It was a beautiful evening and we were returning home after a tiring day at school, laughing and chatting about various events of that bright day.” I really had a hearty laugh when she freaked out and jumped on the chair frightened by that tiny cockroach,” said Alina giggling while recalling the incident.

I was laughing along with the others when my sight suddenly fell upon a little girl, in a blue polk-a –dot dress waving her hands to me and showing me all her beautiful teeth in her bright smile. I smiled as much as I could and waved back to her. Did I know her? Have I met her before?

A multitude of questions arose in my head after we drove past, okay, maybe she was just a cheerful little girl who liked being happy and waving to the others.

The next day while driving past the same place I found the girl again, waving to me in the same manner. I did the same and kept my mind busy for some time trying to recognize her. This continued for a few more days. Of course, who would not want to return a wave back to such a cute little girl?

Having gotten used to this action I asked my friends to do the same, tripling the happiness of the girl. She was a really cheerful girl but I did note something odd about her every day.

The sock on her left leg was little higher compared to the right.

I enjoyed her  cheerful  wave for a few more weeks but one dreadful day while returning back home my searching eyes could not find that sweet little girl. I thought about various possibilities and continued talking with my van mates. A few days went by and the girl was not to be seen.

One lucky day I found the lady I saw along with the girl. Immediately asking the driver to stop, I walked up to the person and inquired about her. She said that her name was Jane. When Jane had been 3 years old, a dreadful accident amputate her left leg and she also lost her entire family, her father, mother, and elder sister.  Jane only had this caring aunt who cared for her immensely but………………

Jane was now hospitalized as an undetected infection was spreading throughout her body and the doctors could now do nothing for her. That explained the sock story.  I noted down the name of the hospital she was admitted in and her contact number. I decided to visit Jane. You may wonder why I would care so much for a girl whom I did not even know properly. I just had to. A bond had formed between the two of us, a sisterly bond. Maybe she saw her elder sister in me. I wasn’t the only one whom she waved at, there were many more, elders as well as children.

I walked up to her with a box of yummy sweets and her face brightened up on seeing me but her bright smile wasn’t enough to cover up her pale face. She tried to get up but I urged her to lie down. We talked for a really long time. She told me that she would finally reunite with her lost family and when I couldn’t bear it anymore I rushed out and cried as I was devastated. Why did this have to happen to Jane??

A few days later I was informed of her death and invited to her funeral. There were many people present there, all anonymous people to whom she had been waving every day.

She still looked very pretty, with the pink cheeks and rosy lips and that blue polk-a -dot dress. There were many of us whose dullest days were brightened up by this wonderful child’s smile. It was wrong to say that she did not have a family. She did have one, us.