Whistling Past The Memories: Episode 2 - The puppy eraser

A week had elapsed since Swara wrote about herself for the first time. Swara enjoyed writing at nights better, when everyone was sleeping and she found the peace and silence of the night soothing, letting her thoughts flow in abandon. During the day, in her spare time, Swara would watch movies on Netflix or she would just go for a long drive. She would decide the destination after she started driving! Today was one such day when she was back from a drive and was in bed early as she felt tired. But, she couldn’t sleep. After tossing and turning in the bed, she got up, opened her laptop, and continued from where she had left off earlier…

“Hey there!

Today, I want to write about my earliest memory from my childhood. I must have been four or five when this happened. During our days, a fancy, scented, small cylindrical eraser with an outer plastic casing in the shape of cute animals was a rage among kids, and most of them had it. My sister and I got ours too, mine a kitten and hers a puppy. It was no surprise that I lost mine pretty soon and I was eyeing my sister’s as I loved its fragrance. Once when my sister was away, I sneaked into her bag and pulled it out. I was so fond of the colour (yellow) and the smell of her eraser that I inserted a piece of it into my nostril so that I could keep smelling it all the time. It went deep inside and I never told anyone about it. My sister, on the other hand, was clueless about how her eraser was broken. She suspected it was me and I innocently claimed I had nothing to do with it. And in course of time, I too forgot about it. I was still able to breathe with the other nostril. 

A few days later my mom saw a discharge from my nose but I had already developed a cold by then, so she assumed it must be the phlegm. Those days we never went to a doctor unless it was an emergency… Talk about Indian families! So she tried home remedies for common cold. Another week passed and mom noticed that the discharge from my nostril had a weird foul smell. 

She took me to a doctor who examined me. He said it would settle soon as there was no congestion in my chest and there was no fever. He just asked my mom to apply Vicks Vaporub and make me do steam inhalation. Mom nodded and came home but she wasn’t convinced and decided to take things in her hands. The doctor in my mom told her something was wrong! (Mom had secured admission in a medical college on merit but unfortunately for her, her parents didn’t want to send her to a city, where she would have had to stay in a hostel. She would have made a great doctor, I am sure.) 

She determinedly used a torch to see inside my nose and she was sure she saw something like a pea. I was once again taken to the doctor, who, this time confirmed there was something inside. He asked us to meet him at the local hospital that evening. We were all anxious and reached the hospital on time. He soon called us in, he already had a nurse next to him and was ready with scary-looking stainless steel surgical equipment, which I knew would soon be used on me. I was nervous. I was made to lie down on a table and forceps were inserted into my nostril to pull out the ‘thing’ and I still remember the feeling of lukewarm blood trickling down my cheeks. The forceps soon caught the ‘bloody’ object.

After running it through water, they discovered that it was indeed a piece of rubber and my sister was overjoyed to see the ‘missing’ piece from her eraser and her first worry was whether she could still use it! Only, the colour was no longer yellow.

Upon questioning, I admitted to having put it inside my nostril to smell it. I guess it was the fear as to how my sister and mom would react, that prevented me from telling them earlier. Little did I know then, that it could be life-threatening. How I managed to keep that eraser inside my nostril and still continue with my usual activities is still a mystery. It is also surprising that it stayed inside for so long and did not go further inside. All God’s grace. I even remember the frock that I wore to the clinic, black & white polka dots, that got stained with blood. 

 I am sure I don’t need to mention I was rebuked for my stupid action of putting it inside my nostril and also not telling them thereafter. I started crying and all ended well when they bought me a new eraser, only this time with a warning that I was not supposed to do such silly acts again!

Today, as a parent I can relate to what my parents would have gone through! They still handled it so courageously and beautifully.

Now, why can’t I forget this incident? I learnt a lesson that day to never hide things from close family. Parents scold us for a reason, to make us better individuals. The simple fear of being scolded by my mom or sister could have cost me my life. Parents need to keep talking to their children and make sure there is a free flow of communication. This helps them when they grow up and makes them bold and confident individuals who are ready to face society.

So that’s all for now. Until my next post!”

Swara contentedly shut her laptop and went to bed.