“What’s the bad smell, Amma?” Sama
held her moms skirt with one hand and closed her nostrils with the other.
“It’s the flowers of these trees. It is
called the Callery tree.” The mother pointed to the row of trees with white
spring blossoms. They lined the divider
to the entrance of the community they lived in.
“Aren’t flowers supposed to smell good?” the
little girl asked still holding her nose.
“ There’s always an exception to
everything, Sama dear.” Maya held her daughter’s
hand and helped her cross the road.
“Am I an exception, Amma? Do I smell bad?”
Maya smiled. She knew Sama did not
understand the meaning of exception.
“Exception does not mean you smell bad.
Exception means someone or something is different from others of the same
kind.”
Maya held Sama’s hand and looked either
way to see if there were any vehicles coming.
“Look
to your left, look to your right, look to your left,” said Sama, and they both
ran across the road. They were crossing their development to the park.
Once they had crossed the road, Sama took
a deep breath and held out the skirt of her pink cotton sleeveless dress with
black polka dots and twirled around.
Several others were walking in pairs or
walking their dogs. Sama's favorite dog, a black poodle, barked and ran toward
her as his walker tugged at the leash.
Sama smiled but moved closer to her mother.
She kept walking and waving to the dog. Maya smiled and greeted the dog walker.
“Amma, is Molly an exception?”
“I don’t know Molly too well to know if she
is an exception. She seems to be like the rest of her breed.”
“Breed? What is that, Amma?” Sama looked up
at her mom.
“Breed is a group of animals that are the
same in behavior and looks. Molly looks
and behaves like other poodles. She is not an exception. ” Maya smiled at the
child, who was quietly listening to her.
They approached the park with the brightly
colored swing sets, see saws, slides, monkey bars, and a large sand box. Trees
that served like a fence surrounded the area.
Sama left her moms hands and ran towards
the park. Maya loved to see her child’s long brown hair flying as she ran.
Sama ran toward the swing.
“Watch out, Sama, for the swing,”Maya
shouted. A golden haired boy with a red shirt and black shorts was swinging
high.
Sama was too excited to hear her mom.
Sama ran right in front of the boy. Just as he swung towards her, Sama fell to
the ground, flat on the wood chips. One of the mothers ran and pulled the swing
to a stop.
Maya
and the other ladies hurried towards Sama.
“Is she okay?” A young lady pushing a
gurgling baby in a pram asked.
Sama continued lying in the same position.
“Are you okay?” Maya asked as she lifted the
child up.
“I’m really sorry.” Maya apologised to the
boy and his mother. “I shouldn’t have let go of her hand.”
“That’s okay. I’m glad she didn’t get
hurt. Your daughter has a very good presence of mind, exceptional for a little
girl. How did she think of falling flat on the ground?” The lady was wearing a
long colorful skirt and a bright yellow sleeveless top with a wide brimmed hat.
“I’m not sure,”said Maya and looked at her
daughter for an answer.
Sama smiled at the lady as she tugged her
mother down toward her and whispered into her ear, “Did she say I was an
exception?”
The lady had moved away.
“You fell down under the swing and saved
yourself from getting hit, so she said what you did was exceptional. That means
it was good and different. You should never run into someone who is swinging
like you just did.”
“I wanted to duck but I just fell down
flat.”
“But why did you do that? It’s not
safe. I was worried. You could have been hurt.”
“I saw it at the circus, Amma.That’s
what one of the clowns kept doing when the other clown was swinging. I wanted
to try it. I was sure I could do that.”
“The clown must have practiced a lot. It
is only an act in the circus. Do you
remember the man who announced saying that none of the tricks should be tried
at home?” Maya looked at the child in her eyes and kneeled down on the grass.
Sama looked at her mom with her large
brown eyes. “Amma, I will not walk on the rope or do anything else I saw in the
circus. I will not do this again. Do not
be worried, Amma. “
She hugged her mother, who picked her up
and kissed her on her forehead.
All the children had lined up at the
slide. The swings were now empty, so Maya placed Sama on the swing and pushed
her once from behind.
“Make sure you hold tight,” she told the
child.
Sama pushed her legs and started swinging
higher and higher. Maya leaned against the bars and watched the child.
“Amma, I want to be an exception. I
really want to,” Sama shouted
“You are an exception Sama. No other
child is like you. You are special.”
“Really, Amma?” Sama smiled and soared
into the air.
