A True Promise
"How long will you be pouring over that newspaper? Will you come here right away and make your darling daughter eat her food?"
I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only Daughter Sindu looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with Curd Rice.
Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age. She has Just turned eight. She particularly detested Curd Rice. My mother and my wife are orthodox and believe firmly in the cooling effects' of Curd Rice. I cleared my throat and picked up the bowl.
"Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few mouthful of this Curd Rice? Just for Dad's sake, dear. If you don't, your Mom will shout at me."
I could sense my wife's scowl behind my back. Sindu softened a bit and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "OK, Dad. I will eat not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you should..." Sindu hesitated. "Dad, if I eat this entire Curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?" "Oh sure, darling."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine
And clinched the deal.
"Ask Mom also to give a similar promise," my daughter insisted. My wife slapped her hand on Sindu's muttering "Promise," Without any emotion.
Now I became a bit anxious. "Sindu, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. OK?"
"No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive."
Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my Child to eat something that she detested.
After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All of our attention was on her.
"Dad, I want to have my head shaved off this Sunday," Was her demand!
"Atrocious!" shouted my wife, "a girl child having her head shaved off? Impossible!"
"Never in our family!" my mother rasped. "She has been watching too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these stupid TV programs!"
"Sindu, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head."
"No, Dad. I do not want anything else," Sindu said with finality.
"Please Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?" I tried to plead with her.
"Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice," Sindu was in tears. "And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for. Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?"
It was time for me to call the shots. "Our promise must be kept."
"Are you out your mind?" chorused my mother and wife.
"No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honor her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled."
With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes Looked big and beautiful.
On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight To watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved.
I waved back with a smile. Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, "Sinduja, please wait for me!"
What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. "Maybe that is the "in" stuff," I thought.
"Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!" Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car, and continued, "That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from leukemia."
She paused to muffle her sobs. "Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost all of his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates.
"Sinduja visited him last week and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue. But I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son! Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter."
I stood transfixed. And then, I wept.
光头的诺言
“你还要在那份报纸上耗多久？能不能赶紧过来，叫你的宝贝女儿吃饭？”
我把报纸扔到一边，急忙奔过去。我的独生女辛杜看死受了惊吓，眼里涌满了泪水。在她前面摆着满满一碗酸乳酪饭。
辛杜是个好孩子，在同龄孩子中算是非常聪明的。辛杜刚满８岁。她特别讨厌酸乳捞饭。母亲和妻子都是墨守成规的人，对酸乳酪饭的“消暑功能”笃信不疑。
我清了清喉咙，端起饭碗。
“辛杜，宝贝，就吃几小口好不好？就算看在爸爸的份儿上，亲爱的。你要是不吃，你妈妈又要冲我喊叫了。”
我都能感到妻子正在我背后怒目而视。辛杜态度稍稍缓和了些，她用手背揩去泪水。“好吧，爸爸。不知吃几小口，我要把这碗饭都吃下去。不过，你记得……”辛杜停顿了一下，“爸爸，要是我把这碗酸乳酪饭全吃下去，不管我要什么，你都能给我吗？”“哦，当然，宝贝。”
“你能保证吗？”
“我保证。”
我把手扣在女儿伸出的粉嫩小手上，协议达成了。
“叫妈妈也这样保证，”女儿坚持道。妻子面无表情地拍了一下辛杜的手，低声咕哝了一句：“我保证。”
此刻我有些担心了。“辛杜，你不能缠着要电脑之类的贵东西。爸爸现在没那么多钱。好吗？”
“不会的，爸爸。我什么贵的东西也不要。”
辛杜缓慢而痛苦的吃完了那一整碗饭。
我暗暗生妻子和母亲的气，气她们逼着孩子吃她厌恶的东西。
痛苦的煎熬终于结束了，辛杜走到我身边，睁大了眼睛，目光中满是期待。全家人都定睛在她身上。
“爸爸，我想这个星期天把头发剃光。”这就是她的要求！
“太不像话了！”妻子喊道，“一个小姑娘剃光头？休想！”
“在我们家绝对不行！”母亲粗声说，“她是电视看得太多了。我们的文化被这些电视节目彻底毁了！”
“辛杜，不能要别的吗？看你剃成光头，我们都会很难过的。”
“不，爸爸。别的我什么都不要。”辛杜斩钉截铁地说。
“辛杜，你难道不能想象我们的感受吗？”我试着劝她。
“爸爸，我吃下了那晚酸乳酪饭有多费劲，你都看到了。”辛杜流着眼泪，“你想我保证过，不管我要什么，你都会给我的。现在，你说过的话却不算数了。哈里什昌德拉国王的故事，不是你给我讲的吗？你不是说这个故事教我们不管怎样都要遵守诺言吗？”
轮到我拍板定论了。“我们的诺言必须遵守。”
“你疯了吗？”母亲和妻子异口同声地喊道。
“不。假如我们食言，她永远都学不会遵守自己的诺言。辛杜，你的愿望会满足的。”
剃光了头发的辛杜显露出圆圆的脸庞，双眼开上去大而美丽。
星期一的早晨，我送她去上学校。目送剃成光头的女儿走向教室，这景象多少有些滑稽。她转过身朝我挥挥手。
我微笑着，也朝她挥了挥手。就在这时，一个男孩从一辆车上下来，喊着：“辛杜，等等我！”
看到男孩光秃秃的脑袋，我心中一怔。“大概现在‘流行’这个吧！”我想。
“先生，您的女儿辛杜真了不起！”一位女士走下车，没作自我介绍，就继续说道，“那个跟您女儿走在一起的男孩是我的儿子哈里希。他得了白血病。”
她顿了顿，压抑着自己的哽咽。“哈里希上月一整月没能来上学。他因为化疗，头发全掉光了。他怕遭到同学们无心却残酷的嘲弄，所以不肯回学校。上周辛杜来看他了，还向他保证，她会摆平大家的嘲弄。可我怎么也没想到，她会为了我的儿子牺牲自己漂亮的长发！先生，您和妻子能有这么一个心灵高尚的女儿，真是有福啊。”
我呆呆地站在那里，不禁流下了眼泪。
