Fruitcake - Volume 1: The Chapter 27 27: Memories: Forgiveness
I came out of my room and went to the dining room. Dad was sitting at the center of the table and Mom was right next to him. I got seated next to Mom.
As my keen eyes wafted around the table looking towards the source of the very familiar and delicious aroma, I was both elated and crestfallen to discover that my intuition was on spot and mom had served my all time favorite favorite chicken curry with coconut milk for dinner.
Mom looked at my face and said “What happened beta, you look sad? Is anything bothering you?”
I looked angrily at mom. Mom knew very well that I don’t like anyone calling me ‘Beta’. I don’t really know why, but this was the one of the many things which started irritating me to a great extent after all the fiasco with Abhinu. The boy I loved the most is being referred to as a beti(daughter) all the time when he is the one whom everyone should be calling a beta. It felt like I was an equally responsible perpetrator of injustice meted out to him when I am allowing this to happen.
I replied “Nothing Maa… I am just missing Joe, today is the last day of his vacation and he is still not with us. I miss him.”
“Why does, Joe dada have to stay away from us in a hostel?”
Mom came and sat next to me, tugged at my left cheek and replied sarcastically “A.. how sweet… you miss your brother because you miss fighting with him… Haa..”
I hugged Mom and replied sadly “Hmmm… I miss him… What he has done for Abhinu in the past 5 days is something I can never repay him for…”
Mom looked at me and said “I know, if it was not for him, I would never have believed anything you have been telling us about your friend.” she paused and then continued “Fear not, sweetheart, your friends belief in the Sankat Mochan and your belief in Mother Mary and St. Christopher has brought a lot of people together who now cares about him. Do you trust us?”
“Huuu… what?” I grinned.
“I said do you trust us? Your dad and me?” my mom asked.
“Of course I do mom,” I replied.
“Then I want you to know that right now the only way to protect your friend is by letting the Banerjee’s believe that we don’t know anything.” Mom replied.
My strange and shocked expression at her statement made mom say again, “You heard me, we are trying to find a way to rescue your friend. Till then we want the Banerjee’s to believe that we don’t know anything.”
I replied “I promise you, mom… I won’t do anything reckless that would hamper the investigation that you have asked Miss Sengupta to conduct.”
Dad kept listening intently to our conversation and started his dinner. As dad took the first morsel, mom stopped him, “Jairus, you forgot to say grace”
We had never said grace on the dining table before so I was a bit confused but extended my hand. We held our hands together and as Mom was about to recite grace, Dad interrupted and asked me “Darling why don’t you say grace?”
We closed our eyes and I said: “O’ Mother Mary, We thank you for the full plate of food and please bless the hands that prepared it. Please bless Joe dada with the smartness to be a great man one day, and finally please give strength to Geeta to survive and endure for a few more days.”
As I opened my eyes, I saw dad smile at my prayer.
He looked at me and replied, “Honey, have faith, once your Aunty Sengupta finds the proof, we should be able to rescue your friend in no time.”
We didn’t say anything more and started to have our dinner. Mom helped me eat my food and once done asked me to go off to sleep, she said that we are going to have a long day tomorrow, and reminded me how we celebrate the last day of Joe’s holiday at home.
I wished good-night to mom and dad, and went to my room. As I got on my bed I picked up the album once again, pondering about the past. I saw another pic, where Abhinu was holding a brown teddy in his hand. That was the day when someone gifted a stuffed bear after Abhinu’s transition to Geeta.
That was the day, I remember him happy after a very long time. We were best friends for 2 years, and whenever he is truly happy about something, I could sense it.
****THINKING****
It has been 3 months now since his transition, I remember it was 3 months, because, after the christening ceremony, I didn’t go to their house for a whole month because of our exams. Abhinu never attended school after the incident with Soham.
Not a single day went by, when Abhinu was tortured or abused by the family members, either by Aunty, Darika, Garima, the worst among all of them being Aamaya di.
During the initial years in Kolkata, whenever any guest would come to their house, the family would never allow Abhinu to meet anyone, other than me, Soham and Grihamani. Aamaya di used to say that they had to do that because they didn’t want any outsider to know the existence of Geeta, and just so that Geeta didn’t try anything funny, they used to tie him up and gag him and would ask Rahat the gardener, to keep a watch over him. Abhinu was really scared of him.
