The Sins of the Father

 “Hngh—” Sylvia bit harder into the pillow. Her legs folded against her chest, the man atop her pushed down on her ankles. The guttural grunts, hot across her face, intensified to a long-drawn groan and the creaking of the bed stopped. The man rolled off Sylvia.

The small room, almost filled by the cot, felt like the inside of an oven. The air pushed by the squeaking half-dead table fan on the table beside the man barely reached Sylvia. The hard, worn-out mattress did not help with the stiffness in her legs and the dull amber of the sole bulb hanging from the low ceiling hurt her eyes. Finally, after catching her breath, when she unclenched her jaw, the saliva-soaked fabric left a foul taste in her mouth.

“Can I leave?” she murmured, cautious not to upset the man.

A couple minutes of silence passed. The man turned onto his side facing away from Sylvia and spoke in a gruff voice. “The money’s in the shirt pocket.”

“Ah!” moaned Sylvia from the sharp pain that shot through her inner thighs when she put her feet on the floor.

“Tch!” snapped the man and she immediately fell silent. With her hand on her mouth, she strained to get up and bend down to pick her clothes from the floor. Glancing nervously at the man’s back, she dressed up. From the khaki shirt hanging on a rusty nail on the door frame, she pulled out a battered wallet. Inside it, she found a faded photograph of the man, his wife and two children. Sighing deeply, she rummaged through the contents and found two-thousand rupees in three five hundred and four hundred-rupee bills and a bunch of change. Taking two five hundreds, she called to the man.

“Brother.”

The man stirred but did not respond.

“Brother” she called again, slightly raising her voice.

“What?” he snapped without moving.

“About the school fees…you said you’ll lend it tod…”

“How much is it again?”

“Five thousand. I’ll pay back as so-”

“Tomorrow.”

“I told you. Tomorrow I’ve to-”

“Tomorrow.”

Sylvia stood there for a few minutes trying to find the words to say while waiting for the man to say something. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud, raspy snore. She took a couple hundred before closing the door gently behind her.

After passing through a dingy hallway lit bleakly in red and blue, down a dark, narrow winding staircase, past hovering eyes, luring voices and bumping bodies, Sylvia exited the old building. She held her handbag tightly against her body as she walked the empty street at speed. She kept her head down, but constantly looked around. At the end of the street, after turning onto the main road pavement, she exhaled and the pain in her legs returned. Taking a brief second to rest, she continued to walk. About a quarter kilometer on the pavement, her phone rang. Alarmed, she quickly fished it out from her bag.

“Ruby, what happened?”

“I can’t sleep ma.”

“Oh” said Sylvia calming down a bit. “Why baby? Anything happen at school today?”

“No ma” gushed Ruby. “I can’t wait to watch the movie tomorrow.”

“Ah…about that…I’ve to work tomorrow, baby. I promise I’ll take you the day after.”

“Ma!” cried Ruby, audibly upset. “You said the same thing yesterday.”

“I know baby. I’m sorry. But mummy’s got to repay Raj uncle for your school fees.”

“I hate that thevidiya paiya!” blurted Ruby.

“Ruby!” exclaimed Sylvia, stopping in her stride. “I’ll kick you when I get home.”

“But he’s a bad man. I’ve heard Padma granny and Mariam aunty call him that.”

“I’ll need to kick them” muttered Sylvia.

“And now…you won’t take me to the movie” said Ruby, her voice cracking.

“Baby, baby listen to me” said Sylvia, holding her phone with both hands. “I promise I’ll definitely take you…this week. I promise.”

“How do I believe you?”

Sylvia looked around trying to figure out what to say and spotted a food cart nearby.

“I promise. Why don’t I get you a chicken fried rice to make it up to you?”

A silent moment passed.

“Do you have money ma?”

“Yeah baby” replied Sylvia, smiling sadly. “I can spare some.”

Ruby chuckled. “Come home soon ma.”

“I will. Don’t fall asleep. And don’t wait by the window.”

“Okay, okay.”

“And lock the-”

Ruby hung up. “This girl” said Sylvia continuing to smile.

From behind the group of men around the food cart shouting over each other, Sylvia couldn’t voice her order. She forced her way through to the front and the clamor dropped a little.

“One chicken rice parcel” she said to the man behind the cart who eyed her from top to bottom.

Looking away, he said “Stand that side”, pointing to a garbage bin.

Sylvia did as was told without protest. As she watched the man take the orders of the men who came after her, the men receiving the orders stole glances at her, whispering and giggling among themselves. Growing restless, she dialed Mariam.

“Hello” said Mariam, her voice tired.

“Do you know what Ruby called Raj?” yelled Sylvia.

“What?” said Mariam waking up.

“Thevidiya paiya!”

The men, together at the same time, looked in her direction for a moment and immediately turned away.

“Ruby said that?” asked Mariam.

“Yes. And guess from whom she learnt it? You!”

“She must have overheard Padma aunty and me talking. Cha!”

