Touch of love

I

 

“Wake up you lazy brat!” he felt the sting of the cane upon his body. He jumped out of the bed in horror.

 

“Wear the clothes and come with me. If this house also sends you back I will kill you with my bare hands.” Mr. Yadav growled. He was a dark, short, fat man with cruel eyes and strong hands. Hands he used to thrash the small and big boys of the state run orphanage.

 

He collected a large amount of money from different sources but it just vanished. He never kept boys with him for more than five years. After that he used to give them away to people of distant places, in lieu of money. They used to get a slave for few years and he a little bit of extra money.

 

Deepak has been given away a couple of times but he ran away from those homes whenever he was mistreated too much. Police has rescued him from the street a few times and have warned Mr. Yadav. This time Mr. Yadav has arranged a house hundreds of miles away.

 

They were coming to pick him up. A car stopped outside a few hours later.

 

A very serious looking man entered the office. “Mr. Yadav? I am Dr. Banerjee.”

 

“Is he the boy? He looks malnourished.”

 

“What’s your name?” he smiled at Deepak.

 

“Tell him your name beta. He is a very mischievous boy. You can call him a rogue.” Mr. Yadav said sweetly.

 

“That’s ok. I don’t expect him to be an angel.” The man said. “My wife and mother will handle him perfectly. He is just a small child. How old is he? Seven?”

 

“No sir, he just looks small, he is ten years old.” Mr. Yadav was preparing the form for adoption. “Don’t go by that innocent face sir. You will regret.”

 

Another hour later Dr. Banerjee opened the door to his car for Deepak. He climbed inside stiffly.

 

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “They were passing by some sweet shops.”

 

He shook his head so vehemently that he laughed out loudly and stopped the car. He took Deepak inside and ordered some food for him. He watched him devouring them hungrily.

 

He bought and handed him over a few packets of chips and chocolates for the journey. They won’t reach Kolkata before afternoon.

 

 

 

 

II

 

They reached a small house situated just outside Kolkata. Dr. Banerjee has opened a chamber just outside Kolkata. He earned enough for a luxurious life. Having enough property from ancestors he did not have to worry much about future.

 

Two women and a small girl came out one by one when they heard the car entering the driveway.

 

“This is the boy ma.” Dr. Banerjee smiled at one of them.

 

“He is too skinny and dirty.” The lady said. All her hairs were white like the sari she was wearing.

 

Deepak went toward them and touched their feet one by one. They all blessed him.

 

“Come baba. What’s your name?” the elderly lady asked.

 

“Deepak.” He said.

 

“Wow! You can talk.” Dr. Banerjee laughed. “I have asked him this question atleast five times since I first saw him. He just kept mum.”

 

“Call me dida, her ma, her didi and him baba.” The lady instructed him before taking him to the toilet. She showed him the ropes and left him a set of fresh clothes.

 

When he came out they were waiting for him in the dining table. He was placed in the room beside dida. They went to the market in the evening to get necessary things for him.

 

He was really surprised. He pinched himself a few times to confirm if he was dreaming but he was not. He was fully awake.

 

Soon evening turned into night and he went to bed after dinner. Scared that he will wake up in the orphanage in the morning. With the stinging taste of Mr. Yadav’s cane on his body.

 

 

“Deep, are you sleeping?” he heard a soft voice and felt a soft touch on his forehead.

 

He woke up confused. He was lying in a small bed; a small beautiful girl was standing beside the bed.

 

Then he recalled everything. “No didi.”

 

“Then brush your teeth and come with me. I will pick flowers and you will have to hold them, then we will decorate the rooms, ok?” Hema said.

 

Soon the little ones were in the garden. One picking up flowers the other holding them in his hands.

 

Together they brought them to the verandah. Hema has already placed a few water filled vases there. She got busy with them. She soon decorated the first one and handed it over to Deepak. “Go and put it in the drawing room table. The one in the middle of the room.” She ordered. She was happy to get a helping hand.

 

Deepak meekly obeyed her. He started for the drawing with the vase then slipped fell and the vase was shattered to pieces.

 

The crash brought both Janaki and her mother in law there in a second. Janaki saw the small boy shivering like a leaf sobbing.

 

She soon reached him and started to inspect him for scratches. There were none. Her heart felt the reason behind the tears and softly hugged the frightened child to her heart.

 

“Don’t cry baba. Its alright.” She wiped his eyes.

 

The maid cleaned up the mess. Deepak rejoined Hema. Then onward he was cautious while walking.

 

 

 

 

III

 

Soon his life transformed into a beautiful dream. Dr. Banerjee enrolled him in a local school first then in a very good school. Finally he left to study MBBS in Delhi on scholarship.

