Rain, rain, go away

Mira whispers into the phone (she has to repeat it twice for it to be audible): 'Amma, I dont like it here. I want to come back. I can stay here only when u are here.'
In a week, she has got over her excitement of being in 'Channapally' as she calls it. It rains in the evening unlike in Chennai, and she cannot go next door to play with her aunt. And now she is afraid of a stray kitten, that has decided to make our house its home ever since Mira started feeding it.
In another 2 weeks I will be there for a short vacation, and by then I hope they will feel at home there. Then they move on to V's place to be with his parents.
Meanwhile, the parents here have a whale of a time - not cooking proper meals, eating out, watching TV without the kids to fight for tv rights, sleeping late into the morning etc etc. Thoughts of Ashwin bother us as he doesnt seem to be getting any better.
The quiet house - where everything remains in its place - looks strange.