were told to come early tomorrow morning as the contractor would like to talk to them for sometime. Word got around that everybody would be given a bonus. All laborers went home in high spirits. A smile lit up Shyam’ s face and Geeta had already started planning their next trip to the village fair. On the way home they got their dinner packed from the local Dhaba which served food at subsidized rates. Shyam bought some sweets as well. For a change, Shyam helped Geeta when she laid out the dinner. Bholi watched but refused to eat. She turned her face the other side when Shyam offered her the sweets. Her mother cursed her again,“ Eat it, you good for nothing; do not be so thankless”. For a moment Bholi looked back but kept quiet. Shyam patted her and sang her a lullaby before dozing off. Bholi lay awake under the sky, eyes wide open as if questioning somebody, waiting for an answer. It seemed even sleep had abandoned her.
She stood up and started walking towards the main road. It was pitch dark outside but she managed to reach the clearing where she used to watch the other children play. Slowly she made her way towards the entrance. The street light had illuminated the spot just outside the broken gate. In the distance she could hear some music which seemed to soothe her restless mind for a moment, and then her eyes fixated on the night sky again. She seemed to be waiting for an answer. A drop of water hit her forehead giving much needed respite to her parched soul. Soon the drizzle gave way to a downpour which seemed to wash away the tears and feeling of hurt in her innocent heart. She closed her eyes and stood facing the sky for some time before opening her eyes again. Taking a few steps forward she dipped her tender feet in the pothole brimming with rainwater. Thedirty water felt cold around her feet. It seemed that the gods had finally answered her. She arched her neck upwards and let drops of water quench her thirst. God seemed to have turned his air conditioner on and she was enjoying every moment of it. Rain had completely drenched her. She moved towards a big pothole on the road which was full of water and jumped into it. A smile lit her face as the Gods seemed to be making up to her for all that she had to endure in this wretched life. The moon came out of the clouds and lit up the wet road. Bholi looked back towards the place where her parents lay asleep and then closed her eyes for a brief moment stretching her hands as if to gather the raindrops. She heard some noise but could not make out what it was. Bright lights blinded her for a moment and then everything fell silent. The truck driver probably thought he must have hit a large stone. The Clouds kept on crying the whole night. Bholi seemed to have finally got the much needed respite from the treachery of life.
........ To Be Continued in the Next Issue!
[ About The Author- Gaurav Mahendru ]
My name is Gaurav, I live with my parents in New Delhi, India and currently work as a Network Engineer, I am single and ready to mingle. My ambition is to become an independent film maker and am currently working on mastering the camera and further improving my writing. I have attended a film making workshop and am a proud owner of a Canon EOS 7D DSLR which I am using to build up my portfolio. I love to write and am grateful for this opportunity and I hope that people will like what I write, I welcome all feedback.
Issue # 1 | January 2013 | writemag. net | Write Mag | 10