This happened long time back when I was a fourteen or a fifteen year old.  All my vacations and holidays were spent with my cousins who were of my age and we made a cozy threesome. This particular incident has left a lasting impression in my mind.

The said incident happened during one such summer holiday when I spent time with them at their house.  We all lived in the big city of Bangalore.  My aunt was a workingwoman and before she left for the office she would assign certain simple jobs that had to be carried out before she came back.  On that particular day she assigned us the task of filling water in the big tank in the backyard.  It was a harsh summer and Bangalore was facing acute water shortage.  In fact we used to get water only on alternate days and therefore storing water was a mammoth task and required a lot of planning.  The timings were also not  very convenient and water used to come only between 5.00 AM and 1.00 PM. 

We got to the task of filling the tank by ensuring that the tap was open and we hung in the backyard till the tank got filled.  While the tank was filling up we started playing in the water and decided to wash the clothes ourselves, washing machines were unheard of those days and generally were having the time of our lives.  Somewhere down the line one of us threw the soap and there began a game of catching the soap.  This was particularly fascinating for every time the wet soap slipped and fell from our hands, it evinced maximum number of squeals.

As we were playing my cousin Kumuda or Kumi as she is called, threw the soap to her sister Chitra and plop it fell into the tank which had by then got filled and the water was right upto the brim. For a minute we were too shocked to move and as we stood mesmerized, we saw the water turning white for the soap had started dissolving.  Then the three of us broke into a run and reached the tank and tried to put our hands into the tank with the fond hope of retrieving the soap.  But no such luck as the tank was pretty big and there was no way we could bring it out. 

As we debated what to do, we found that the tank was closed below with a piece of wood to stop the water from flooding out and this piece of wood was usually opened only when the tank had to be cleaned.  I found a brain wave and asked Kumi to pull the wood out and drain the water and remove the soap.  The enormity of losing all the water never sank into our childish brains.   By then the water had also stopped coming in the tap.

The water was drained and the soap was retrieved and we forgot all about it until my aunt walked in from the office in the evening.  After enquiring how our day went, she went about her routine work of fixing dinner for us and then during the process went into the backyard to check the water level and found that there was no water. 

Fuming she came into the house and yelled at my cousins for not filling water.  Kumi and Chitra did not say anything and kept quiet as their mother fired them.  They did not say that it was me who told them to pull out the wood.  They never uttered a word and took all the berating from their mother, which was actually for me.  My heart sank as I watched the scene unfold and felt terrible for not owning my dark deed.

Later when we were together and alone, I profusely apologized to Kumi and Chitra and they in turn pacified me saying, “ don’t worry, mummy is tired and she will be alright after sometime, don’t worry about it”. 

But the idea of not owning up and blaming them squarely for no fault of theirs pricked my conscience and seeing my aunt all harassed, stressed and tired decided to own up.  I went to her and told her “Aunty I’m sorry, it was me who asked Kumi to pull the wood and retrieve the soap that had fallen in.  I did not realize that there would be no water if the wood was pulled out.”  My aunt took a long look at me and came over and hugged me and said “It is okay, as a punishment you three need not have your baths tomorrow and you will promise me to fill water the day after.”

With a sigh of relief and a whoop of joy Kumi, Chitra and myself rushed out to play the rest of the evening.   This one incident made us even closer than before, and we are still a cozy three some, even now as adults!