Rati's sister, Rama, is getting ready for school and waiting for the school bus.
Every day Rati watches her sister getting on the bus. Whenever Rama gets on the bus, Rati waves both her hands and says goodbye to it.
She also wants to ride the bus.
So today, when Rama sits in the bus to go to school, Rati follows her and climbs onto the bus as well.
But everyone starts telling her to get down.
When she refuses, the bus conductor calls out to her uncle outside and says,
"Hey brother, please look at this girl. She is not getting down from the bus. Please come and take her."
Hearing this, Rati says,
"I will not get down. I will go to school with my sister."
Just then her uncle comes inside the bus and tries to lift her into his arms to take her down.
But today Rati has decided to rebel against everyone. She tightly grabs the handle near the bus door and shouts loudly,
"Sister, I will go too! Save me!"
But her sister does nothing, as if she has taken a bribe and joined the other side today.
After a lot of struggle, her uncle finally manages to pull her off the bus.
Rati keeps crying while watching the bus leave.
Today she doesn't even wave goodbye to her sister.
Whenever Rati needs support for something at home, her sister always stands by her. But today it felt as if she had changed sides completely.
Couldn't she have held Rati's hand?
She could have stopped everyone.
But she did nothing.
This hurts Rati deeply.
So today she goes to the temple in her house and takes an oath that until she gets a chance to ride the bus and go to school, she will neither talk to her elder sister nor help her with any work.
All day long she walks around in front of her uncle holding a paper and a pen, hoping he will think that Rati should also study and enroll her in school.
Whenever her uncle passes by, she starts loudly reading numbers in her childish voice.
"O-N-E = One
T-W-O = Two"
Like this, while reading and planning how to get on the bus, it becomes three in the afternoon.
From far away, Rati hears the sound of a bus horn.
As soon as she hears it, she runs outside and waits for her sister Rama to get down from the bus.
But that bus is not her sister's bus. It speeds past her and covers her face and clothes with dust.
"Oh, Rama is not in this bus."
So she sits under the mango tree in front of her house.
After a short while, Rama's bus arrives and stops. Her sister gets down carrying her school bag.
Every day Rati runs to her and takes the bag herself and carries it inside the house.
But today, when she sees her sister, she remembers the morning incident. Tears fill her eyes.
Without taking the bag, she goes inside the house and sits cross-legged on the cot.
"What happened, Rati? Are you crying?"
"No."
"Look what I brought for you."
Rama takes out tamarind candy and gives it to her.
"Here, will you take it?"
"Yes."
Because of the tamarind candy, Rati melts a little and forgives Rama for the morning incident, but she still does not break her promise.
It is time for dinner. In the house, their mother and aunt are cooking food.
But Rama has a test today from their uncle, so ever since she returned from school, she has been memorizing questions and answers from her book.
Rati is also waiting for her uncle to come home, because she still has many performances left to achieve her goal.
It is seven o'clock.
Her uncle arrives.
As soon as Rati sees him, she starts reading loudly,
"One… one
Two… two
Three… three."
Her uncle laughs and says,
"What's this? Today our little sister Rati is studying so much!"
Rati feels very happy inside because the plan she had been working on since morning seems to be succeeding.
"Come here, Rati. Let me see what you have studied since morning."
Rati has actually memorized all the numbers very well, so she goes to him confidently with her counting book.
"Uncle, I am studying this one."
"You learned all of it?"
"No, not everything… but I have learned all the numbers."
"Oh really? Then come, recite them."
Slowly, Rati recites all the numbers with their spellings.
"Wow! Our little Rati is very smart. You memorized all the numbers!"
"Yes uncle. I was also thinking of learning A, B, C, D."
"Then why are you just thinking? Learn them."
"Yes, I will learn them… but I need someone to teach me. You go to coaching, and Rama goes to school. So who will teach me?"
"Why don't you enroll me in the same school as Rama?"
"Then I will learn just like her."
Her uncle smiles and says,
"Yes, but you are still small. What if you start crying in school?"
"No uncle, I won't cry. I will study well."
"Really?"
"When you all leave me alone and go to the fields or to weddings, do I cry?"
"No, right?"
"Then in school there will be so many children. Why would I cry?"
Hearing this, her uncle and her sister Rama both burst out laughing.