The Girl in the Gym

Ghetto Spectacular

They went into the ladies washroom where she was instructed to wash her hands and face with soap. After a thorough scrubbing, she dried herself with the paper towels hanging by the soap dispenser. Kusum inspected her from head to toe and sighed, "We can't do anything about your hair right now. Keep your cap on, let's go eat." Kusum was surprised by how quiet Inaya was, and had also noticed that she was a striking child who would surely grow more beautiful with age. As to her behaviour and smartness, time would tell.

By the time they got back, more food had been delivered to the table. There was roti, dal, a couple of different vegetables, and more food than Inaya had eaten in a week. She made short work out of it, wolfing down the morsels and pausing in between bites to sip some water to wash the food down. They were all silent, but she could sense that a thousand questions would be coming her way soon. She decided to keep things as simple as possible and tell the truth, if not the whole truth. She wondered if she could slip some food into her bag for later on.

A while later, all the food had been polished off. Inaya wiped her mouth and looked up, wondering what to do next.

"My wife and I want to help you," Mr Kamble began. "You have two options in front of you. You can go back to your current life, selling newspapers or toys or whatever, or you could come with us, and we will give you food and a room in exchange for odd jobs."

Then Kusum started speaking, "We have more than enough room for you with us, should you choose to come along. And Kalyani could use a friend her age," she smiled.

Inaya was struck dumb, and suspicious in equal measure. Why were they helping her? she wondered. Their faces were kindly and didn't hide any darkness. The girl was sweet and funny, she kept making faces to make Inaya smile. Right now she was energetically nodding, trying to get Inaya to say yes to their offer.

"I'd like to do that, please. I'd like to work for your family and be a companion to her," she finally answered. After having one taste of that hot meal, she couldn't bear to go back to the hovel that had been her home for the last four years. The Kambleslooked pleased with her answer, and they all got up to go.

Inaya followed them outside, where she collected her balloons and newspapers from the watchman.