That day was no different. I remember Rinku and his mom had come over to their place to congratulate aunty on the good news. Aunty was about to have a baby. Rinku had recently joined our school and he is in my class.
As Rinku’s mom was waiting for Aunty to come out of the bedroom, I saw her turn towards the bookshelf which was placed right next to the couch. She asked Aamaya di “You have a good collection of books? Do you read them all?”
“I love to read them. Especially that” pointing towards the book I Spit on Your Grave: Vengeance is Mine “is my favorite. There are a lot of good things to learn in that book. I have read the book atleast 6 times.” replied Aamaya di.
As aunty was going through the books, she saw 2 medals lying on the shelf. It was placed inside 2 glass boxes.
As she picked it up, Aamaya di excitedly said: “I and my sister Aarohi were awarded this medal last year, by the IG traffic, Kolkata police because we saved 8 children from a burning bus.”
“What!!” I don’t believe it. She outrightly lied to Rinku’s mom about the medal. That medal was won by Abhinu and not Aamaya di. But for the sake of Abhinu, I ignored the remark.
Aunty looked excited and extended her right hand to commend her, “Wow… congratulations, I am really lucky to have met you.”
Aamaya di gave a broad smile and replied “Thank you Aunty. I was just doing what any person would do for a friend.” She paused a little and replied, “I couldn’t see my friends suffer inside the burning car.”
“I would love to meet your sister Aarohi too. You know, it’s not every day you get to meet bravehearts who have won the Presidential Medal of bravery.” Rinku’s Mom replied.
Aamaya di bowed down and with a sad face replied, “Actually, Aarohi doesn’t stay with us anymore. During the accident, she suffered certain injuries to the head and is suffering from dementia.” She paused for a while, took a deep breath and replied, “She is currently undergoing treatment. She has deluded herself into believing she is someone called Geeta.”
Aunty let go of Aamaya di’s hand and replied in a sympathetic tone, “Oh… I am sorry to hear that. I will pray to God that she gets well soon.” With these words, she seated herself on the sofa. I could really be a mute spectator to the outrageous lies and charade fed by Amaya di to a stranger.
I was pulled out of my angry stupor by the sudden sound of both Rinku’s mom and Banerjee Aunty’s phone ringing together. Aunty looked at Rinku’s mom and said, “I am sorry, Mrs. Sengupta, but I need to go somewhere, it’s important. I am really sorry about this.”
“No no, it’s fine… actually I have to go too. It’s my husband. He is back early from his tour.” As Rinku approached her, she continued.” Mrs. Banerjee, if it’s ok with you, I can go and drop you wherever you want to go.”
“Oh… its ok Mrs. Sengupta, you don’t have to do that. I can manage it.” Aunty replied.
Rinku’s mom insisted, “Its fine, Mrs. Banerjee, you shouldn’t be taking a lot of stress. Besides you are expecting a child. I insist. You don’t have to worry about my husband. He can wait.”
Aunty didn’t resist much and asked Aamaya di to get ready to go with her. As Aamaya di was getting ready, I saw her enter Geeta’s room and few moments later, Rahat came out of Abhinu’s room and left.
As Aamaya di was getting ready I asked aunty if everything is alright. She replied, “Grihamani and Soham were missing for 3 days and finally yesterday morning someone dropped them home.”
“Do they know what happened, where were they?” I asked.
Aunty replied, “They were very traumatized, and kept saying that someone locked them up in a room for 3 days and in the morning they were picked up and dropped home. They have not uttered a single detail about the abductor. ”
About 15 minutes later, Aamaya di came out and they left. I told aunty that I will stay at home until they are back. Before leaving she bent down a little and whispered in my ear, “Your friend is in the room and she might need your help.”
As they left, I dashed into Abhinu’s room ignoring everyone present in the house and found him lying on the bed all gagged up and struggling to release himself off the bindings. I didn’t wait a second and untied him.
As I let go of the binds he hugged me tight and started to cry. I have never seen him crying before however, today something felt off. Off late he has become more sissy, his attitude changes whenever Soham or Grihamani is near him. Even with Soham’s constant ragging, he has never cried, but something must have happened that had probably broken him.