 

He got his first offer there and got settled there. Dr. Banerjee stayed in Kolkata but they were constantly in touch.

 

Within a year of getting his job he came back to Kolkata to wed Hema off to Jiten. A young man settled in South Africa. They were a family of businessmen. Jiten appeared to be a very nice boy. He was very kind to Hema who was slightly autistic.

 

“Deep, baba you should get married now.” Dr. Banerjee told him. He was visiting Delhi.

 

“I was thinking about shifting to South Africa with your ma.” He said. His mother has passed away a couple of years ago.

 

“I feel a little worried about Hema, all alone there. I know Jiten is a very good boy but you know a mother’s heart.”

 

“Jiten was asking us again and again to shift there.” Dr. Banerjee said. “What do you say?”

 

“Baba, don’t worry about me. I will be alright. But don’t hurry for my marriage right now. Give me five years. Then fix a match for me, I will marry her.” He said.

 

Dr. Banerjee sold off his property in India; a thing which Deepak advised him against but he did not listened.

 

“There are hardly any chances of our returning here.” He said. He left a hefty amount in Deepak’s name simply rubbishing his vehement opposition.

 

He bade them goodbye from Dumdum airport, crying like a child. A decision he later regretted bitterly.

 

They maintained a regular contact for the first year then simply disappeared. Vanished without a trace.

 

Deepak tried every thing but they have simply vanished. It appeared as if the foreign land has swallowed them alive.

 

Deepak married after a few years, his wife Smita was a very loving lady. They were blessed with a daughter soon. They named her Hema.

 

Twenty years have passed by. Deepak was now a well settled doctor in Delhi. He had two nursing homes in Delhi. One was completely charitable the other one was run to bear the expenses of both and his own.

 

“Dr. Banerjee. There is a serious injury case. A woman, she seems to be in coma.” The receptionist informed her as he was entering the charitable nursing home – Janakisadan.

 

He headed straight for the ICU.

 

 

 

 

IV

 

He stopped short before entering. There were two elderly persons sitting there, huddled to each other.

 

He stood there staring at them. “Dr. Banerjee?” he asked. One of them shot up his head and stared at him.

 

He bowed down and touched their feet. “Sister, take them to my home and give Smita this note.”

 

He quickly scribbled something to a note. But they both refused to budge. “Please first check our daughter.”

 

“Ok, sister take them to my room and give them whatever they need and tea.” He entered the room.

 

Fortunately the woman was only in shock. She was badly bruised and unconscious.

 

He took the necessary steps and left her to the care of a sister. “She is my sibling. Take very good care of her.”

 

He entered his room. It was a small suite type system. He has to often spend days here at a stretch so he has made likewise arrangements.

 

They were sitting side by side on the sofa with a surprised expression on their face.

 

“How is Hema?” Janaki asked.

 

“She is alright ma. Only bruises. We will go home when she comes to senses.”

 

“Deep. You have not forgotten us?” Dr. Banerjee asked him. He has already seen their photo on the table so they have guessed who he was.

 

“Where have you all disappeared?” he was almost in tears. “I searched you like a lunatic.”

 

 

 

 

V

 

“Life has changed into a nightmare after we shifted to South Africa.”

 

“When we reached there we saw that Hema has lost her vision in an accident, Jiten has not informed that too us.”

 

“He grabbed all our money and kept us under house arrest. We could not do any thing due to Hema.”

 

“He vanished after a month and we came to know that his family has already disowned him.”

 

“We spent all these years trying to arrange for the money to return to India.”

 

“He has grabbed all our papers so all I could do was do menial works and that too at dirt’s rate.”

“Your ma had to stay at home to look after Hema. We managed to come to India five years ago but have lost your address.”

 

“I tried to get my medical degree’s copy but failed. The bribe demanded was too much.”

 

“We came to Delhi hoping that we will stumble into you by some miracle. That miracle did happen.”

 

 

“Dr. Banerjee, patient has come to her senses.” They all rushed toward her room.

 

She was sitting on her bed. Trying to understand what has happened.

 

Janaki sat down beside her and softly picked up her hand in her hand. Hema recognized the touch and hugged her.

 

“Let’s leave for home now.” Deepak smiled.

 

 

The car pulled into the driveway of a small house. A young woman and a very small child were waiting in the verandah.

 

“Smita, ma, baba and hemadi.” Deepak smiled happily.

 

“Dadu, dida and pishimoni.” Smita told her daughter before bending down to touch their feet.

 

Glossary:

Dadu = grandfather, dida = grandmother, pishimoni = auntie