Shroud: Jinn

15 - Brute

"Stay close," I set Saleha down as we neared Ning's house where a small crowd had gathered outside. A chorus of whispers in a multitude of languages had erupted at the scene.

"Ennaku theriyala! (I have no idea!)" an Indian woman in a sari retorted back in Tamil to her husband as she bounced their young toddler in her arms.

I weaved through the crowd and heard a Malay lady near the front muttered to her friend, "Kesiannya Ning. Dia baru aja lahirkan anak. Bayinya belum lagi sehari... (Poor Ning. She had just given birth. Her baby is not even a day old... )"

"Tu lah. Lepas satu, satu. Apa nak jadi dengan kampung kita ni? (That's why. One after another. What's happening to our kampung?)" her friend lamented sadly.

I sensed Saleha drifting further away from me so I quickly turned my head back to remind her to stay close to me but she was not even near me. I weaved back into the stream of people but none of the faces were my daughter's.

Throngs of people ambushed Mak Joyah with questions as soon as she left the front steps of the house. As soon as her eyes met mine, she sauntered up to me and spoke in a gentle voice, "You shouldn't be here. Not after last night." All eyes were on me now, each with disapproving looks as the scattering of confused whispers filled the night air. None of them seemed to understand English by the looks of it.

"Is it true about the baby? S-she's dead?" I whispered to which Mak Joyah nodded sadly. "I'm a doctor. I can have a look at the body-"

She cut me off with a shake of her head. "We all know what you work as. We can see that," she loosely pointed at my scrubs. "But you've already caused too much chaos last night. It's too late to do anything now. Best you let the family be. Let them grieve in peace."

I looked at her with defeated eyes, unsure of how to respond. Dropping my shoulders, I made myself scarce and shortly, Mak Joyah blended with the rest of the crowd. I almost tripped over something and instantly recognised the basket that Saleha had been holding earlier. I bent down to pick up the papayas that had fallen out of the basket and placed them back in, stood up and scouted the area once more.

"Give that back!" My ears pricked at the sound of Saleha's voice.

"It's mine now," another child's voice followed and I jogged towards the direction of the sound.

I was far away from them but still within earshot. A taller boy with an air of arrogance around him looked down smugly at Saleha who was trying to comfort a sobbing little girl who looked no older than three or four years old. The braided pigtails at each side of her head shook at each convulsing sob.

"Girls are useless. Nothing but a burden. My uncle says so." He gave a little snort as he nudged his head towards the house, "Whatever killed it did the world a favour."

"Girls are not useless!" Saleha fumed. "It? The baby's not a thing! The baby's a she!" Saleha said angrily.

"Pfft. Same thing," the boy rolled his eyes as he licked at the colourful flavoured ice ball in his right hand. In one swift motion, he lifted his foot to kick the little girl with his bare feet before any of us could react, "Kū. Kū. Bié kū le! (Cry. Cry. Stop crying!)" The little girl wailed louder as she hugged herself in pain while he continued kicking her.

I rushed towards them but before I could give him a piece of my mind at such blatantly violent behaviour, Saleha shoved him to the ground making the ice ball dropped from his hands. The act made the boy extremely livid. She planted herself on his chest with a loud thud and started shaking him by the collar. "Stop bullying her!"