Eka's Boat (Original Short Story)

Little tufts of steam rose from the platters of food lined up on the tabletop but, to little Eka, it looked like the sort of humongous smoke that billows upward from a rampant wildfire. Her eager eyes were illuminated by wonder as they followed the trail of steam intently. She traced its path as it wafted away from the food and eventually dissipated into nothing. 

Eka was too engrossed in searching for the steam that had become invisible and did not notice that the waiters had begun to serve the food until one of them accidentally splashed some of the hot dal onto her hand. She screamed and vigorously shook her hand, resulting in everyone at the table being adorned by yellow droplets of dal. 

Her mother scowled at her from across the table. Her uncle, brother and cousin gave her dirty looks as they scrambled to grab tissues to clean the dal off of them. Her aunt, who was sitting next to her, helped Eka clean her hand and a few drops that had gotten on her face while she scolded the waiter for being sloppy. 

The waiters then proceeded to serve the rotis to the party as Eka's father returned from the restroom and sat down next to his little princess. He began to tear her roti into smaller pieces and discreetly laughed at the dal that remained at the top tips of his brother's hair. Usually, Eka would have laughed raucously at this sight but today she was preoccupied with leering at the gravy that was being served to her mother. She loved the orange gravy but not the other green gravy. 

Eka watched with rapt attention as they first served a little of the green curry to everyone, even her despite her protests. The other waiter picked up the orange gravy and began to serve but he was serving bigger portions! Little Eka's heart began to pound as she watched the waiter serve her uncle next and then her brother. Her eyes widened when she saw her brother ask for extra with a smirk aimed at her. The waiter then moved to her cousin and she could hear a scraping sound when the waiter dipped the ladle in the gravy boat. Her heart rushed frantically and feverishly as she observed him with narrowed eyes and realized that the source of the sound was the very little gravy left in the boat. 

She could feel her throat welling up with tears and her breath quicken when the waiter served her father. Eka's eyes appeared to pop out of their socket when the waiter completely upturned the vessel and emptied the remnants of the gravy boat with the orange gravy that she had been salivating about since the last time they had eaten there (which had been years!). 

In little Eka's eyes, the sky had come crashing down on her head. The world had crumbled under her knees and time had stood still. Everything was over. The God that her parents told her about was not there anymore. It was all over. 

Eka's thoughts were interrupted by her aunt calling to her. The little girl's glazed eyes moved to her aunt as she struggled not to cry. What she saw immediately lifted her mood. The waiter had returned with another gravy boat and was waiting to serve her the orange gravy! She excitedly watched him heap spoonfuls of the orange gravy on her plate. The sky was blue again, the birds were chirping again and Eka believed that a God must exist. All was well. Well, except for Eka's angry thought that the restaurant was going to need a bigger boat!