Blood On His Palms

Sateesh looked at the blood on his palms and fingers.

In the initial days, he used to go out to the backyard and puke all the food that was inside and then fill his stomach with water. But in due course, he got used to the sight of blood. He was compelled to.

His mind flew back to those carefree days when his father was alive...he had no ‘blood’ in his hands then. 

His father had a small cart with a bicycle attached behind and he worked in transporting household goods or provisions or vegetables from the markets as required. What he earned was ample to pay Sateesh’s school fees, buy books and eat well. His mother worked as a domestic helper in two houses and had her tea and coffee and meals there. Many days she even brought some tasty dishes for Sateesh and his father, stinging on the food that she got.

There was no dearth of happiness as Sateesh’s father was untouched by ‘alcohol’ or other vices.

A nice small family.

But as fate would have it, a lorry with a drunk driver at the wheels mashed up Satheesh’s father’s cart and father!

In seconds, the life had gone!

Things turned topsy-turvy and Sateesh HAD to get a job if he wished to complete his twelfth standard.

He wondered whether his dream of doing Engineering would ever materialise now.

But the headmaster was a kind man and promised to look after him till he wrote his twelfth exams.

But Sateesh was desperate for a part-time job.

The kind neighbour suggested this job and reluctantly Sateesh took it up.

The neighbour and Sateesh decided not to talk about the nature of the ‘job’ to his mother and the poor lady was happy that the son would be paid a little more than a thousand rupees for his job.

Sateesh hated this job!

But this was one place where he got everything done between six a m and seven a m in the morning and he could go home and to the school too.

 As he washed his body with the piece of soap umpteen times discarding the blood-soaked dress he heaved a sigh of relief.

He rushed out and walked in quick paces towards home.

Since it was the second Saturday, it was a holiday and he did not have to rush to school.

He had to take a detour as the road was being dug up.

He walked on the new road and was stopped by a board.

His heart missed a beat in excitement as he saw the board...

“Wanted - workers for carrying bricks and mortar.”

A big hotel was coming up and there was hectic activity going on. A lot of noise, as workers were talking loudly.

Everyone seemed to be busy but very happy. Maybe they were being paid well.

There was a Supervisor standing a little away and shouting instructions.

Sateesh’s face registered joy after a long time.

He walked briskly towards the Supervisor.

“I saw the board, Sir. Can I be recruited?”

The Supervisor stared at him in utter disbelief.

Is this boy mad or what?

“This is a heavy job, my boy, certainly not suited for youngsters like you.”

“I am strong Sir. I can work from seven to nine in the morning. I am doing my plus two and this job will help me a lot,” Sateesh persisted.

The Supervisor looked at him with compassionate eyes.

Oh my God, he looks only as old as my son, he thought.

“I need the job, Sir. You please try me for a week and I shall do whatever I can for two hours in the morning.”

 He was pleading. There were tears in his eyes.

“It is very tough my boy...” the Supervisor hesitated.

“What is your father doing?” he asked.

Sateesh raised his eyes. His voice was feeble.

“My father was killed in an accident two months back. He never used to drink or smoke. He was a good man. We were a happy family. My mother works as a domestic help in two houses.”

Something stirred in the Supervisor’s heart.

“Okay, my boy. You are hired and you can work from tomorrow. We work on Sundays too, as we have a deadline to meet. We have workers in shifts. There will be payment made every Saturday evening and you will be paid according to the load that you carry. There will be a tea break in between and you will get a cup of free tea. Actually, we pay skilled workers anything between six hundred to eight hundred rupees per day. But since you are working only for two hours and you are relatively new, you may get eighty or a hundred rupees per day. Come with me and sign the contract.”

A wave of thrill and happiness surged through Satheesh’s heart.

The best part of the whole thing was “not getting blood “on his palm and fingers.

As he filled out the form and signed his name, the Supervisor was looking on with kind and compassionate eyes.

As Sateesh handed over the filled form, he said

“On Sundays, you need not carry the bricks. Your handwriting looks good. I write the pay sheet every Sunday morning to be handed over to the builder. You can do this job too. It will take two hours. I shall pay you separately for this.”

Sateesh almost danced with joy.

He took leave, promising to be there by seven in the morning.

He went back to the previous shop where he was working.

To his surprise, the owner himself was there.

“Sir, I shall not be coming to work from tomorrow. I am having a lot to study and the timing interferes with my studies.” He said with hesitation.

“Okay me boy. I hired you because my friend put in a word for you. I knew that you won’t last here...you are a vegetarian aren’t you?’ he asked and took out some soiled notes from the drawer to pay him. 

“I am paying you a little extra. Hope you get a chance to complete your studies.”

Sateesh walked home with joy bubbling in his heart!!

He shuddered to think of cutting all those chicks and hens and lambs....their plaintive feeble cries will not be haunting him anymore.

 His mother had told him long back

“Sateesh, they eat animals and birds since they are brought up that way. Don’t confuse this with compassion. We are vegetarians and we have a different outlook. So long as we don’t kill any helpless animal for food. It is okay. Don’t ever be judgemental. Let each one live his life.”

His mother would never come to know that he was working in a butcher’s shop.

 And he will not reveal to her anything about his new job- “carrying bricks”!!

 Life had to go on.

Of course, he should inform his neighbour- that kind uncle- who got him a job when he was helpless.

The future looked bright as he walked ahead with hope.