The Girl in the Gym

Gutter Spine

In her dream, she was back at their mountain. Her mother was telling her the same old story she always told, about the bridge. But this time, her Chitra's voice was not a comforting presence, instead, she sounded agitated and panicky. 'Come, let's go to the bridge right now. I'll show you everything. You must not be alone in the world without knowing'. Inaya followed her mother out of the house, but instead of the mountainside, they came out on a ledge called the Leaping Rock on Girnar, from which the golden bridge spanned out. 'Follow the bridge to the very end, my dear. You'll find help at the end.'

'I won't go alone Ma. You have to come with me.'

'You will have to be strong. Remember, follow it to the very end. Don't look down. And don't wait for us. Where we're going, you cannot come,' her dream-mother said. Inaya started to cry in her dream, but after one last hug and a kiss on the forehead, her mother set her on the bridge and bade her to go. Taking a deep breath, Inaya put one foot forward, when a screech startled her.

She jumped up in fright, one side of her face red from lying on the hard metal. She looked around, half expecting to see her mother or the bridge. But there was nobody there. Another screech made her look down, it was a grey dove. It was looking at her as if trying to tell her something.

"What should I do now, my feathered friend?" she asked politely. Back at the mountain, the doves had been her friends. They always told her where to find the choicest fruits and berries, and what places to avoid. The dove merely gurgled in its throat and flew over to the post box a few metres ahead. Breathing hard, Inaya straightened up, stuffed the pendant carefully inside her pocket and got up to follow. She walked for a very long time. The sun slowly rose to her right, but the heat of the day had not set in yet. It would be hours before it got truly hot enough.

Inaya didn't know when, but the grey dove was soon joined by others until she didn't even have to hurry. They were lined up along the path she had to follow. Nobody noticed or paid heed to the little girl who was walking determinedly on her own. And even if they did, it was nothing out of the ordinary for them.

Although she was just six years old, Inaya was tall and sturdy for her age. It probably came from walking up and down the mountain path before she could even talk properly. So, his long walk across the city was no more than a stroll for her.

She lost count of the time until she realised that she had not seen any bird for a while now. She stopped with a jerk and looked around. How long have I been walking? Where am I?

Suddenly dizzy, she sat down where she stood. She was completely disoriented and felt like the whole thing had been a dream. If only I could go to sleep and never wake up again, maybe I'd see my parents then, she thought. Presently, she felt a shadow fall on her. She crinkled her eyes and looked up. There seemed to be three or four children surrounding her, none of them looked particularly friendly.

"Who are you? Go away," she barked, trying to make them leave. They just looked at each other and grinned.

"No, what are you doing here?" the biggest girl asked. She had a calculating voice, trying to get Inaya to trust her. But Inaya found it extremely difficult to do so.

"I am just sitting here, what is it to you?"

"You better answer her little girl. There are four of us and one of you. And this is our street," chimed a young boy with a split lip. Someone had hit him rather badly.

Inaya couldn't look away, and said, "I am lost. I don't know where to go. My parents are....." She couldn't continue.

"Where are your parents? Did they leave you here on the road?" they all laughed.

"No, no, no!" she screamed, covering her ears.

The kids just laughed harder.

"They are dead. I am hungry. I just want some food. Maybe someone will give me something," she said, looking around frantically.

At this, the kids looked almost terrified.

"You cannot be here, this is our turf. Go beg on another street."

"You don't get to steal our profit."

"What are you going on about? I'm just hungry."

"Then go beg for food. Just not here."

The girl grabbed her hand and yanked it. "Trust us, go away. You don't want to get caught. They will make your workday and night. You won't even get to keep the money you make. They will hurt you. Runaway. Please." All this was said in a scared whisper.

This scared Inaya even more. "Who will hurt me?"