The Old Woman Speaks

“Story of earth! What's the problem there,” said Aditya. “I'll let you see this too, for yourself,” said Saira, browsing through several files. Aditya waited, watching, as she put together a collection. As the dusk set in, swarms of mosquitoes swirled on their heads. In the next few minutes, they found themselves slapping against their open arms and feet, killing mosquitoes. They stood up at once, as Aditya said “we can never find enough time to talk.” 

“Have you thought about Amma,” said Saira, as they began to walk. “Oh yes, I realized that tomorrow, by the time the villagers return, we would be gone. I suspect they would enquire, or even harm amma, since they kind of know we were with her,” he said. “Yes, the terms between villagers and her are not too good, I guess. Should we tell her?” she said. “Tell her what,” he asked. “About all that happened in the afternoon, about us...” “How does that help” he interrupted. “If she sounds clueless, they’d think she is lying,” she said. 

They walked for a minute, thinking, and the fragrance of camphor fumes told them that the old woman was in her evening prayer ritual. They washed their feet and quietly joined her, in the prayer. The old woman, completed the prayer, by giving aarti to them. As she stood up, picking up her prayer mat and rolling it in, Saira spoke softly “Amma, we would be leaving tomorrow.” The old woman looked at her, with her poker face, slightly turning dull. She paused to interpret the old woman’s reaction and spoke again “Does anyone else stay here?” The old woman’s face twitched into several expressions and before they could interpret any of them, she walked off to start preparing meals for them.      Aditya and Saira stood there, looking at her and each other. They then whispered to each other about all the possible ways they could make a conversation with the old woman. “Do any of the villagers come here,” Aditya said when she began serving a steaming meal to them. “You should not speak while eating,” said the old woman, serving both of them first, and then scraping out the remains on her plate. 

After a silent meal, Kalpana collected her Jewelry in a red satin cloth, from which she took them, and carefully handed to the old woman. On receiving, she knotted the satin cloth into a bag and sat down near the metal trunk case, from which she had taken them out, a day ago. 

As she opened the trunk and dug space into it, to place the satin bag, “I have seen him,” exclaimed Aditya, bending closer to the trunk. “He does not know anything,” said the old woman, pulling out a photo frame and clutching it against her chest. Saira, who was kneeling between the old woman and Aditya, shifted her gaze between them both, trying to make sense of the exchange. She froze when she saw tears flowing out of the old woman’s eyes.