This story has a Sri-Lankan setting. I tried to bring a bit of my country into it. The following words which are used in the story are Sinhalese words for which I'll write down the meaning.

Naenda- Aunt (related and non related)

Silvia Nona- Madam Silvia

Kewum- a chewy sweetmeat made of flour and deep fried.

Uduwal- a sweetmeat made of a special kind of cereal, deep fried and soaked in honey.

Kokis- a crispy snack made of flour and deep fried.

Milk Rice- a kind of rice cooked with plenty of milk.

Sambol- A side dish made of spicy onions with chillis. 

[Kewum, Uduwal, Kokis and Milk rice are traditional foods made for the Sinhalese New Year that falls in April- where worshipping is considered a form of receiving blessings from elders]

Amma- mother

Thilaka, Soma- Srilankan names

Appachchi- father

~THILAKA~

We do not bring cats to the table! She slammed her glass on the table that it made quite a messy puddle around her plate. She glared at the little boy who sat in front of her. He was clearly frightened unable to move. Not even when his little friend, also frightened by the big noise; scratched at him, jumped and ran away to hide. It wasn’t something that was seen every day, Silvia Nona liked cats; liked, not loved. But she didn’t stop little master from playing with her. Little master loved his kitten, I could tell even though I recently got to know him. So, anyways, Silvia Nona soon realizing that all other pairs of eyes were on her, glared at the servants who scurried away out of her sight like mice into mouse holes.

Naenda was in the kitchen before me and was setting the Kewum on a platter. Either she heard the commotion and pretended not to or she actually hadn’t. 

“Keep this on the table and bring out the other empty ones” she said handing me the platter. 

I walked carefully not wanting to make a mistake; to the table, where eating continued gracefully. I gathered the Kokis and Uduwal platters which needed refilling and sneaked a peek at little master. He was quietly toying with his food, eating a morsel so as to not be yelled at again. I thought I saw his eyes tearing up. Poor fellow. And in front of guests!! My mind filled up with hatred towards Silvia Nona. Why didn’t anybody say anything? How could they go on eating after making little master cry?

I walked back into the kitchen to find Naenda busy again.

“Stay out of Silvia Nona’s sight today. She doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.” Naenda warned me carefully so that only I heard it.

So Naenda had heard! I didn’t like it that Naenda justified Silvia Nona. Naenda has been working for Silvia Nona for a long time, I heard.

Our guests are eating quietly now. Earlier I saw a face of dislike in the lady’s face. She seemed very fussy about it. Constantly whispering to the gentleman beside her.

At first I thought that it was because the food was distasteful. So I secretly took a Kewum and an Uduwal off the counter where plenty sat in baskets, hid myself in the cabinet under the counter to eat it, to see if it really was that bad, but it was the best Kewum I had ever eaten. Naenda really knew how to make them. The Uduwal was very tasty too. There was a lot of honey and I loved it. So I ate it rather slowly, greedily, enjoying every bite of the sweetmeat and just when I had finished eating and starting on licking the honey off my sticky fingers I was caught. The cabinet doors opened. I was terrified. But Naenda had a tiny smile on her face and moments later she brought to me two more Uduwal and helped me out of the cabinet.

“Next time, just ask” I saw her smile.

 I felt ashamed for taking it without asking. Stealing makes you feel bad.

“Rasai Naenda” This is tasty Naenda.

Still smiling, she kept cutting more Milk rice into diamond shaped pieces before neatly arranging them on another platter in the form of a flattened tower. The adults liked to eat a lot of Milk rice with a hot sambol unlike us kids who loved the sweets. I really don’t understand why. 

Naenda let me go outside as I have finished helping her. Amma didn’t make Uduwal or Kewum. Maybe she didn’t know how. She used to make me some Milk rice and Kokis which I always ate with a banana. I loved that. Maybe because I didn’t know of Uduwal back then. This year she is not here with me for the New Year. She said that she will come back to me in a little while. Since then I stayed with Naenda. Amma went to buy me a lot of toys. 

I walked straight to the swing, my favorite place in Silvia Nona’s house. It was there that I saw little master under a tree nearby. I decided to leave him alone. But then I heard crying. I walked up to him then held out the other Uduwal, the one that I kept with me to eat when I was on the swing. He stopped crying when he saw the Uduwal and then looked up at me. I saw him smile when he bit into the delicious sweet for the first time today. I was happy.

“Why are you crying?” I asked him.

“I think Amma doesn’t love me.” His eyes filling up with tears again. 

