STORY - AN UNEXPECTED GIFT, Authoress - Davlatova Shodiyona (Uzbekistan)

STORY - AN UNEXPECTED GIFT
Davlatova Shodiyona  (Uzbekistan)

Raindrops washed the girl's face, people who were stuck at the bus stop were waiting for the bus with umbrellas to shelter from the rain, but the girl didn't even have a raincoat. No one showed her any kindness, no one looked at her. The bus arrived and all the passengers immediately headed inside. Only this girl - Mahira - didn't get out. Apparently, she didn't have the money to pay for the bus, even if she had. She waited at this stop for her father to return from work. Her head was dripping like a rag left in the rain. The piece of bread in her hand and the bag slung over her shoulder seemed to echo with the howling wind.
Mahira's father arrived. The little girl threw herself into her father's arms. Hands and sincere glances touched each other, warming them in the already rainy, cold weather.
– Mahira, forgive me, I kept you waiting in the rain, you know? I have a surprise for you today. Let's go for a walk.
Trying not to show that he had a cold, the father took off his faded old cap with his frozen hands and patted it a couple of times, then grabbed his little girl's tiny hands, pressing them against the hair that was still a mess, and then walked through the multi-aastory buildings and down the narrow street. First they passed by the kindergarten, the school, then the shops selling winter clothes. Mahira wanted to feel like a princess on New Year's Eve. Not knowing when she would have the opportunity to do so, she stared at her father in a daze, then her thoughts turned to the raindrops, and she tore her hands from her father's hands and ran to the shop selling women's coats and scarves. She stood there for a moment, not looking back, and then she looked at her father.
“Give me that white scarf, please, dear father! Give it to me,” she pleaded. Her father dug into his pocket, counted the little money he had left, and knowing that it was not enough, he put it back in his pocket and told his daughter, “I will give it to you tomorrow. When you come back from school, I will definitely give you this white scarf, okay?! My daughter, I told you that there is a surprise, and I will get you something right now. Come on, dear.” Mahira and her father went to a cafe on the other side of the road, ate together, all the sweets and water that the girl had ordered were ready in front of her. A smile spread across Mahira’s face, a smile that showed her gratitude to her father. The next morning, under Mahira's pillow, that white, fluffy scarf and a "surprise" bunch of red tulips, a white blouse and black shoes that princesses wear to dance appeared. Mahira's head was high with joy and she went to the kitchen to her father, but on the table where her father had gone to work, she saw the following letter.
" - My beautiful, intelligent, and beloved daughter, seeing your joy and happiness is the greatest gift for us, your parents. "Your father, who misses you every moment.


About the Authoress:
Davlatova Shodiyona lives in Uzbekistan. She is a
2nd year student of the “International Relations” department of the “Foreign Policy and International Economic Relations” faculty of Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies. She is an amateur poetess. Her poems and stories have been published in several magazines and newspapers.