Minnows

“Liza, why did you send a telegram to your sister? How did you manage to send a telegram? Did you see how much trouble you gave your sister?” Hostel warden asked Liza
I looked at the warden, relieved to know that, at least she understood what I went through.
“I didn’t do it. My uncle asked me to do it. So I asked Jamil’s dad to send a telegram”
“You mean Acha knew you broke your hand?” I could feel my blood boiling
“Yes, I told him when he called me. He told me to send a telegram to you”
If that bastard knew that Liza’s hand was broken, then Maria would have known too. Between the two of them, they did this to me? How could they do this to me? How could my oldest sister do this to me? How could she make me travel all the way from Bangalore to Chikmagalur? Isn’t she the oldest? Isn’t she supposed to take care of her sisters? Why was I expected to skip my classes and travel all the way here to take care of my sister?
“Did you eat something?” The warden asked
“huh?” I was too upset to talk
“I am sorry, our mess is closed already. I have some bread in my room. Would you like to eat that? You can eat bread with bananas!” She spoke again
“No Thank you madam. I am fine. I had something to eat at the bus station” I lied. I hated bread and there was no way I was going to eat bread with bananas!
“I think you ought to rest. I can arrange an extra bed for you, or you can sleep with Liza on her bed”
“I will sleep with Liza” I didn’t want to hassle the warden
I walked with my sister to her room. All the girls slept in one big hexagonal room. There were about 20 bunk beds. I had never seen a bunk bed before.
“This is my bed” Liza showed me her bed. I was so excited to notice that she had the top bed. I climbed up the ladder and sat on the top bed. I felt I was the Georgina(George) Kirrin of the famous five. My hair was short, I wore jeans and I was on the top of the mountain looking around for clues to solve yet another mystery.
“Why are you smiling Nina?” Liza was climbing up the ladder and staring at me
“Oh nothing” I looked around the bed. On the right corner there was an alarm clock. Small square shaped alarm clock. It was the smallest alarm clock I have ever seen.
“Where did you get this?”
“Don’t touch that. Put it back” Liza tried to snatch it from my hand
“Who gave you this?” I asked again. I looked around the bed. The bed sheet was definitely not from my home. I knew all the bed sheets Amma had. This one looked very much like an imported sheet. Liza even had a soft fluffy blanket.
“Liza, from where did you get all these?” I pointed to all the new stuff on my sister’s bed.
“Acha gave” She mumbled
“Acha? Why did you take it?”
“What is your problem Nina? You know something? Acha was right. He told me, you would be jealous when you see all the new things I have. He said you are a jealousy pig. You don’t like your sisters doing well. You always used to fight with Maria because you didn’t like the fact that Maria was more intelligent than you. Now you are fighting with me. I shouldn’t have asked you to come”
My sister’s words were like daggers piercing my heart. Why would I be jealous of my sisters? For heavens sake they are my sisters. I have only ever been proud of them. I have never been jealous of them.
I have never ever been jealous of Maria. It was always the other way around. Nobody liked me to do well. Amma and Maria even said I scored good marks for SSLC was not because of my merit, but it was because the valuation system had changed and was more lenient.
There was nothing that I could say or do to convince my sister that I care for her and that I was never and I will never be jealous of her. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. I watched Liza struggling to open the blanket with one hand.
“Lay down. I will put the blanket for you” I spoke
I opened the blanket. It was a soft brown blanket with a tiger motif in the center. I knew Liza always tucked the blanket under her feet. So I lifted her leg and tucked the blanket under her feet. She pulled the top with one hand and turned to the side to sleep. I looked at my sister. She didn’t even bother to offer to share her blanket. I travelled in the middle of the night to be with her and here I am, laying down next to my sister almost freezing to death, while my sister enjoyed the warmth from her cozy blanket.
Why is life so unfair? Why am I always the only one giving, yet everyone calls me selfish and a jealousy pig? Why do I get to use an old karimbadam( hard, old, rough blanket) that once belonged to some old man in my extended family, while my sister gets a fluffly warm blanket?

