The incessant drops of rain washed the grief and sweat off the little girl’s face. She smiled. God sure is amazing! Her thoughts were whirled by the rain into distant reminiscences, as she stood sweeping the verandah of her mistress’ house. It was this same rain that had once so ruthlessly washed away all the sweetness out of her life; these miserable showers had separated her from her family. And now, it is the same that is washing away her tears, her sweat. She gazed at the sky, as she remembered the fateful day, a year ago, in their village. That furious black sky, those never-ending tears shed by the gods, was still fresh in her mind. It appeared as if it had occurred only yesterday. She was amazed by the sudden turn her life took after that. The stay at the government shelter; the way she spent those neverending hours, mourning the loss of her family. She was jerked out of her thoughts as her mistress screamed out from inside. She frowned.
Getting up early – before sunrise; toiling all day long; then returning to bed, or that is what she used to call the bunch of straw in the shed, was nothing new. She was now used to it – the orders that her mistress used to give her, the screams that her eardrums were most familiar with, were an inevitable part of her life.
It rained listlessly all throughout the day and night, only making her tasks harder to accomplish. She lay in bed that night, with Rini by her side. The incessant drops of rain gently refreshed her mind. She stood up, and then holding her sleeping sister in her bony arms, began to walk. She walked, not once turning back. She walked up to the old, weak wall in the farthest corner of the backyard. It was in this wall that she had once discovered a crevice, covered thickly with moss, concealing it. At this point, she woke her sister up, then sliding her first through it, and then herself, escaped.
They walked on and on through the isolated path, where they found themselves in. They walked on, at times, even ran, with no apparent reason. Finally they stopped just at the onset of dawn. Rani was angry, she was tired, and she was extremely hungry. But this feeling wasn’t something new. Having nothing better to do, she just sat still on the rock by the street, her stomach longing for a morsel of food.
The delicious aroma of fresh food being cooked in the neighbouring kitchen floated tantalisingly into her nostrils. Her mouth watered. She couldn’t control herself any more. She got up, grasped Rini’s tiny hands and began to continue her journey. Of course, she didn’t have an idea where this endless voyage would end. Still, with a determined look on her face, she moved on.
The next morning saw Rani in a completely unfamiliar place. She could see people like herself, wearing rags, sitting by the footpath, some idle, and some begging. She looked at Rini, who was just beginning to stir and wake from her disturbed sleep. She blinked, let out a deep yawn and then, opening her eyelids, looked at her sister who stood beside her, smiling. She was starving, and her stomach growled, leaving Rani, who had nothing to feed her, heartbroken. She herself was famished. She ran down the lane, to one of the many shops selling confectioneries. She begged for a morsel of food for her little sister. The shopkeeper cast a look of utter disgust and ordered her out. She walked away sadly.
Rini saw her sister walking towards her, dejected. She came and sat by her side with her head down. Rini offered her a banana. Rani looked up. To her left, a woman, wearing a spotless white robe was distributing alms. A smile broke out on Rani’s dry lips, and she looked up to the heavens with sheer gratitude. She knew now that the exotic abode, of which her mother often used to speak earlier, really did exist. The past few moments of her life really proved to be eventful – she had rescued herself and her sister from ‘hell’; now they were completely free; God has even filled their tummies!
With warm hearts, filled with the love for an allknowing, protective “Someone”, dwelling above, and no longer concerned with where this endless journey would lead them, they walked on... and on…
