The Hospital

The Prank At Orphanage

Sneha walked quietly down the corridor looking at the rooms on either side. The dark corridor hardly had any light. The only light that came was from the sunlight outside through the windows. Almost all the doors of the rooms were closed. Only a few were open and she could see many girls sitting inside on their beds looking at her. Most of the beds were small and lined along the walls. The pillows and blankets on the bed seemed tattered, They wore old clothes that were all out of style but still comfortable enough to walk around. Some of them wore long skirts over loose shirts. Some wore salwar kameez. None of them was fat or chubby but they seemed healthy. This was the place Sneha spent her childhood after her parents died.

The family court did announce her mother's brother as her guardian but she could not even stay a day in their house. The reason was her uncle's wife who kept taunting her and hardly gave anything to eat. Moreover, she knew they were always unwilling to pay her school fees and she had to cry and beg them. Instead of living as a servant, she decided to run away. At the age of seven, she fled to search for a proper place for herself.  Fortunately, a nun found her and brought her here. She did not tell the truth because she did not want to return to her uncle. She told the nun that her parents died and her mother's brother was selling her. She begged the nun to let her stay instead of taking her to the police. 

She lied about her name at the orphanage and gave a false last name. Though she did not have any identification card or documents with her, the nun who let her stay made one for her. She never asked anything from this institution but was always grateful to the nun who helped her. She always prayed for her excellent health and well-being. The orphanage is not huge. It was just a three-story building with a couple of rooms. The ground floor had just a grand dining hall and a prayer room.  Sneha was on the second floor, which had rooms for the girls, the caretakers, and some offices where donations were often counted or documents of the girls were made. The third floor had rooms for boys and nuns. The education was not given here. A bus would come every morning to pick up the boys and girls separately to send them to a school outside. Usually, once they became eighteen or seventeen, the girls and boys would move out. They would stay at the nearby hostels working part-time somewhere.

Sneha walked until she reached the last room of the corridor. She turned and knocked two times. The person inside the room did not make her wait too long and quickly opened the door. An old lady with a wrinkled face in a simple white sari with blue flowers smiled at her as the door opened. She was the caretaker of the kids and assisted the nuns with the children when Sneha had just joined. Her son too stayed with her here but the nuns made sure that he did not mingle much with the girls. Since the orphanage only had girls, they were very strict regarding her son. However, this lady always did her best and was always loved by many girls. 

 The old woman's eyes shone with happiness as she tightly hugged Sneha. Since she did not have any friends, whenever she felt extremely disturbed or too sad she would confide in her.

"Ow, Aunty, sp-spare me." Said Sneha, as she grimaced.

"It has been very long since you left." Said the lady relieving Sneha from the tight embrace.

Sneha sighed and looked at her once again. When she joined this place, this woman was not this old. However, now she could not even stand properly.

"Sandra Aunty, how are you? You look very weak. Are you still working here?" Asked Sneha.

"Not working anymore now. I am going back to my home very soon. My son just got a job in a very good company. I have to search for a good wife for him." Replied the old lady.

"First focus on your health. You look very pale. You aren't eating well. "

"Old age probably. I don't seem to like eating many things that I liked before. Why are you standing? Come inside."