Manaswi Kishorenath

Abstract Inspirational Children

4.7  

Manaswi Kishorenath

Abstract Inspirational Children

The Rakhi

The Rakhi

10 mins
346



"Just this much?" Savi blinked at the meagre Rs.2 fees she received for her workload of 1 month. 

"That's much. Take it or leave it." The house-keeper shrugged. 

"I slogged day and night this month. I even took over the workload of Shivani this time, while she went away for a vacay with her husband," Savi tried to fight for her right for an extra Rs.20 which she rightfully earned. Maybe even more than that. 

"I hired you for Mr. Vikram, and he ordered me to take care of all of you as employees. That's what am doing. You are just 16 years old. Shivani is 25. She has a family, you don't." She crudely stated. 

Savi tried to control her tears "For the work she never does, she gets a whopping Rs.25! And I too have a family, mind you!" She yelled.

"Who? That 14 year old boy whom you call 'brother'? He was found as a stray under a bridge!" She chuckled. The other employees stood silent. 

"The one you call stray will one day live like a king, and he will hire you." Savi declare, tucking in her red sari to her hip. 

"Stop building castles in the air, Savi. You know that will never happen!" The housekeeper kept chuckling. 

"Mrs. Vimala, I hereby quit from your services. Thank you for nothing. " She kept the Rs.2 fee on the table and left the place in rage. 

Savi entered her dilapidated shed. It was tatched and small, which could fill not more than 3 people. There were not much visitors for her, so she had no problem. She saw her brother sleeping. She smiled and caressed his forehead drenched in sweat. There wasn't even a fan attached to the ceiling. Heck , there was no ceiling either. 

Ravi felt his sister's touch, and woke up with a smile on his face "What happened, sis?" He asked "You are never this early from work," 

"I quit my job, Ravi." She revealed, her smile fading away. 

"What? Why?" Ravi asked, slightly shocked. 

"Its a long story, buddy, but I will find some other job, better than this one." She consoled him. 

"Okay. Savi, do you know that Raksha Bandhan is approaching like next month?" He asked with a sparkle in his eyes. 

"Hm, yeah, what about it?" She asked back. 

"Well, I was hoping if you would be able to get one of those rakhis for me. If it's too much it's okay, we can let it slide." He feigned a slight disappointment on his voice while finishing his sentence. 

Shoot it. One rakhi itself will cost Rs. 50. And that's too much now that she quit her job. But, she had to plaster that smile on his face somehow. She agreed 

"This is the first time you asked me something. How could I say no?" She said, as Ravi hugged her. 

That night, Savi couldn't sleep. How could she gather Rs.50 for a simple rakhi? She thought hard. She might know someone who might provide her a job? Wait...uncle Jomon! He owns a tea shop! He might be able to help her out? That's the first thing she's gonna do with the crack of dawn. 

"Jomon anna, do you have any vacant job position you can offer? I need it pretty bad." Savi asked the next day. 

"What, ma? What happened to your previous job? Weren't you working for Mr. Vikram, the Resort owner?" He asked with genuine concern. 

"Yes, but I couldn't handle Mrs. Vimala." She said 

"Well, all I need is a person to sweep the ground in front of the shop. It's always covered with dust and dry leaves. Posing a hindrance to my customers. Will you be okay with that?" He asked 

"Oh, that would be kind! I'm used to sweeping floors, anyways. How much, anna?" She asked with glee

"I don't have much to offer...but will Rs. 10 be enough per week?" He asked with reluctance. 

"That would be great." Savi pleaded. 

"Hm, ok. But no holidays granted. I have customers buzzing here around the holiday seasons." He said, sternly. 

"Okay anna, I don't have any holiday to celebrate, anyway. I'll start from tomorrow." She said, walking away with a skip in her step. She behaved maturely, but for a 16 year old you can't hide the child inside you. 

Savi reached home. She placed the house keys on top of the shelf beside the pooja room. She thought of the rough days ahead of her. Five consecutive weeks of work would earn her the perfect sum she yearned for. That gleaming rakhi Ravi wore shone as an image in her mind. She wanted to see that smile, as he would shout with pride, "Hey, this was given by my sister, look!" She wanted to make that a reality. 

With the first ray of sunlight the next dawn, she picked up the broom, ready to break a leg. Savi reached Jomon's tea shop and started her work. Customers started to find themselves enjoying a cup of tea in their hands. Savi ignored the pleasant fragrance of tea her anna made. She was constantly reminded of the rakhi and her brother's smile. She battled with it. 

Savi was almost never seen at home. Ravi longed for her little company, but by the time she's done it takes her the entire day. She would have some bread for the night and get off.

 By the end of that week, she earned her rightful Rs. 10. But she never showed any language of satisfaction. 

Five weeks flew like the wind. It was two days before the Raksha Bandhan. Savi went to Jomon to claim her last rs. 10. 

"Anna, my fees?" She asked approaching him. 

"Ah, Savi, just wait." Jomon picked his wallet and took out Rs. 500 from it and handed it to her "Here, take it." 

"But, anna, its Rs. 500!" Savi asked stunned. 

"Yes, Savi, accept it. It's my Raksha Bandhan to you." Jomon said with happiness. 

"Oh, thank you Anna!" She said jumping with joy. She could buy as many Rakhis as she could! But this one had to be special. She took a hundred rupees from her fees and approached a nearby store. 

"Akka can you show me the rakhis you have in your store?" Savi asked. 

The sister bent down to check where that puny voice came from "Well, yes, here it is, a straight and a right will show you the rakhi section. Thank goodness you are early. It's already going out of stock! And we got it only yesterday!" The girl scoffed at the public's buzz over a simple rakhi, which seemed like a fortune for Savi. 

