RUMA and JABARI

Chapter 2

By the time Ruma reached home, it was already dinner time. She wanted to go to bed right away, but her Mother was waiting at the dining table with two bowls of soup. Having no choice, Ruma stopped.

"How was work?" the Mother asked.

"The usual," she said, dropping her bag at a nearby chair. She took a seat and massaged her neck.

"Tell me more," the Mother prompted.

"Nothing more," Ruma stood up to wash her hands. As she returned to the table, she noticed her mother staring at her. Ignoring the stare, Ruma took a spoon of the soup in front of her. She could still feel her mother's eyes on her.

"I found the mechanic boy," Ruma relented. "The Mechanic man", she corrected herself. "And I have a new assistant," she added.

"The mechanic, the one you have been looking for?" the Mother exclaimed.

"Yes, the one I have been looking for," Ruma said as a matter of fact.

"How did it go?" the Mother asked curiously.

"It went....Nothing much," Ruma replied with zero enthusiasm.

"Nothing much? when will you meet him again?"

"I don't know if I will ever meet him again, Mother," Ruma replied, taking another spoon of her soup.

"What do you mean by that?" dejectedly, the Mother asked.

"I don't know, it's just that he felt like a stranger," Ruma shrugged.

"You have been apart for so many years of course he will feel like a stranger, I think you should meet him again."

Ruma stood up abruptly. "I should go rest, tomorrow will be a long day," she said, picking up her bowl. "Soup was good, thank you."

Ruma skipped work today, and she was confident that tomorrow would be a long day. All she needs is to be by herself, away from her Mother's prying eyes and questions.

"You can't avoid me for long, we need to talk about this," the Mother stood up as well.

"Mother please," Ruma replied in a tired tone.

"You've been looking for this mechanic, now you have found him. So get to know him, spend some quality time together."

All Ruma said was "Mother"; she was too tired to say anything more. Before the accident, she searched for the mechanic; after the accident, his search was one of the very few things she could remember doing. Even though she would not recognize him if he was in front of her. The mechanic had lingered on her mind and appeared in her dreams. With no face except for the curls and the fondly lines, they exchanged when they were young, which he always signed 'J'.

"Ruma, please promise me you will do that, at least get to know him", the Mother pleaded.

"No mother I can't, I just can't, I don't want to" Ruma walked away and put her bowl in the dishwasher, as she turned to get to her room, she came face to face with her Mother, asking her,"what do you want, Ruma?"

"I just want to be left alone," Ruma said in an exhausted voice.

"You can not be alone forever, Ruma," the Mother said in a warning tone.

"Mother, I need to rest for tomorrow" Ruma walked past her to take the stairs.

"If you do not spend time with the mechanic, I'm going to report you to the police for all the lives you took," the Mother threatened. She took hold of Ruma's arm, preventing her from going up.