Under The Pink Evening Sky

5 | a stranger

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Sana studied the picture in front of her carefully. She tilted her head left and right. She couldn't find the difference at all.

What in the world was the difference between the two pictures?

The pen is the same. The table is the same. The window is also fine. Oh, wait. The curtains were different. Right.

She circled that.

"Having fun?" The lady seated on the sofa asked, with a smile. Sana forced a smile and nodded, rigidly.

Her little sister, Mani was seated on the floor next to her and was watching one of her favourite shows on the laptop they had at home.

Their mother had hired a babysitter for the two of them, since it was summer vacation. Due to being a heart surgeon, she was often away from home. It also didn't help that she was the sole breadwinner for the family after their father had passed away in a car accident.

Sana glanced at the lady, who was now grinning at her phone.

She didn't like how the lady often cooked something and ate it, without permission or walked about breezily, as if she owned the house. Nor did she pay any attention to either her or Mani.

Fleeting glances was all they received. The babysitter was more preoccupied with her phone.

Sana made a note to inform her mother about it and fire the lady.

She was more than okay with taking care of her sister by herself. She had been doing that for an hour everyday when the two of them arrived back home after school. Her mother would be a little late so Sana would ensure Mani washes up and drinks her milk while also focusing on her tasks.

Letting out a breath, she looked back down at her pictures.

Shrest and his newly found friend, Vihan peered at the man who had been loitering outside their apartment. They hadn't seen him before and he looked quite suspicious.

"Who is this guy?" Shrest asked, resting his hands in his pocket.

"No idea. But he looks weird." Vihan responded.

The man's eyes landed on the two of them and the kids playing in the playground. He lifted his lips into a leer.

Shrest and Vihan shivered.

"You know what, let's first go and inform my dad. He's at home, right now."

Shrest and Vihan hurried to their home and slipped into his house.

"Dad, there's this really weird guy who's standing outside our apartment complex. He keeps staring at us and grinning."

Bharat blinked. Then, he stood up from his desk and walked out of the house. "Where is he?"

Shrest saw the man entering the complex and approaching the staircase leading to the first floor.

"Shrest, quickly go and call the uncle in apartment 403. Also, call the uncle in apartment 404."

Shrest nodded and quickly hurried to the intercom fixed in their house.

Sana's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me? Who are you calling into our house?"

The babysitter shrugged. "It's just my boyfriend, child. Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

"I'm not comfortable with this. Please ask him to go back."

The lady groaned. "Why are you always so difficult? Your mother has given me permission. Just keep quiet and do your work."

"I'm sure my mother-"

There was a knock at their door.

Sana's heart raced. She quickly dragged her sister to their bedroom and locked her inside. Then, she watched the sitter glare at her as she opened the door.

It was not anyone unknown at the door. It was Bharat uncle.

Sana's eyes lit up.

"Bharat uncle." She raced towards him.

"Hey there kiddo." Bharat bent down to meet her height. "Why do you look so tense?"

"My mother has hired this lady as our babysitter but she's not doing her job. She doesn't even spare us a glance and now she's saying she's bringing her boyfriend to our apartment."

Bharat narrowed his eyes on the lady. "So that man over there is your boyfriend?"

The lady was startled. "Pardon?"

He pointed in the direction of a man who was being interrogated by two burly uncles who lived in the same apartment complex.

"Oh-Ah, y-yes. He's my-"

"Get out of here. Take him with you. If I catch you around here, I'll be filing a police complaint."

"Sir, I've been hired to-"

"You're not doing your job. Get out of here."

Sana slipped past the lady and unlocked the door, finding her sister crouching on the floor, scared.

She was two years younger than Sana, but she was still just as brave.

"Hey, hey, it's okay now. Bharat uncle is helping us."

Mani nodded, knowing that something about the situation had been wrong and it was now fixed.

The two shared a hug.

"Are you two okay?" Two boys stood outside their room, glancing at them, concerned. Sana nodded, pulling away from her sister.

Shrest and Vihan glanced at each other.

"I suppose it's a good thing I called my dad immediately."

"Thank you, Shrest. I wouldn't have known what to do otherwise."

"You don't have to thank me." He answered, gruffly. Clearly, the two weren't used to being polite with each other.

Bharat glanced at the kids and called Sana's mother explaining the situation to her.

Nearly half an hour later, Sana's mother raced into the complex and embraced her children tightly.

"I'm so sorry. If I had known, I wouldn't have hired that woman. I'm sorry, kiddos."

Sana and Mani patted their mother's back. Nina, who had been taking care of the two since the lady had left, offered a smile.

"I can take care of the two of them, while you're away, Madhu."

Madhu looked up at her neighbor. "No, really. It's ok. I should take a vacation too, maybe-"

"Don't you have multiple operations lined up?" Sana asked, softly.

"It's fine, dear, I can transfer them to..." Madhu contemplated, her expression growing more and more helpless as she recalled the scarce amount of heart surgeons at the hospital she worked at.

"It's really alright, Madhu. You won't be imposing on me. I can take care of the two. Just drop them at my house when you go."

Madhu glanced at her two children. "Will that be okay?"

Sana and Mani glanced at each other and nodded. They trusted Shrest's family.

Madhu nodded slowly. "Okay, then. We'll do that for this month, until your vacation ends."

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