Adopted

Day ONE.

I was rummaging with some papers in my cupboard when the door opened and dad walked in. I looked up from a pile of certificates, projects and greeting cards.

Dad came in slowly, almost sad, and sat down on the floor beside me.

"What are you doing?" he asked picking up one of my certificates from my 1st grade. I had made sure to preserve them all.

"Oh, I'm searching for the adoption certificate."

"And why is that?"

"Because... I need to see the date on it! You see, Peter told me that mom was alive when you stole... I mean, took me from the hospital. And that man wrote in the letter that mom died and that's why you took me. I don't know why I didn't see it previously. I was reading it yesterday night and it struck me suddenly. So, by looking at the dates, I can find out what's true. I'm not saying I don't think you're telling the truth but I still want to see.

"Peter also told me that you adopted me the day mom died. So, I know when mom died, right? So, I can know if that man's really lying. But, of course, there's always the possibility he wrote all that in confusion himself. But still, I can find out." I said, in one breath.

Dad seemed confused a few seconds but then he gave me a questioning look.

"What letter, Tara?"

"Um... The one he wrote me. He gave it to me in a greeting card. Didn't Peter tell you?"

"Oh no. He didn't. But, I'd like to read it now."

I pushed it out of my pocket and opened it up for him. While he read it, I got back to searching for the certificate. I didn't even remember how it looked or if I'd really put it in the cupboard. I hadn't searched for it from when I was 10. It had been 7 years from then. I wished I hadn't misplaced it.

I searched up the drawers in vain. My bed side table was no better. I sat on the bed and sighed.

Dad came to me and smiled. "I think I'll have the certificate with me. You only had the photo copy, right?"

I nodded and smiled back.

Dad went downstairs to get it from wherever he had kept it and I began to clean up the mess I'd created. He came back pretty early but kept the certificate on my desk and helped me sort out everything on the floor. We arranged all the greeting cards according to the year and the certificates I'd won for races or dancing or singing in the same. Once we'd arranged my cupboard properly we picked the certificate and I saw the date scribbled in pen on the right hand top corner of it.

The certificate wasn't very beautiful or appealing, it looked perfect for an adoption. I don't know why it looked like it fit the purpose, but it did. The name of the Orphanage was written on the center top in the same hand it was on that arch. The details of my birth and the new family that was adopting me were written below in a systematic order.

Mom had been dead and the date of death was correct. I looked up to find the same date scribbled on the top right. I smiled and looked at dad.
"So, you did adopt me the day mom died, huh?" I said.
"Yes, Tara. I did. And this man has definitely lied to you. I'm telling you again, this is not a nice man. " he said smiling calmly.

"Why do you keep saying that? Are you even going to tell me why that man is not nice! " I said almost irritated.
He realised I wouldn't stop asking him so he made himself comfortable on the bed. By comfortable, I mean he pulled one my pillows and hugged it and got the blanket to cover his legs.

"When your mom... I mean, my wife, was around 8 months pregnant with Peter's sister, she became friends with Ram's wife, that is, your real mom. She was pregnant too. And as far as I remember they met at this yoga class.

"Your mom was a very dominant lady and had kept Ram from drinking for a few years now. It was only because she was in that house that your elder sister Sapna was safe. She would tell your mom... my wife, about almost everything that would happen at her house. She would complain that her husband was getting close to old acquaintances who were nothing but going to ruin him again.

"She tried her best to keep him away but he would indulge himself in all sorts of bad habits. He was back into smoking and drinking by the time your mom was 7 months pregnant. She was not as active as always and he would take advantage of her weakness and beat her up if she tried to say anything. Because she had you to take care of, she couldn't do much. And then, she found out that he was into worse occupations than just drinking and smoking."
He paused here and looked at me. I was following him with much more concentration than I had Peter. I didn't want to miss things this time. The truth was, I felt stupid.

I urged him to go on, and he continued.
"So, I think I can tell you this. Your father, Ram, had somehow teamed up with this old friend of his and had started into running a... Marriage bureau. "
I looked at him confused." What's wrong about that? " I asked.
"Well, it's not the normal bureau you find around. It's kind of an illegal one." he said stammering at words now and then.
I was seriously confused now. What did he mean by illegal? There were so many marriage bureaus. What was so wrong about it?
He shook his head as though trying to clear off everything and then looked at me.
"Okay. So, these people... They steal girls and sell them for marriage. When your mom died, she told me and your mom that he was planning to sell Sapna next because he had no means of income after all. She was scared that he would spoil that little 7 year old's life by getting her married to some rogue who would probably sell her somewhere else. It was a cycle among them. And they would only sell children mostly. Because, they are innocent and they don't realise things and are easily brain washed.
"Your mom made us promise we would take you and Sapna to a safe place. She somehow knew she was going to die. And even if she lived, Ram would have killed her."

"But why would he sell his own daughter? "
"Money, Tara. Why else? We brought you from there but Sapna refused to come. Poor thing was already scared enough. We sent her to her uncle's and told him everything. Your mom had a friend who worked for the police so he did some investigation against Ram and found out that they had a huge chain of people doing this as an occupation and earning.
"He found that children and girls who are of age would fetch more money than girls who were older. It initially looked like child marriage but it was so much more on finding out. That man filed a complaint against us but the police helped us out of it by finding evidence against Ram. The evidence wasn't strong enough so he didn't go to jail but they didn't let him have the children as well. I don't know how he found Sapna again and how he found you! I'm just scared about all this. I'm sorry about screaming yesterday. I didn't know how to tell you. I was just scared that it might disturb you."

It was going in through my left ear and I wasn't sure if it was staying now. I just sat there staring at dad and trying to digest what he had just told me. I couldn't believe it that people would sell girls for marriage and then sell them again and..... This was disturbing.

The rest of the day wasn't anything great. I didn't leave the house and dad kept visiting my room now and then the entire day to check on me. I just sat on my bed and recalled everything again and again and it seemed to make sense.

The way he had looked at me, the things he had said and the way Peter had reacted to every move. And then I remembered what Peter said while leaving. It all fit. And I was ready to trust dad and Peter any day instead of that man who had written lies in that letter as well.

We had a quiet dinner again but there was a calmer and more understanding environment. That night, I slept restlessly. I couldn't stop thinking about this cycle of marriages dad talked about.
I got a dream in which I was blindfolded and taken to some place. Someone shouted an amount and I was shoved forward. New hands grabbed me and took my away. When my blindfold was opened I was in an old building full of wreckage and dad was looking at me. I smiled but then someone hit him on the head.
That's when I saw Peter come and take me in a van. We were back home now. He was crying and I was crying too. Then two people broke the door and entered the house. One of them shot Peter's leg and he fell down. The other man pulled me out of the house. I screamed. I screamed and I kicked and I punched and did everything I could do. But no voice came out of my mouth and there was no one whom I hit.
I was back at the wreckage and dad lay on the floor, still unconscious. I tried waking him up. But then, someone pulled me up by my hair and pushed my face into a bucket of water. I felt the water choke me.
I tried to hit the man who was holding my head but I only hit air. And then I heard a loud scream and I woke up. I looked at the time and it was 8 in the morning. Then, I heard footsteps come up the stairs in a hurry.