One evening, Maya was making
plans for her birthday. She sat in the living room with her father and
instructed him on what to get for her.
"I want a chocolate cake...only a chocolate cake...and white candles on top,
please ensure they are white...and five-differently coloured balloons, and of
course, Nina's blue dress," she told him gravely.
Her father who was writing all this down, looked up. "Why Nina's blue dress?" he
asked.
"Because it is the only one that is the colour of the sky," she answered. "You
know daddy, blue is my favourite colour."
"Is it?" replied her father who knew why, overnight, his daughter's preferences
in colour had changed. Maya's cousin Nina, had come to spend the weekend at
their house. Nina was coming from school, and she was really excited because she
had a role in the school play. She had been given a lovely silk blue dress which
was to be her dress for the play, just before coming to Maya's house. So, she
brought it with her and showed it off to Maya.
When held up against the light, the dress shimmered.
And Maya fell deeply under its spell.
From that minute, she began to tell anyone who would listen, that blue was her
favourite colour and that she would wear only a blue dress to her party. Not
just any blue dress, though. "One that has all these lights and pleats in front,
just like Nina's."
Since her birthday was the following day and since Nina's play happened three
days after that, Maya's intentions were clear to everyone, including Nina. Maya
wanted to wear the dress for her birthday party.
She spent the entire day convincing her hapless cousin that they were soul
sisters and that what belonged to one, naturally also belonged to the other. So,
Maya's dolls and wardrobe of dresses were Nina's, and Nina's blue dress was
Maya's. And Nina could not be so selfish as to deny her cousin the brief
pleasure of wearing the blue dress for the party, could she?
Poor Nina! Not knowing how to react to her cousin's relentless talk of
selflessness, she deeply regretted having brought the dress with her. She could
see, in her mind's eye, a resplendent Maya basking under all the attention, at
the party. Maya wearing the blue dress that was rightfully hers. How unbearable.
Maya's parents, who knew they would be in for the most spectacular display of
tantrums if they stepped in, were in a dilemma. How could they make their
daughter see what she was doing was plain bad manners, without giving her a
chance to act like a martyr?