The past

As the sun slowly rose over the mountain of Hanthana*, a gentle breeze brought coolness to Chapa. She saw that her mother was teaching lessons to her grandchildren. She remembers how her family undergoes through many hardships. But her thoughts got disturbed with the sweet , pleasant music, in the distance, she was captivated by the sounds of two small children selling oranges along the road.

" Oranges, Oranges , Please buy some oranges from us. We sell the best oranges". They were saying those words like in a choir. " oh, my god",unbeknowst to her, those words came from her mouth when she saw the two little children carrying the orange baskets between the paddy field and the mountain The moon was covered by the clouds. She saw in the blue sky the clouds that are behind the sun attempting to move around. The stars were rising one by one around the moon and she was imagining a beautiful scene in the sky. Meanwhile, the two birds who were alone among the flocks of birds hiding in behind clouds and the red sun , flew and covered the mango tree in her garden.

As the light of the red sun and the waterfall descended from the river bank, it looked as a flowing of a gold chain. When Chapa was enjoying the beauty of the environment the two birds flew towards her and then again she heard the voices of the two little lambs

At the same time her son and daughter who were listening to the stories of their grandmother ran towards her and started to beg , " please, buy us some oranges".

" ok, then let's go and see". when she said that the two liitle children of Chapa ran happily towards her to buy oranges.

" Oranges, oranges, please buy some oranges from us". Chapa heard the sound of the two little lambs close by. The little son of Chapa started to clap happily when he heard the sound of the oranges. She went near the gate and clapped her hands and said " come" to the little children. A boy around 12 years old and a girl around 8 years old ran towards her happily carrying the two little baskets. " Please madam, buy some oranges from us", says the little boy. " why are you selling these oranges along the road in this late evening?" , she said. " Nobody bought oranges from us because of Covid. Our mother is sick madam. We are trying to collect money for her medicines" , told the little boy unhappily.

The eyes of the little boy brought memories of her brother because his eyes were full of courage and his eyes told her that he is not ready to give up anything. Also the little girl's innocent long elongated eyes bring her memories about her mother and brother. Chapa thought that these two little lambs were sent by the angels to show their past. " If madam doesn't want to buy oranges from us , we'll go", said the little boy in a sad tone. "wait, son I will take those two baskets of oranges" , then she handed them Rs. 2000/=. With innocent looking eyes the two flowers looked at her in amazement. She touched the little girl's head and said " look after your mother". She then steps twoards her large mansion carrying the two baskets of oranges. Her mother smiled at the two children and looked at her.

In the following day Chapa went to her juice bar. There were some customers and the waiters were serving them. Her brother was working at the cashier. He greeted the customers with a smile in his face. It was the same smile he used to greet customers during his chldhood. He also went near the customers and said in a happy face " you can buy the best thing from us". Still he uses the same slogan that we used during our chilhood. Since his childhood he knows how to attract the customers. Like the little boy Chapa met yesterday her brother's eyes were also full of courage and hope. Chapa works in the juice bar only in the weekends as she has to go for her work. But her brother works everyday. Chapa had the capability to compelete her education thanks to her brother. Her brother supported her eventhough they confront many difficult problems. Her brother couldn't complete his education because of their poverty and his only hope was her sister's sucess

After working in the juice bar both of them went to Chapa's house. Chapa's little children, her brother and her mother took the dinner together. After finishing the breakfast Chapa's brother Anura started to lick his fingers. His mother saw this and got irritated. Chapa's mother threw her spoon towards her brother scolding him " Haven't you get rid of your bad habit?" . Chapa started to laugh because his brother won't give a stop to his bad habit eventhough her mother throw a pot towards him. Her brother had this bad habbit of licking fingers since his childhood. After the dinner both of them like two little small children listened to the stories of their mother. Chapa remembered how both of them listened to the stories of their mother when they were two little small children. After cleaning the house Chapa went to see her mother if she is sleeping, she saw that her brother was also sleeping with her like a little baby. She went near her brother and started to fight with him that she wants to sleep with her mother like the same way they did during their childhood.

In the next following day in the juice bar, Chapa got scolded by her brother as she had served the wrong juice to a customer. She didn't scold to her brother, but she showed her anger through her actions. Her brother started to smile and said " I remeber you show the same angry reactions when you were a little girl ". Chapa smiled and hugged his brother. Her brother was everything to her, he still looks after his sister's family since her husband abandoned her.

* Hanthana- This a mountain range in Sri Lanka, Kandy.