windows. She let drop her heavy load and plopped down on the chair beside the window. A shrill chirp reached her ears from across the silence of the colony. Ashu smiled instinctively, then sighed. She might as well do Mom a favour and stack up the blankets as well. She opened the door of the L-shaped wardrobe and for a moment her lungs skipped a breath. Stacked in neat rows was nearly half her bedroom with all her comic books, novels, PC games and magazines from A to Zed.
“So this is where Mom put away my treasures!” she exclaimed.

But Ashu was due for a second surprise when suddenly from somewhere down below she heard the bang of the main door.

“Ashu!” echoed a thin voice up the stairs.

“Mom? Mom's back?!”

shu glanced at her watch. It was only half past twelve. Had Mom suddenly decided to come home for lunch?
“Ashwini!” called her mother again. “Where are you dear?”

Ashu shut the wardrobe and rushed out of the store chamber, down four flights of steps into the living room. Her mother was sitting silently on the plush maroon sofa, her face lined with worry, and Ashu thought she detected even fear. But before she could say anything, her mother hugged her tearfully.

“We're so sorry Ashu! Daddy and I, both,” said her mother, her voice shaking. “We're sorry we took away your leisure time and hankered after you to study 24 by 7.”

Ashu turned speechless in surprise, but just about managed to make her mother sit back comfortably on the sofa chair. First the fight and now seeing her mother in tears made Ashu squirm inwardly.

A long while later her mother spoke. “I got a call this noon… about your friend Rashmi. Her mother called to say she's been hospitalized.”

“WHAT!” cried Ashu. “Why Mom? What's wrong with her?”

“Too much stress, strain, lack of sleep, you name it. And all for the same Board exams. It nearly killed her, the doctors said.”

Ashu clutched the arms of the sofa, taking in the depth of her mother's news.

“And we were going the same path as her parents, asking you to do nothing but study all day. We're so sorry sweetie…”

Ashu knelt down beside her mother, tears streaming down her face. “I'm sorry too, Mom… about the fight.”
“O that's nothing, beta. Go on back to your long walks and books and games. I'd any day have you score 80 instead of 90 percent than see you in a hospital bed. In any case we've seen what all study and no play did to your preparatory marks.

Ashu smiled. She was anxious about Rashmi, but she had got back her freedom. And she felt it in her heart that with her normal routine back in place along with that extra bit of hard studying, nothing could stop her from getting that perfect score.