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The Perfect Outfit

Her 4-year old loved imagining stories. His favourites included the ones in the jungle – with tigers and deer and parrots and peacocks. So, when it came to celebrating his birthday, she went looking for the perfect outfit. She looked on all online shops and couldn’t find anything that felt just right. The best she could manage was a leopard print dress. That wouldn’t do. So, she went hopping all the malls and markets, scanning all the shops. There was barely any improvement in the search as the only other option she came across was a zebra print shirt. More searches here and there, and she moved over to bird prints or butterflies. The dresses and shirts, they all looked alike. 

What to do? The birthday celebration was just round the corner; and her extensive search yielded no result. Even the husband was fed-up of her obsession to get just the perfect outfit. “Just go for the leopard print – it’s in these days, I hear,” he said as he shook her head. She continued languishing in her agony. She tried telling herself, “it’s just a dress – no big deal.” But her heart didn’t budge. They just didn’t feel right. 

Next morning as the husband poured both of them bed tea, he placed his phone next to her cup. There was a pic of exactly what she was looking at, and in her kid’s favourite colour red too. She squealed in joy and hugged her husband, almost spilling his tea all over him. He laughed, “I knew you would love it, so, I took the liberty of ordering it just so it arrives on time.” She squealed louder; and hugged him tighter; and even landed a peck on his cheek. 

Ten days later, she welcomed the guests in a gorgeous red Katan Silk Banarasi Shikargah… And she beamed when her son came and kissed her, “Mumma, you look so pretty in this jungle saree. I love you!!” What more did she even want? 


© Nishtha Khurana, 2019. All rights reserved. The text as well as the pictures are both subject to copyright and are the property of the author. Please do not copy or reproduce without permission. 



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