It Was All Destiny

Part 1..

It might be 2 in the night as the roads were silent graveyard with eerie sounds of trees and soothing breeze that made shivers to go through her spine.

Neetika clutched her cotton scarf more to herself, trying to cover all her body that was left bare after the green suit she wore. Her feet started to pain and her throat felt the need of water. Alas! She can't help but keep on walking.

She never expected to walk lost in the city she grew up in. The one that she thought to know every dimension of. But at the moment, she can't even decipher if she is in a right path to her home. She just walked wherever she could see a way and when it was crossroad, she speculated on anyone.

She regretted to not accept the offer that her boss made to drop her in the doorstep, after imposing an overtime on her. As she was his p.a. and he provided her with a good salary, enough to manage the expenses, she could not deny.

She was walking slowly, given the pain and a fear that stirred in her heart by the no-moon night. The street lights were her only source of light. Her mobile battery was dead and the idea of keeping it on charge never occured.

A sudden bark stopped her feet with a jerk and she was frozen on the spot. She looked around to know where the dog is, so she can avoid it with all her might. She was afraid. A lot afraid from a dog ever since one bit her grandpa. He was given a total bed rest for a month, it was so severe.

It seemed she was not the only one to be scared of dogs as she could hear the cries of a baby. But no cooing sound.

Suddenly she ran to a tree to hide behind as she saw the shadow of a running dog in her direction and a sound of engine. The dog ran simultaneously with the motor bike and she heaved a sigh.

Had the dog not interrupted, she could have taken a help from the bike driver. She started walking again and the cries of the child echoed louder. She finally found a child cycle from where the cries emerged. No one was near it.

She slowly walked near the cycle and saw a baby who had tears stained cheeks and his or her face was completely red due to excessive crying. The baby looked a month old and her heart broke as the cries only increased.

She turned around and looked for someone who could claim the baby as theirs. She waited for long but none came and she turned to leave, wanting to ignore the baby and the cries. She walked two steps away but could not anymore. Her heart pained.

The baby might be an orphan.

How can she leave like this, when she herself was one. She knew what being an orphan meant in the sophisticated society and the struggles which one has to go through. The nights would be left unslept and the tummy be empty.

She remembered her own days when she was still five and left the orphanage because she could not bear the beatings and suffering of her mates. The mother of the orphanage would often beat them, ask them to wash the dishes and send them to do the laborious tasks to earn money.

Even after earning the money, they were being beaten for the mother's pleasure. She could not decipher what exactly it was. And she didn't want to know as well. The toddler self wandered around streets to streets, begging for food. Some would take the pity on a child while some pushed her away. It hurt her on a deeper level, to be insulted.

As she grew somehow working for herself, cleaning the dishes for the restaurants and eating the leftovers. Sometimes her luck was too good as she got to eat a full fledged meal by any renowned families. It was good in one hand as she got Rs.200 in her hands when she was only six, but bad that she didn't got to study and the love and care that a child deserves.

She cried in the similar way when the restaurant owners would ask her to go away as their customers threatened to impose a child labour law.

She came back to reality when she felt some cold droplets on her face and she looked up. The droplets increased in a second and she, involuntarily, took the child and wrapped her hands securely. She ran under the roof of a closed shop for the shelter.