I let him cry on my lap and finally after a lot of coercing he finally opened up, “Every time Rahat comes and keeps a watch over me, he keeps touching me in places which makes me really uncomfortable. He stuffs a piece of cloth in my mouth to stop me from making any noise.”
“Have you tried telling aunty or uncle about this? You know, dad always says that if anyone tries to touch you inappropriately you should always let your parents know about it.” I asked.
“I tried telling them, but they don’t believe me. They think I am lying. Rahat has been working there for more than 10 years and they trust him a lot.” As he wiped the tears off his eyes, he continued “aunty told me the other day that we will be leaving Kolkata and shifting somewhere else, where Aunty, me and my sisters will be staying.”
“That’s good news. Atleast, that way Soham will not be able to bully you anymore.” I replied.
Geeta looked down and replied “Hmmm… that’s true.” Still sitting on his bed he bent down and hugged me once again and with a faint voice continued, “If I stay with this family, a day will come when everyone who knew me will forget that I even exist. Even if I die, I bet no one will come visit my grave. I just hope you don’t forget me like the rest of the world.”
I didn’t know what I should be saying to him. However I caressed his long thick hair reassuringly and said, “Remember you, me and Aarohi, we made a promise ALL FOR ONE… ONE FOR ALL. It was probably God’s will that you picked up Aarohi’s name that day to keep her memories alive. I promise you, I will not rest till the day you are rescued from the clutches of these mentally unstable people.”
It felt like my words brought a glimmer of hope in Abhinu and he let go off me. As I got off his bed, I saw something printed on his back. I caught hold off him and pulled the shirt up which was tucked into the skirt he was wearing and it was written there “THIEF”. Abhinu pulled the shirt down hastily.
“What the hell is that?” I asked angrily.
He replied, “Remember I told you that I ran away from home a week ago.”
“Yes… what about it… What has that got to do with this…” I asked impatiently.
“I took all my money which I had saved in my piggy bank to run away but they kept saying that I stole the money from aunty, and they decided to permanently inscribe the word “THIEF” on my back which will remind me for the rest of my life that stealing is bad.”
He got down on his knees, folded his hands together and cried, “I swear on my dad, Monika, I didn’t steal the money. I am not a thief.”
I bend down, caught hold of his shoulder, picked him up and hugged him as tightly as I could. “You don’t have to explain me dear. I know very well you cannot do such a thing.” As tears started to roll, I continued “I cannot bear to see you sad. Every time I look at your photo it makes me feel so helpless. But it’s my promise, I will not rest till I find out a way to get you out of this house. It’s my promise.”
Finally, I replied, “Forget about everything, let’s go to the balcony, I want to talk to you about something.”
He didn’t say another word and we started to walk toward the balcony holding our hands together. As we were walking, I could sense that he was limping.
I asked “Why are you limping. And why are you wearing such uncomfortable clothes?”
He replied “This is my uniform. Aunty tells me that since I am not going to school anymore, it would be good to wear a uniform and follow a set of rules in the house. She wants me to wear the uniform and these high heels from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. everyday. That way I would get the feeling of school at home with the only exception that I don’t get to study.”
He continued “These shoes” pointing towards the shoes he was wearing “gives me blisters on my toes, but aunty wants me to wear them all the time.”
Being a girl I could understand how uncomfortable it is to wear and walk on heeled shoes even for an hour, but here aunty is making her wear it all the time. What has gone wrong with aunty all of a sudden?
“And what are those rules that you need to follow,” I asked.
He showed me a piece of note that was stuck to his study table. I started reading the rules that aunty had set and jotted down for her.
1. Wake up at 5:00 a.m. every morning.
2. Wear the uniform from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. everyday no exceptions for holidays.
3. Make sure that my sister’s uniform is clean and ironed properly.
4. Always eat food in my room or with aunty only. The dining table is out of bounds.
5. Tidy my sister’s room once they have left for school.
6. Helping aunty keep the house clean everyday.
7. Going off to sleep once every member is asleep.
8. Start addressing my sisters as ma’am till aunty decides that I have learned my lesson.
9. Seek permission if anyone is in the room while entering.
10. Listen to everything my sisters say or ask me to do, No replying or talking back.
11. No more, basketball, videogames, TV, music or stepping out of the house.
12. Wishing everyone a good morning everyday.
13. If there are any guests in the house, I should stay inside my room and not come out.
14. No more favors from anyone in the house.
“Wow… that is cruel, you should be standing up to them. Why don’t you tell uncle about it?” I asked.
