It was a balmy afternoon.Leaves rustled as the cool November breeze wafted by.The weather was just perfect for a picnic.Natasha was sitting under a shady Oak tree, laughing at the jokes her friends, Tina and Jamie were cracking.The red-and-white checked blanket, in front of them, was laid with chicken burgers, a large bottle of coke, a medium-sized pizza, cookies ,cakes and packets of Lays chips...yummm! What a mouth watering treat!"NATASHA!!" The teacher's angry voice brutally woke Natasha from her reverie and slammed her back to reality.Back to the same old boring physics class.She slowly stood up, a sheepish grin pinned to her face."Not again! Why does it always have to be me?",she muttered under her breath. TRIIIIIING! Fortunately, the bell rang just then.Phew.Natasha heaved a sigh of relief.Meet Natasha Edward.Her friends call her 'Nats' for short.She's a freshly-turned 16 year old with all the hopes and aspirations of any teenaged girl.Quite tall for her age,Natasha was the tallest among her friends.Her long black hair twisted itself into soft admirable curls.Her eyes,warm and bright, made many a boy fall for her charm.But there was one thing that made Natasha look at the mirror and sigh -her dusky complexion. Nevertheless she was a beauty. As the students piled out of the classroom,Jamie joined Natasha."Hey Nats..What do you think?Shall we go to the picnic Tina talked about?Seems like a pretty good idea.We'll all pack food and cycle all the way to Silent lake...It'll be fun". "Yeah..so much fun...just think about it.. Silent lake is the loneliest , calmest place here..We can even go on a boat ride",Tina piped in."Sure...I guess I'll ask mom",Natasha said solemnly.That evening, Natasha cycled home,alone.The sky was a deep hue of blue.Birds chirped as the soared across the cloudless sky.But Natasha was in no mood to admire the sky or any other thing for that matter.Her mind was clouded with thoughts."Mom will never let me go".She knew it.Slowly, hatred crept into her heart.Mom? She wasn't her mom at all ! She was her step-mom and she had hidden the fact for sixteen years. Natasha's thoughts ran back to that day a week before.November the second.Just one day before her birthday,Natasha had walked silently into her home. She had heard Tanya Aunty and her mom chattering away in the hall. Not wanting to disturb them,she was noiselessly making her way to her room when she heard those words.Those words made her rooted to the spot. "I found her in the gutter", her mom was saying. "Really? Poor thing..but thank Goodness you found her..Does Natasha know?",Tanya Aunty's voice ringed in her ears."Not yet",her mom had replied.Natasha couldn't take it anymore.She had tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat. Once inside her room, she had thrown herself on her bed and let tears fall on her cheeks, unchecked. "Am I adopted?", she had asked herself.Natasha mulled over that incident as her home came into view.She was warmly welcomed by her puppy 'Blackie'. The little dog bounded dowm the hall to meet her new mistress. Natasha pushed those bitter thoughts to the back of her mind.She took the puppy in her arms and fondled its soft head. "I guess you are the only one who really loves me in this house", she said to the puppy.As if to console her,the little dog licked her with its wet little tongue. The puppy had been presented to Natasha on her sixteenth birthday, a few days ago. She had cried herself to sleep on her birthday eve. The very next day,Blackie had arrived in a gift box, to give her the love she badly pined for. Mom had presented the gift box to her and had planted a kiss on her cheek. "Pretence...Absolute pretence..She's pretending as if she loves me..I hate her..I HATE HER!!", her thoughts screamed.She turned and faced a mirror. "Why didn't I think of it before? I'm dark.She's fair! What more evidence do I need to confirm that I am adopted?".Every time Natasha thought about her mother, she got beside herself with fury. A little later, her mom returned home. When she met Natasha, she smiled warmly at her.She asked with concern ,"Why darling.. you look a bit upset..Is everything all right?".Her mom reached for Natasha's head to pat her,but Natasha expertly dunked her head out of her way. "My friends and I have planned to go to a picnic this Saturday..Can I go?",she asked with a twinge of scorn in her voice. Her mom was silent for a moment.Then she said "No". "Just as I expected..I knew..I knew you wont let me go",Natasha raised her voice.Her mom was quite startled. "Why darling.." "Dont pretend",Natasha cut her short."You thought I didn't know,didn't you?But I know...I KNOW",she said, sarcasm seething in her voice.Her voice suddenly trembled and cracked.Tears sprang to her eyes but she somehow managed not to cry. "I know...that I am adopted", she said. "What?", mom asked,bewildered. Natasha, on the verge of breaking down, confessed, "I heard you talking to Tanya Aunty". A second of agonised silence passed between them. Then suddenly, Natasha's mom roared with laughter.Natasha blinked at her mother with horror. "What an evil woman!",she thought. The room echoed with the woman's laughing. "Darling..Oh my dear darling..I was talking about Blackie..I was telling Tanya how I found the puppy in the gutter..and I told her I was keeping it a secret to surprise my sweet little daughter on her special day".She laughed again,"Oh my goodness! And do you know why I said you shouldn't go to that picnic?It's because...." The kind lady took her daughter's face in her palms.She looked deeply into Natasha's eyes which were holding back tears."Because....I would miss you so much darling.Weekends are the only days I have time to spend with you". Natasha looked back at her mother.She could hold no more. She let go and broke down.She fell into her mother's arms and burst into tears.The wet salty tears washed away all the hatred, sorrow and bitterness.The mother was moved to see her daughter exploding into tears.She embraced her and patted her heaving back.Between violent sobs,Natasha said in a meek voice, "I love you,mom".

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