Rules of Escape

Chapter 42 - Ana

Ana is watching from her second floor bedroom window when Sandeep arrives. She watches as the long black cars weave down the driveway and men dressed in suits and women dressed in brightly coloured fabric emerge from the cars. She watches Kazuki shake hands with everyone, bowing as he does so, as if he is thanking them.

Why is he bowing? Ana wonders. How is Sandeep going to make our lives better?

Days later, Ana is looking out the same window when the machines start to arrive. The machines rumble slowly down the road or are carried by loud, flatbed trucks. It is starting to sound and look just like it was before.

It is easy to see who Sandeep is. He is the one jumping up and down, shaking his hands with excitement. He is the one who stands awkwardly apart from his family - his tie askew, his hair flopping over his eyes, his pants pulled up too high and showing his long white socks. He points and yells at the truck drivers who respond quickly to his orders.

Ana watches the tents getting set up to house Sandeep and his family, temporarily. She watches women wash clothes in basins and cook things on barbeques. These women don't wear the colourful clothing and flashy gold jewelry that Sandeep's mother and sister do. They are plainer women, perhaps servants or maids. Ana doesn't really care. She is just watching and noticing the changes.

There are a lot of people crowded into the front yard, speaking words Ana doesn't understand. The smell of their food wafts through Ana's open window. It is all very different.

The new people have covered Eliza's listening spot with a tent, the spot where Eliza hears the earth. It is all temporary of course, but for now, it must be irritating for Eliza. The new people must not know about Eliza's spot, because they seem to be being careful not to trample the herb garden close to the house. They also seem to respect things they recognize as fragile or important.

Ana wonders if Eliza or Evan will come see her today. They seem to have forgotten about her since Sandeep arrived; they don't visit her every day like they used to. Yesterday, Ana stayed alone in her room, with only Ro visiting her a few times to bring her food and to help her have a bath.

Ana feels content to watch from above, slightly removed from her friends. She doesn't try to connect with them but is happy when they come to visit her. Maybe that is why Ro's visits are something she looks forward to, depends on. Ana no longer feels the desire to fight Ro. It could be that Ana herself is changing, but Ro is also changing. Ro is softer somehow, more peaceful.

When Ro visits Ana, Ro is quiet, not saying much, just sitting with Ana and sometimes rubbing her back or giving her an ice pack or heat pad. Ro brings her food and drinks that taste good and make Ana feel better. Ro seems to know what Ana needs and for the first time, Ana accepts Ro's attention, appreciates it, really. It's not that Ana is sick, although her energy level definitely seems lower, Ana just doesn't want to be involved directly with what's going on. She wants her space and her quiet time, that's all. She will participate, one day. Maybe tomorrow. Or next week. Maybe she'll wait until all the extra people have finished what they're doing and gone home. Yes, Ana thinks, I'll just wait until the machines are gone. There's no rush. No rush at all.

Ana leaves her bedroom to go to the washroom. She glances down the stairs when she hears the chatter of spoken and unspoken words. She listens for a few moments. Part of her wants to go down stairs and confront Sandeep and his family. Part of her still wants to make them leave. Another part of her wants to meet them and find out what they're really like. But mostly, she wants to go back to her room and watch it all unfold.

Ana returns to her room. It is a bright room with wallpaper covered in small yellow and pink roses. From certain angles, the flowers look like faces and it is as if her wall is covered in crowds of people. At the window is a bench she can sit on if she gets tired of standing. There is also an ipad she can play games on. She could send a message or picture to her parents. Kazuki showed her how to, but there were a lot of steps and she didn't pay much attention. She can't write much anyways and how many times can she send a message saying, 'Hi!' to her parents. Her parents know she has to get someone to read their messages. It's much better when they just visit, but they're on a trip right now and won't be back for a couple of months.

Standing by her window, Ana continues looking down at all the people and their belongings. Closing her eyes, she imagines she is in India. She breathes in the many exotic scents, listens to the strange language people speak, and waits.