“You need to be careful around her, Mariam. You can’t just throw around words. She’s at an age where she needs to be protected. And I can’t be around her all the time. I have to trust you.”

Sylvia’s eyes teared and her voice broke. She turned around to see if anyone was watching and noticed the man tossing his wok of fried rice, ignoring the men in front of him.

“Sorry, Sylu” said Mariam. “I didn’t realize. You know how it’s been.”

“It’s okay” said Sylvia, wiping her eyes. “Have you told Maran?”

“I’m still thinking if I should keep it. I don’t think he’ll change.”

“Then don’t keep it. What will you do if he leaves you like my thevidiya paiyan husband? The earlier you do, the better.”

“Sylu, would you not have kept Ruby if you knew?”

Sylvia’s blood ran cold and she fell silent. Her throat turned sore and her lips quivering.

“Here you go” heard Sylvia and turned around. The man held a plastic cover in front of her.

“Ho-ow muc -ch?” she said.

“Hundred.”

She ruffled through her bag and pulled out a one hundred rupee note.

“Thanks” she said handing it to him.

“You there, Sylu” asked Mariam.

“Yeah, yeah. Mariam, what you need to know is-”

“Maran’s back. I’ll talk tomorrow.”

Mariam hung up.

As she trudged to the bus stand, Sylvia’s mind reverberated Mariam’s question. She felt like crying but also, she did not. She wanted to go home and hug Ruby.

Alone at the bus stop, she kept looking at the time and back at the empty road, getting frustrated with the fried rice going cold. A few cars and bikes raced past her, some slowing down when passing her while an auto rickshaw stopped in front of her.

“Where do you need to go?” asked the man behind the handlebar.

Sylvia was about to say no but remembered the other hundred rupee note. She explained the route to him and asked “How much?”

“One-fifty.”

“One-fifty! It’s close by.”

“It’s late night. You can give one-fifty.”

“Hundred is all I’ve.”

“Look for another auto then.”

He left leaving Sylvia coughing from the trail of exhaust smoke. Fed up, she decided it was pointless to keep waiting and started walking homeward. “I can heat it up” she muttered to herself.

After huffing for about fifteen minutes, Sylvia crossed the road and entered a narrow lane. A low growl startled her. From behind the shade of dark, two glowing eyes followed her. She hastened her steps when the dog emerged into the dim street light behind her. Drooling, it snarled.

“Shoo” shrieked Sylvia waving the plastic cover at it. It lunged forward and she ran. Not looking back, fear overtaking the pain shooting through her body from the soles of her feet, she dashed aimlessly. The path ahead curved outward to the right into a culvert when she tripped on her saree. At that instant, the dog got its mouth on the cover and when Sylvia tugged at it, the bag tore open scattering the chicken rice and sending Sylvia off balance. She fell hard on her back against the railing and collapsed in excruciating pain. She watched the dog sniff out the chicken pieces as she propped herself up against the baluster with her shaking hands. It soon lost interest and turned towards her. Its teeth exposed, it bore down on her. Tucking her knee in, Sylvia pressed further against the cold metal. Her eyes wandered to the running sewage below and back at the approaching animal.

Just as the dog prepared to pounce, it was hit down with a sickening clank. Howling, it tried to stand up but was charged on by two men – one bare handed and the other with a rusty rod. It wailed from the series of kicks and the blows that continued long after it went mute.

“Th- thank you” said Sylvia, words escaping her mouth involuntarily.

The men stopped and when they turned around, Sylvia saw the unrecognizable body of the dog that lay in a puddle of blood littered with rice. Putting her head through the gap between the balusters, she vomited. When she pulled back in, fear gripped her as she realized the shadow of two men over her. They stared down at her coldly without blinking, their lips curled into an unsightly grin. The man with the dripping rod put his bloodied hand forward when her phone, a couple meters away on the ground, rang. Sylvia’s teary eyes wandered from the phone to the men and then to the dark, smelling water below, and then back to the phone.

While calling for the sixteenth time, Ruby fell asleep by the window with the phone against her ear. As the early morning light filtered through, the calling bell rang, waking up Ruby. Rubbing her eyes, she unlatched the door.

“Hey Ruby baby” said Raj bending forward.

“Uncle” said Ruby, her face unhiding her displeasure. “Where’s ma?”

“Hmm…ma’s in the hospital.”

“Why? What happened to ma?”

“It’s nothing serious but she needs some care and I need money for it. Do you have any?”

“No. But I can ask Padma granny and Mariam aunty.”

“You shouldn’t ask them. Ma wouldn’t want that.”

“I want to see ma.”

“They won’t allow us to see her if we don’t pay.”

“What should we do then?”

“Hmm…why don’t you take your mom’s job? I know a few people who’ll pay twice, maybe thrice for you. You can then pay for your mother’s care as well as repay my loan. What do you say?”

“I’ll do anything.”

“Good girl. Now, come with me.”