The first difficult step !

A huge verandah it was, open to the sky ! Green grass was spread on the floor like a bed. Little Tinu had come home early from school. The headmaster had agreed to let the kinder garden kids leave soon, fearing it might rain heavily. Tinu was pretty excited to see the dark clouds, threatening to pour down.

He sat on the grass bed, observing them. He could recognize the different faces the clouds depicted. He could make out a lion's head, a goat's horns and a crow's beak. He didn't mind the fact that his house doors were locked and no one was there at home. He was enjoying the weather, the looming clouds and the cool breeze.

He felt the first drop of the rain on his cheek. His joy knew no bounds. He was about to experience the first rain in his four years of life. His mom had never allowed him to play in the rains, fearing he might catch cold.

He started counting the droplets - oneeeee, twoooo, threee, four, five....He couldn't catch up with the speed of the rain drops. It was pouring heavily and Tinu was getting drenched. But Tinu didn't bother about his dresses and shoes getting wet. He was dancing and running merrily. At one point, he slipped over the slimy mud and fell down. Instead of crying as he used to, he was laughing happily. The mud didn't hurt him. After raining continuously for 30 minutes, it stopped all of a sudden. Tinu looked up towards the clouds but they were gone. He could see the clear blue sky.

Tinu's mother had not yet come from her office. He started feeling hungry. By then, his aunt who stays in the neighbourhood saw him drenched. She took him to her house, changed his clothes and offered him sandwiches. Tinu switched on the TV, selecting his favourite cartoon channel. Tom and Jerry were there to give him company. Watching Tom dancing in the rain, he gave a smile "Tom, I got drenched today for the first time. Isn't it so wonderful?". At that time, he didn't even give a thought about his mom's reactions when she comes to know about it.