Episode 6

Purse, pager, and Keys

Girl in yellow petticoat has started an unbroken bond with the vehicle of thousand wheels, train, exactly 56 days after she born. The rhythmic movement has become the silent lullabies for her. The running trees and houses, the occasional bye-byes, shrieking call of tea sellers and snoring, yawning faces, happen around the four-year-old in the train.  She always needs a side window seat. Her skinny little palm brushes against the strong gush of wind and for that her Amma yells at her. When the train passes through dark tunnels, she starts to count loud and cheers when the train comes out. She cranes her head hard to see the end of the train. She looks down to the waters when the train passes through bridges and notices the change in sound.

On a summer vacation, Girl in the yellow petticoat and her family got into a train to, her mother’s home town Aluva. Inside the sleeper coach, she hurriedly jumped to the side window seat. She sat there calmly looking outside; meanwhile, the train started moving slowly from the station. As the train picks up speed, she leaned down till her back of her neck touches the edge of the backrest, like melting candle.  While sitting there she started to pick the golden confetti from her frock.  From the farthest end of the compartment, she saw a plastic basket making way through the crowded alley. It was a cool drink seller with frooti and few other chocolates.

 With a high leap, girl in yellow petticoat jumped out from the side seat and demanded frooti. A few minutes of tantrums brought a frooti pack in her hand. Wiping away tears from the nose, she pierced the plastic straw and started sucking. Occasionally, girl in the yellow petticoat looks up without lifting her head. She has sucked out the last drop of juice from the packet, making slurping sound, and threw the crumpled pack out through the window bars. She went back to gaze out through the window.

 A large drop of water spattered touching on her nose which was stood out from window bar. More numbers of drops started to fall. Dark gray clouds are running alone with the train, blocking the evening rays.

‘Close it, shut the window’, Amma is shouting from the other end.

She looked back and turned her face away like she never heard it.

“Moleee, come here, you will get fever” Amma warned her.

Girl in yellow petticoat sat like a statue, unmoved.

Rain bashed inside the running train wetting the seats. Sound of shutting the windowpane played for a few minutes inside the compartment. Rain and light arrived through the only open window, where the girl sat playfully gazing out.

 Amma came from behind and shut the window hurriedly after struggling a while with the latch but rainwater swept through the small gap.

The sharp scream pierced through the ears of the travelers inside the compartment. It amplified as no one gave her attention. She stamped on the floor and cried aloud.  The only sound in the compartment becomes thud-thud from the train and the shrieking scream.

It echoed inside and as time goes by it faded, and rain took a break, glass shutters opened.

Girl in yellow petticoat sat at the corner end of the seat, playing with handbag’s strap. She slowly unzipped the largest pocket and took out a fade-skinned purse. Lots of things were tightly packed inside the purse, a lot of things she can play with.

From the other corner of the seat, her Amma, waved her to put it back in the bag. She looked at her Amma and kept on putting things out the purse.

 House Keys, a brand new imported pager. The girl in yellow petticoat took everything out the purse.

Amma yelled.”Put it back”

She ignored. Continued pressing on the up-down buttons on the pager.

‘Edi’….Amma shouted.

 Even before Amma could finish the sentence, pager flew away through the window and the house keys followed it. And to finish, the fade skinned red purse hit the speed passing electric post outside.

Peace.