“Aunty has convinced uncle that whatever she is doing is helping me control my anger issues, so uncle is also not saying anything.”
It was very evident to me that these rules were clearly defined because they wanted to make a slave out of Abhinu who would do all the work of the house for them. I decided not to push further. Deep down I couldn’t believe that God would create such bad people in this world.
As we were walking towards the balcony, there was something that kept bugging me. It was point number 13 which was no going outside during visit by any guest. They never mentioned anything about tying her up.
Curiosity got the better of me and I asked him “Why did they tie you up today?”
He replied “The other day, one of Uncle’s friends came over our place. As usual, I stayed in the room however Darika ordered me to come to her room. I was in a dilemma weather to step out of the room and meet her or ignore her and remain in my room.”
“Either ways I would be breaking a rule. I decided to step out of the room to take a chance at my independence, and since her room is downstairs, I hoped that uncle’s friend would see me and enquire about it.”
I stepped out of the room, but it turned out that uncle’s friend was actually none other then Aunty’s brother whom they had asked to come over order to test if I acted funny. ”
“They were mad because I broke a rule and no matter what my sisters do they are never at fault.” Aamaya di came up with the idea to keep me gagged and bound and Rahat standing guard by the door to keep an eye on me.”
Finally we reached the balcony. We went and sat on the folding chairs. I took his hands and held them tight and said “I want you to promise me something.”
“What?” she asked.
“Never ever quit practicing karate. It will help you keep your concentration, and will help you overcome all the abuses and make you physically and mentally strong.”
I stood up and I let go off his hand and pulled his up, I kissed his on the cheek and hugged him tight. Tears of joy were flowing through our eyes.
I finally said “If my love for you is true, one day I will find out a way to take you away from her. In school you gave me a reason to live and be good at studies, now its my turn to reciprocate. I will protect you.”
As we were busy in our own world, we heard Darika shout “GEETA, YOU DEAF GIRL… WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE… SOMEONE IS RINGING THE DOORBELL GO AND OPEN IT…”
I shouted at Garima “DONT YOU HAVE ANY MANNERS, HE IS ELDER THAN YOU. CANT YOU GO AND OPEN THE DOOR YOURSELF.”
She looked at Geeta and mumbled “I will see you later?” and went to open the door herself.
A while later Soham and Grihamani approached us in the balcony. Upon seeing Soham, Abhinu took a step back fearing that Soham might bully him again.
Soham said “Abhinu, please don’t be afraid, we have learned our lesson. we just want to talk to you about something.”
We saw them carrying a big box with them. Soham suddenly gave the box to Abhinu and said we have got a gift for you. As he took the gift in her hand, both of them bent down on their knees just like the same way Soham makes Geeta do it whenever he visits their place, and wrapped their arms around his legs and said “Abhinu, please forgive us for taking advantage of your misery.”
“All the while we thought it was funny, but now we have learned our lesson, we know how it feels. We promise we will never make fun of you ever in life.”
I saw the look of embarrassment on Abhinu’s face when they was begging for forgiveness, and he was trying to let them go, but they kept holding him tight and kept insisting: “Uness you say that you have forgiven us, we won’t let you go.”
It was probably one of the happier days of my life seeing them touching his feet and begging for forgiveness. Finally, after a lot of coercing, he finally forgave them.
He opened the box to reveal a beautiful brown stuffed bear inside it, I saw the most beautiful smile on her face when he held the bear in his arms and without saying another word, he hugged both of them and said “Thank-you for this wonderful gift.”
The way Geeta was hugging the stuffed bear, it showed signs that he is accepting and succ.u.mbing to his life as a girl. Being happy when playing with dolls or stuffed toys is a sign of acceptance of his current self.
Thinking about those difficult days, I finally know that, the time has come for Abhinu to be rescued from the family. All these days, no one believed in me, but after today, I feel that it is time for Abhinu to be free as a bird. Still clutching the photo album to my chest, I dozed off to sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED….
