STRANGER

                            

         Laila sat at the edge of a cliff some hundred feet below the western waters swashed incessantly all day. Kingfishers swerved over the glittering waters hoping desperately to feast on sardines. It was a hard year for all near the oceans, food was scarce as the fish sales had a drastic fall and the scorching heat got everyone sulking. Every morning Laila clambered onto the cliff with a satchel slung across her shoulder and sat at the hem, poring over her books. Today she ensconced among the brambles as to avoid the garish sun. There was silence except for the waves, a gentle breeze ran through her hair and the bushes fluttered lazily. Skimming through the pages of her notebook for about a twenty times already she retired to cogitate on what she would do after her exams. Any fourteen year child would merrily shut her book and go on a holiday with her parents or at least hang loose having a good time. As Laila had often seen, she dreamed of a going to a luxury resort, having fancy goods and having the time of her life someday.

“Lailaaa”   

              A screech broke her reverie which she immediately knew was her mother’s and sprinted down the cliff. She had forgotten to fill in the buckets with tap water from the nearby tank and now she had to walk for 2 miles to fetch drinking water. Her mother shot a glare at her as she stooped down over the threshold of a ramshackled hut to get the buckets; she couldn’t retaliate or defend herself that she had home works to complete for she had study holidays. She thought of all the excuses she gave when she went to school. Sometimes she despised of not having to go to school or study which meant that she had to do all the household chores while her mother worked in a brothel in a nearby village. She never knew of it until she was about twelve when a boy jeered at her “Kid of whore”, though she gave him a quick retort “Go away snub” with an I-don’t-care-at-all attitude but she was broken inside. From then she knew the reason for her mother’s sudden disappearances at nightfall or furtive glances of men at her mother while they were out in the bazar. Laila was haunted by the tantalizing screams, grotesque nightmares of a man and usually woke up in the middle of night sobbing. At days when her mother was at home, she’d console her as Laila curled into her arms. It was discernible that her mother toiled away day and night so they could have a comfortable home. Laila had promised her mom that she would do well in school.

 “Laila!! What are you dreaming about?”

“Sorry mom, I’ll leave now”

             Obediently, she picked up the buckets and plodded on the dusty winding road. Walking a few minutes made her frail; the sun was shining brilliantly overhead.  Sweat trickled down her sunburned cheeks, but she couldn’t retreat. She was so famished; she hadn’t eaten anything except a handful of berries. She sat on the school porch thinking that if she had a father maybe she wouldn’t have to be walking this long in the heat.  Maybe he would be her hero like all other fathers she had seen in the bazaar, not letting her to do this exhausting work.

“Hoi brat what are you doing here?”

           Laila turned around to see the source of sound and was shocked to see the same boy who had told her about her mother.

         “Planning to take up mumma’s work? Want help”, he laughed sardonically. Now Laila was weak, she didn’t have the strength to snap him like last time. She had been through so much pain now; her eyes welled up in tears.  The fact was that she had to follow her mother’s trail to earn a livelihood; she barely had money to pay the school fees and led a hand to mouth living.

“Nasty blokes!  Filthy blood it’s because of morons like you that there’s no - ”

            “Stop your foul speech mister”, there was an edge of bitterness in the voice. A man with shorts, cool shirt and bucket hat had alighted from a stallion. Laila was surprised; it took her back to the summers when the shores would be milling with tourists from around the world to enjoy the beauty of the blue-green stretch of water and the ancient rocks of the cliff. Laila would run errands for these people and get a shelling or sometimes more if she got lucky. She had missed this, she regretted of not having to help her mother and doing something to augment their income so that her mother could quit the dirty job. She was so preoccupied thinking about the summers that she didn’t notice when the boy ran away. The stranger offered her water, after guzzling two bottles she was satiated.

“What did you tell the boy?” Laila asked weakly

“Scared him off, telling him that I am a government official, you don’t worry tell my name whenever he troubles you”, he replied warmly.

“I am so grateful, thank you so much. I am Laila……..” without knowing she burst out raving about her worries and plight. At the end of it she felt light and better. There was silence. A bird crooned on a tree, the horse let out low neighs.

“You don’t have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, you are just a child. You can’t berate yourself for the adults’ mistakes and it doesn’t change anything.” Laila looked up at him as he continued, “You need to steel yourself for the challenges ahead, study hard, have insane amount of courage and follow your instincts”. With this reassuring note the stranger got back on his saddle and rode off. Laila sat there taking in all she had just heard. She was imbued with a sense of hope and joy. After thinking through she knew what she would do after her exams, she had a purpose in life and knew how to untangle all the knots.