Savi looked at the available range of rakhis. Nothing spectacled her. She turned the opposite side to visit a few more collections. She looked eye piercingly. It had to be the best for her little brother. 

Savi brushed off the wrappers from the table. She caught a red thread and pulled it up. It was a Rakhi. As if it was made just to land at her hands. 

The rakhi was gleaming with golden and silver threads, and beautiful chamkis, studded with ornamental diamonds. It was like a gorgeous sunflower attached in the middle. She was overwhelmed to have found the perfect rakhi that would reach her brother's wrist pretty soon. 

Savi paid the amount which costed no less than Rs. 30. She headed home with a jump and hop. The smile she would see on her brother's face swirled in her mind yet again. She was gleeful. The surroundings never bothered her anymore. The lights faded and the honking vehicles suddenly reached a shrill silence. She was oblivious of everything. 

Suddenly, everything stopped. The lights, the sounds, the ambience, flew away from her mind, as she lay there still, in the middle of the road. 

People blew in like the paparazzi. "Whats" and "Whys" were the questions that rung about. A man approached her, ignoring the pool of blood that he was stepping on, and checked her pulse, signalling an emergency as the ambulance arrived soon. 

Savi had been placed on a stretcher, and the nurse kept pumping her with oxygen through a mask. She tried her best to keep her life till the vehicle reached the nearest 24 hrs hospital. As more blood spilled from her head, she began to tense. But by God's little grace, they had arrived at a We Care4 You hospital. 

Savi was moved to the ICU immediately, as Doc. Hudson arrived to the scene. 

"Condition?" The doc asked, as he put on his gloves and mask 

"Very low heart beat, huge blood spill. Massive damage to brain." The nurse replied. 

"Cause?" He asked again, as he worked on Savi''s head

"Hit by a lorry. It's a drunken drive case. Driver held at custody." The nurse said. Showing sympathy to the little girl who met with the accident. 

"Family? Any info?" 

"I'll check the register and notify you, sir." The nurse hurried out to the office and pulled out the book. 

"Do you know any information regarding the new patient who just moved in?" She asked the counter. 

"Maam as far as we know, she is Savitha Kumar, aged 16, has a 14 year old brother." The lady at the counter replied. 

"No parents?" She breathed out a heavy sigh. Poor thing! She thought. She got the landline number of that area and by luck reached Ravi. 

"Hello?" Ravi questioned as he pulled the phone from the STD box. 

"Hello, is this Ravi Kumar? We are from We Care4 You hospitals in your locality. 

"Yes?" 

"Is your sister Ms. Savitha Kumar?" Ravi's heart beat almost stopped. Hearing his sister's name from a hospital centre gave him the worst thoughts in his mind. 

"Y-yes. That's my sister. Is everything okay?" He asked, trembling with a shrill shock of nameless fear. 

"We require you at the hospital right away, please." The nurse hung the phone down immediately, after wiping out the tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes. 

A few moments later, Ravi found himself at the hospital, face tearstained, and eyes bloodshot. 

He approached the nurse who held her head down low. 

"Excuse me, I got a call from here. I'm Ravi Kumar. Is everything all right?" He asked with his voice cracking. 

"Room 202." She instructed immediately, avoiding any further speech with him. 

Ravi rushed to the room after inquiring directions. Once he reached there, he saw the OT lights switched off, and a body covered with sheet. 

"Dr.?" He asked, wiping out his tears. 

"We tried our best, son. We couldn't save her." The doctor consoled him as he revealed his sister's corpse. 

Ravi couldn't bear the sight. He mourned so loud, but his cries seemed empty. Empty and oblivious to the honking world. 

She was the one who gave him life, love and meaning. Niw, she herself was gone. 

"We found this in her pocket, lad."

The nurse brought out the shining rakhi and the money she was given as fees. Ravi touched the rakhi softly, and treated it as if it had life. His sister's life. 


*Almost 16 years after that incident* 

An old woman came rushing inside the hospital. She was white, had grey hue strands, and a wrinkly face. 

"I'm so sorry but where is the Office room?" She asked, breathtakingly. 

"Towards the left, ma'am." The old security guard instructed. 

"Great!" She hurried herself, tidying up her messy spotless white sari. 

"Hi, I'm here for an application meet with Dr. Ravi Kumar. Is he available?" The lady asked a nearby nurse. 

"Yes. Please wait for 2 minutes, name please?" 

"Mrs. Vimala. Other details in the paper I had sent to him, mam." She breathed out. 

The lady was brought inside the room. She saw a photograph decorated with flowers next to the doctor's arm chair. 

"Hey, I know her! She used to work for me, poor thing! Died very young. She could have stayed with me for work, you know!" She scoffed, as if with difficulty. 

"She used to work, for you? Then why are you here?" He said, throwing the papers at the table and turned forward, glaring at her. 

"You.....are Ravi Kumar? Savi's brother? I thought you were someone else! You know, since the name is pretty common." She shrugged, lowering her head down as the words declared by Savi stormed in her mind. 

"Yes. And I'm the CEO of We Care4 You hospitals. The same hospital where my sister died" He revealed, eyes filled with tears as he looked at the rakhi Savi had given him " I also live with a happy family, and have a daughter of my own. She is Savitha. I'm not the stray anymore, Mrs. Vimala. If you need a job, based on your papers I can appoint you as a nurse." Mrs. Vimala hung her head down in shame, regret, and guilt. 

The life of Savitha was short, but remained immortal through not just her words, but also her actions. 



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