Non-erotic The Scarface I Hated by Trambak

[Ramesh_Rocky]

I hated the baby. She was only about one year old and fell down whenever she walked. I felt irritated because both my parents were giving her all their attention. I felt left out. The only consolation was that the child was cheerful and seldom cried as expected of a baby. I hated children who wailed. Both my parents were mighty impressed with the baby who didn't cry and swooned over her. I was so irritated that I pulled her hair when no one was looking. She contorted her lips and made arrangements to cry but then she smiled again. I felt a little bad.

After the initial chit-chat and lunch, the three of them got down to business. They spoke in very low tones and wrote down things in a paper. I realised that the two of them had tremendous respect for my father. Whenever he spoke, they listened attentively. He passed them instructions and they frequently nodded their heads in understanding.

Things appeared normal, to a large extent. Only when I looked at mother, I could sense unease in her eyes. She continued her chores in a routine manner, like a machine bereft of emotions. But her eyes gave away her trepidation.

It was cold and the sun had set early. Around five in the evening, my father closed the meeting. All the documents were destroyed. By five thirty, they were ready. At six sharp, a black ambassador car arrived and they were ready to go. Before leaving, my father looked back. My mother was standing with me and the small girl.

He came to her and said, "Don't worry; we will be back by eight."

The beautiful aunty kissed her baby and said, "Be a good girl, I will come and feed you."

They left. The small girl waved at her parents, smiling. We stood still.

We had nothing to do except waiting for 8 o'clock to arrive. My mother continuously moved back and forth, from the window to the kitchen and again to the window. The night was silent. The movements on the street were minimal.

Even the small girl appeared to be hushed.

8 o'clock came. They did not.

We waited. Time refused to move. My mother sat on the bed with the two of us. I had no idea when I dozed off till I was awoken by my mother. Someone was at our door. I saw the time, it was 2 o'clock. I was relieved, they were back.

Maa opened the door. Instead of them, the lady in the security officer uniform was standing. Smart and rugged. She came in and looked at my mother. She said without a preamble, "Are you, Kiana? Dr Indranath's wife?"

Maa nodded her head.

"Please get ready; you have to come with me." Said the security officerwoman.

My mother did not react, did not ask a question, did not show any signs of hesitation. She simply picked me up and started to get me ready. The security officerwoman realised that the children couldn't be left home alone. She picked up the baby girl and we were ready to move.

The security officer lady drove the Jeep. I and my mother sat behind. The girl was on my mother's lap. The wind seared through our bones, the cold burnt us. We moved through the ghostly night, the headlamps of the Jeep indicating the road forward leaving everything else in darkness. I was dazed. I was too small to understand anything!

After some time, we reached a dark building with a large iron gate. The door opened and the Jeep entered. We got down and entered the building through a narrow door. There were some people sitting there. Among them, there was one person who looked kind but authoritative. There was another man who made me sit on a bench. The man with authority spoke to the security officerwoman and my mother in a low voice. My mother and the security officerwoman went inside another room. The man remained outside.