A mother's wish

"...I hope all of you had a wonderful evening with us. Thank you."

The auditorium exploded around her. The Annual Day celebrations had just ended; she had done most of the compering herself, including the Welcome Address. Smiling at her from the corner of the stage, the Principal said, "You were fantastic! Well done."

As she made her way backstage, she turned to have one last glance at the audience, when all of a sudden, she remembered.

***

(6 years ago, at another Annual Day, were a little girl and her mother among the audience...)

"The show will start in five minutes. Have patience!" her mother said, after her daughter had asked her for the hundredth time in ten minutes when the show would start.

Almost at once, the curtains lifted, and a tall, self-confident, senior-level girl stepped forward, "Good Evening, ladies and gentlemen..."

Her mother leaned towards her and whispered, "One day, I want to see you up there."

Oh please. She rolled her eyes. She was a new student here. New to the school, new to the city, new to the country. She was not even accepted in her new environment yet, let alone going on stage and start announcing things! Come to think of it, she'd never even been on stage before.

Her mother, noticing the look of incredulity on her face, smiled and said, "Why not?"

Her daughter, on the other hand, knowing it was nothing short of impossible, kept quiet.

***

Now, she wondered if her mother remembered the incident. No, she wouldn't. It had just been a random thought, that had occurred more than six years ago. A single tear escaping her eye, she looked out of the curtains; straight at her mother, applauding with the rest of the crowd. 

She had just fulfilled one of her mother's wishes. 

She had never before known the true meaning of satisfaction.