The night was getting very cold and my feet was cold and I started to get pins and needles on my feet. I slowly pulled a bit of my sister’s blanket from under her legs, so I can put my feet inside the blanket
“Stop pulling my blanket Nina. You know I can’t sleep if my feet is exposed!”
I didn’t say anything. I lifted the bed sheet from my side of the bed and used it as a blanket. Because it was a single bed and because Liza was sleeping by the side, I only got very little of the sheet to cover my body. I tried not to think how dirty the mattress would be. It was the first time in my life I slept on a mattress without a cover.
I woke up with a splitting headache. All the girls in the room was busy getting ready to go to school. There was so much of din in the room and I wished they would just shut up. Liza wasn’t in the bed. She must have gone to brush her teeth. I didn’t know where the washroom was and I thought I would wait till everyone left for school, then I can get ready peacefully. I didn’t know what Liza wanted to do? I can’t stay here and take care of her. My exams are in January and I can’t afford to miss any classes.
“Liza phone for you” I heard someone shouting.
Phone call for my sister? Who is calling her? A part of me wanted to know who was calling my sister, at the same time I knew, it is better that I be not involved in my sister’s personal life. I was already a jealousy pig, I didn’t want to be a control freak too. I felt my sister is old enough to make decisions on her own. I closed my eyes.
“Aunty, Liza is in the washroom. There is a phone call for her. Can you take it” I looked at the girl standing by the side of the bunk bed. What did she call me? Aunty? When did I become her aunty? I wanted to ask her Do I look old enough to be an aunty? But again, I shut my mouth. I didn’t want my sister’s friend to think that I was rude. I got off the bed and followed the girl who called me ‘aunty’ and walked to the reception. I picked up the phone and said
“Hello”
Some times, certain voices can act like a power drill and the sound can go through your ears and drill a humongous hole in the brain and come out through the other ear. I almost dropped the phone when I heard the most despicable voice speak
“Hello darling. Good morning. How is your arm this morning?”
“Why are you calling my sister?” I asked
“Oh it is you. When did you come?”
“That is none of your business! When I come or where I go, when did that became your business?”
“You are still a bitch. I thought I tamed you”
“You are still a bastard, Do you think a bastard can tame me?”
“What did you call me?”
“bastard. I am sure you knew your own name? Don’t tell me you are suffering from sudden memory loss”
“How dare you Nina? If I snap my fingers, I can get you killed”
poda nayinte money. Ola pappine eduthu pedippikkan nokkunno? You only know how to bark like an old dog. Don’t you know barking dogs never bite?”
“I will teach you a lesson”
I put the phone down. I looked at my hands. They were shaking. I knew I pushed my uncle. I knew he could get me killed. A year ago my uncle was ‘supposed’ to have ordered the killing of a lawyer, whose body was found in a railway track, in a gunny sack with hands tied at the back and the de- capitated head was found kilo meters away in another part of town.
I knew I had a big mouth. Why oh why did I come here? Why did I have to take that phone call? I knew I would have to be careful with every single step I take. But I was fighting a known enemy with unbelievable amount of power and money.
Minnows cannot fight wars, Can they?
I was just an 18 year old fighting a war with the most powerful man in Bangalore. I looked at myself. I have never done anything wrong in my life. If I ought to die, so be it. But I will not let him take my sisters. He will not touch my younger sisters as long as I am alive.
“Did Acha call? I heard someone shouting for my name? Did you ask him to call me back?” Liza asked
“I couldn’t speak, the line wasn’t good. Get ready. I will take you to my college. You can stay with me till your arm heals”

7 thoughts on “Minnows

  1. Sujit: What to do?? Life is like that

    Funny girl: I knew too this was wrong.. but couldn;t change anything

    Starry: Money can almost buy anything!!

    Samantha: If you were in my place you would have done the same..

    Neihal: Thank you.. needed it!

    pradeep: At that moment..my state was excatly like a ooppa meen( minnows)

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