Caught red-handed

Sumita was the eldest of four siblings and as such often found herself to be the caretaker of her younger sister and two younger brothers.

That day too she had agsin been left as caretaker of her siblings because her mother had to attend a literary seminar that would last the whole of that day. Mother had left a series of instructions with her and specially warned Sumita to be very careful and alert about her teo younger brothers and Sumita had as always, nodded her head dutifully.

It was 11.30 am and her brothers Amrit and Shabd were still lazying in bed. After many admonitions from Sumita, they finally dragged themselves to brush their teeth and finish their breakfast. The breakfazt seemed to have immediately charged them up and both of them started with their favourite game of troubling their elder sisters with their sly tricks.

Sumita being quite elder to them both, always tried to be patient with them but that day they had succeeded in driving her to wit’s end. Whacking them on their naughty faces she asked them to go have their bath immediately.

She was pleasantly surprised to see them calm down and nod their heads in obedience.With both the boys having decided to bathe together in their parents’ attached bath and her younger sister Swaroopa busy painting a doll for her drawing homework, there was a pin drop silence in the house and Sumita heaving a sigh of relief retired back to her favourite passtime of reading the novel she was almost about to finish. 

Having finished her novel, Sumita looked up at the wall clock and was aghast to see that almost three quarters of an hour had passed since her brothers had gone to bathe. A bit worried she asked her right hand, her younger sister, Swaroopa to silently go and check on the naughty twosome. Swaroopa very dutifully trudged tiptoed to their parents’ bedroom and finding the door of the attached bath ajar with both the boys missing, came running back to her and narrated the same.

Now it was time for Sumita to take things in her hands and some sixth sense told her to first check in the kitchen…

Lo and behold ! Her eyes were left wide open to see her brothers busily tucking themselves into the choice Alphonso mango pudding that had been kept in preparation for some guests who were to arrive that evening. Both the boys were wet with just their knidckers on and totally oblivious to Sumita’s backside entry and it was only when she embraced both of them and jutted her head right in front of the half finished pudding that they realised that she had caught them red- handed !

Their faces turned white and inspite of their many apologies, Sumita knew that there was nothing that would save them and her ( because she had failed in her monitor duty) from their mom’s thrashing and rebukes. 

Just then the front door bell rang and she knew it was showdown time….eeww

– ©️Juhi Prakash Singh