The Girl in the Gym

Starving Alpha-Idiots

"Look, we don't beg because we want to. We do it because we have to. Don't get into this bad business. Find someone to take pity on you and let you clean or sweep or something like that. Now go before you are caught," said the girl, pushing Inaya to her feet and away from the street corner. She stared back at them. The wretched children were fierce, defiant and scared all at once. There was a look in their eyes, of resignation. Nothing had ever scared her more. She turned and ran and ran until she could breathe no more. Out of breath and panting, she finally stopped near a big, open road. She could almost smell the sea, but it was nowhere in sight. But there was a small shop in front of her. Samosas and bread pakoras were lined up on a counter in front of it, freshly made by the looks of it. The smell of food made her almost faint. Without thinking, without second-guessing her actions, she walked up to the shop. The owner was standing in front of a huge pan filled with oil, frying more food. She made a grab for the pakoras and ran for her life. The man yelled at her and cursed at her, but she didn't stop. When she was sure that he wasn't following her, she stopped to stuff her mouth with the food. IT was pure heaven. Within minutes it was all gone, Inaya didn't notice the tears that ran from her eyes and the constriction of her heart at the thievery she had committed. The salty food had made her even more thirst than usual. But too tired to steal, she slowly walked towards the sound of crashing waves. The road opened up into a beach, and the vast Arabian sea lay beyond it. She walked right up to the point where the water stopped and sat down. It was only after her hunger had been sated that she realised one thing. The birds had not been doves at all. They were just regular pigeons and were not trying to tell her anything. In her grief and delusion, she had latched onto something that had seemed familiar to her old world. It was inconceivable that she had not recognised the birds. And now she finally understood what the doves at Girnar had been trying to tell her the day before she left.

She was already forgetting them. Soon, they would be hazy memories from an older, happier life. But I will never completely forget, she vowed. I will go home one day. I will take my home back from the corrupt men. They are the reason I am all alone with no family. These thoughts filled her heart with more bitterness than her six-year-old self could handle. The day had gone by, but she was still shaken by the haunted looks of the beggar children. Her eyes closed on their own, and lulled by the sound of crashing waves, she fell asleep.

The next morning she when she woke up, she was confused. Her throat was raw from thirst and her eyes hurt after crying continuously. The sand had got stuck between her toes and fingers, and in her hair and eyelashes. One side of her face was red from lying face down on the beach.

She was still pondering about what she should do next when a middle-aged man came and sat down next to her. He was wearing a white kurta and brown dhoti. Inaya watched him, curious. Then the man took out a mat from his satchel and laid it down on the sand and sat down on it. He took out a tiffin box and a newspaper as well, and started reading. There was a small bottle of water peeking out from under the hood of the satchel. Inaya eyed all of this with great interest. The man is not that young. I could grab the food and water, and run. He'd never be able to catch me, she thought, a little shame creeping in around the edges of her thirst. Ultimately, thirst won over as she slowly got up, and tried to walk past him nonchalantly. She was so close, about to stretch out her hand, when he heard him speak.

"Young girl, you know that stealing is a sin, don't you?

She stilled, going red with embarrassment and annoyance at being caught out. She turned on her heel to dash off, but the man caught her arm in a hard grip. "If you want food, you only need to ask," he said in a kind, but stern voice. Inaya refused to look at him and tried to tug her hand away. The man still didn't budge. "Well?" he asked, "Why were you trying to steal from me, little girl?"