Chapter 5

Sheetal’s POV:

“Eat”, Amma pushed another morsel of rice and fish curry into my mouth.

I took the plate from her and continued to feed myself. I know I can’t stay like this forever.

Aaya (grandmother) let a local news channel run on our TV and occasionally kept glancing at grandpa’s bed.

It has been a month and a half, we are doing good. It is true we miss him, I saw aaya cry for the first time after the burial, till then she stayed just like a stone.

That woman never loved him or she didn’t show it. She carried out her duties perfectly, that’s what she thought. She would wake up before him and serve him food with a time chart.

She bore his children, nurtured them with manners and faith. According to her, men had to be tough. She created a mindset in my mother and my uncle that a father is someone they should be afraid of, because he was the one who brought in money and food.

They were to avoid any kind of noise, and disappear behind books when the man arrived home.

Her husband lost every little bond he had with his children, when he moved to a different country to squeeze in as much money as he could. Because that’s what his wife wanted.

His son, Uncle Devan couldn’t study. He failed his boards twice and his mother could care less. He was a boy, that’s all that mattered to her. He may not be able to do files, but he could add and subtract. And to aaya, that was all he needed to be a petit business owner.

Grandpa managed to set up a typewriting center for his son. Uncle Devan simply manages the monthly collection. He grew up to behave indifferent towards everyone, just a grumpy puppet who depended on his mother or wife for every decision.

When grandpa grew old, he divided his property among his children, leaving a bare minimum for himself and his wife. With money out of the equation, whatever fear the lady built all those years on the father drained away from their children.

When grandpa fell paralyzed, he became more of a liability and burden on uncle’s family. After 3 and a half years, they could no longer take care of him.

The old lady had to swallow her pride and talk to amma, whom she had given away in marriage to the first groom she can find and never visited after. Amma believed that it was the fate of any woman in our society.

They came to us, hoping that Amma would be more than ready to take them in, just as she claimed over the phone calls. But people’s behavior is totally different on calls and in person.

We lived in a one-bedroom apartment with two school-going children and two exhausted parents. Not enough space already.

When they moved in, we had no other option than to give them the living room, while we were all squished into the ten by ten bedroom. The initial days were terrible, Stephen and I feared and hated the wrinkled old man, whom we never met before.

Grandpa would always try to grace a smile when we crossed him in the living room, waving weakly, calling us towards him. Stephen was so afraid he would fled the scene.

Once I dared to go near him, but when his cold hand tried to hold mine in a steel grip, tears would prick behind my eyes, seeing his creepy smile. Now that I think of it, it feels funny.

I felt it was difficult to understand whatever gibberish he spoke, but as days passed, his words slowly started to make sense little by little.

I started doing my homework while sitting on the farthest corner of his bed. I started this habit once I got comfortable to stay by his side. But it wasn’t because of any affection. I was just angry at him for stealing the only bed we had.

It was because of him I had to sleep on the floor, so I felt like I was achieving something great while making him scoot over and share that bed with me.

At that time of life, I did not like these new grandpa and grandma for two reasons. They came out of nowhere and occupied our place, that was the first. And the second and most important reason was that, my parents started to fight a lot after their arrival.

They did fight before as well, but never did I see them fight over money. It was after these new people came into our lives, the constant bickering over money started. Soon I was being ridiculed and humiliated at school as a fee defaulter, while all my school fee was turned to medical expenses and additional rent.

I let all these get into my head but I couldn’t do anything. That’s when I noticed that grandpa used to have a few rupees hidden under his pillow. I did the first thing that came to my mind, I started…. stealing.