“No, it’s not like that” I lied even though I thought the same.

“Shall we play?” I asked him to which he agreed and we played catch.

I let him run and he forgot about everything because he was laughing since I couldn’t catch him at all.

“Thilaka! What are you doing?!” I saw Naenda running towards me with a face mixed with both fear and anger. Both little master and I stuck in our tracks, unsure of what I had done wrong.

Just then “Soma” called Silvia Nona. Now I was mortified. But Silvia Nona just stood there waiting for Naenda to return to her and I really saw her smile a little. I was so surprised. We played all morning. 

Lunch went off uneventfully. Surprisingly. 

In the evening, at tea I noticed the lady guest being fussy again. She wasn’t exactly quiet about it. She was refusing to eat the sweetmeat. She kept going on about how it was too sweet and oily and how bad it was for her skin to the man next to her and I watched his face grow darker and angrier. I don’t like him.

When Silvia Nona brought in the sweets he got up, grabbed the plate off of Silvia Nona’s hands and sent it flying over heads till it smashed against the wall sending millions of tiny shards of glass and Kewum everywhere.

“How can you eat this?! It’s too oily. It’s not what she likes! Why are you giving this to her?! She’s pregnant!!” He yelled at Silvia Nona. 

Then there was a deafening silence. I hid behind a pillar, if I had been scared before, that was nothing compared to how I felt at that moment.

I could see the nerve popping on his forehead. The lady clung to him like he was God. I don’t like her either.

“Give her what she likes when she likes! You follow this nonsense. Auspicious times and starving the poor girl!! You and your culture woman. And why did you send the boy to me? Did you tell him that I’ll shower him with gifts if he worships me and my wife asking for our blessing? Did you tell him that New Years’ time is for family? Did you tell him to worship my wife so that I’ll give him my fortune?! Rotten brat!!”

This was when Silvia Nona broke her silence.

“Don’t you dare call him that! He’s MY son! You invited yourself and this little princess of yours here. I didn’t not ask you or your wife to come for lunch!” she made a sarcastic face when she said wife.

“I didn’t teach my boy to come to you. I didn’t even want him close to you. But it was his good nature to talk to the father who left him when he was only a baby. How good is a child being that small to not hate his father who treat him like rubbish.”

Another sarcastic smile at “father”.

“All this while I kept quiet but not when you speak ill of my son. This ridiculous wife of yours is nothing but a big fussy woman who don’t have a culture, manners or origin itself. One who claims to be a Sinhalese woman and even pretends to be rich and elite. You don’t even see how she’s leeching off of you! Fancy woman!”

At this, he struck her down, a good blow across her face which split her lip open. 

Little master who had been in his room had come down at that exact moment and he ran straight in between his mother and the man and threw his hands defensively in front of Silvia Nona who had sunken to the ground sobbing.

“Appachchi, leave. I will not let you hurt her anymore. She’s my mother. You don’t have to be my Appachchi anymore. I have her. And she has me. Leave us alone.”

The man raises his hand again but then took a step back and left dragging his beloved wife with him. Silvia Nona hugged her son and continued sobbing. Both Naenda and I stood quietly. I was glad that the man and woman left.

Little master put his hands on his mother’s face and wiped her tears. 

“Don’t worry Amma. I’m with you”

Even I started to cry at this point. I’ve never seen Silvia Nona like this other than a strict, evil person. She reminded me of my Amma now.

I never really thought that man was little master’s father. He was very lovely towards his young wife.

I understood how much little master loved his mother. 

Later that night, I went in search of Naenda because I sleep by her side and without her close by I can’t fall asleep and I miss Amma unbearably then. I heard her voice upstairs and I crept . I hide myself behind a curtain when I saw Naenda with Silvia Nona. They were talking.

“Nona, what’s done is done now. I don’t think sir will be back again. You can live in peace now. Little master is a brilliant little boy. He loves you a lot. Everyday he speaks to me about how much he admires you. How you are his everything . He needs you by his side and you too will not be left alone. I’m sure he will look after you throughout your life” Naenda was saying.

“Soma, I saw my cheating husband’s face whenever I saw my son. I couldn’t bear to look at his face because of that man who had cheated on me and left me alone with an infant. That hatred drove me blind and I think I never realized the harm I was doing to my own child. But I understand that he never was his father and I’m sure that he will never be. I shall love him and cherish him forever” sobbed Silvia Nona.

I didn’t really understand many of the events of today. Maybe I will when I’m older. But I felt that something good happened at the end and I knew that from now on, things will be different between little master and his mother.