Miscellany Of Desi Tadka

Chapter 1🖤

"Open your eyes, kid?"

She heard a voice from a distance. Was it a dream? Pain coursed through her head as she tried opening her eyes. She could feel the heat on her cheek but had no strength to move away from whatever was hurting her. But after some time that hurt vanished instead, she felt a hand caressing her hair.

"Wake up."

In her blurry vision, she could see an old lady surrounded by two people. A dim voice sounded forcing her to open her eyes. Her head was in the old lady's lap and those two persons were teenage kids, a girl, and a boy.

"What happened, dear? How did you come here?"

The old lady began asking as she tried to get up when the boy stopped her-

"Dadi, let her relax for some time."

The boy said, giving her a glass of water. She finished the water in one gulp and tightened her black shawl around her.

"I don't know how I reached here."

These were the first words that escaped her lips and she utterly regretted seeing the worried and doubtful faces of the people in front of her. She only remembered coming into this colony and after that, she blacked out or whatever.

"Where do you live?" The old lady asked and she looked down, her mind was showing her red signals, pushing her not to trust anyone but this lady seemed fine, her eyes were truthful.

"I live in this city."

"Give us your contact number, we will inform your parents, they will pick you up."

She choked on her spit, tightening the shawl around some more as the boy enquired. She had no idea what she should do so she did the first thing that came to her mind. She scooted over to the old lady, her attempt to seek her warmth once again and that lady didn't disappoint her as she took her into her embrace, pushing some tears out of her eyes.

"Please, let me hear out. I can't-"

"Maira, please help me to take her inside."

She moved away from the lady to look at the confused faces of persons around her, the boy ready to object.

"Dadi we can't trust-"

"We can, Sameer, do as I say."

After a few minutes, she was inside the house, a place that looked like a living room. It was a simple house, like most of the houses in Agra. A living room, a kitchen, two rooms in front of her, and two rooms upstairs. The old lady sent her grandkids whose names were, Sameer and Maira, to the kitchen to bring some cold drink while she could feel her eyes scanning her.

"What's your name, dear?"

"Danah--Danah Firdous."

Danah told her and rubbed her eye looking down because she knew she was now stuck in the web of questions and queries.

"Why are you scared to go home? Is everything okay?"

She was unable to stop her tears hearing the concern in her voice as she shook her head.

"I can't tell you much, Amma..." her tongue on its own chose her relationship with the lady but she didn't seem to mind so Danah continued, "But I just want to request something. Can I stay here for 12-15 days? I study in Delhi and we have summer vacations so my hostel is closed. I can't go back right now. Can I-"

"Sorry, we can't..."

It was Sameer who cut her off, coming with a tray of cold drinks. The boy in his late teenage years seemed some years younger than her, while the girl with two braids, Maira looked ten to twelve years in age, "Dadi, you know we can't keep her here."