“Look Gama is here.”

Tara was throwing a tantrum. She refused to have food. She spit, she cried, she hit at her mother. However the mother in Reena was not ready to give up. Finally when all her efforts failed, she used her ‘Brahmastra.’  The ‘ Brahmastra’ was a joke  in the neighbourhood.  Gama the vagabond though harmless was a nightmare as far as the tiny-tots were concerned. His unkempt look, fiery eyes sent a chill down their spine. For all his looks, Gama was actually a loving person. He loved children, but his looks scared them away.   However, he was a hit among the street dogs.  They loved Gama; they played with him, slept with him, stood guard on him.

Looking at Baby Tara, Reena suddenly exclaimed, “Look Gama is here.”  The mouth opened suddenly and there went down a ball of rice mixed with curd. Ball after ball of rice went down the throat in quick succession and before Reena realized it, the plate was clean and empty. Reena felt a pang of guilt, guilt at having to tell a lie to make Tara eat, guilt at having to portray Gama as a demon come to harm Tara if she did not eat, guilt at having instilled a fear in the little babe. But then what could she do?

Sweet slumber overpowered Baby Tara.  She slowly drifted into deep sleep.

Image courtesy of 
Mantas Ruzveltas at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Four houses down the lane –

All hell was loose. Vani was screaming at the top of her voice. Varun was bathed in mud.  He was least bothered about his mother’s ‘tantrum.’ Varun was thoroughly enjoying his mud bath. Even the stick in Vani’s hand did not affect Varun. Vani was at her wit’s end. Exhausted, she was on the verge of tears. What if Rajeev reached home now and saw the boy in this shape? What if her mother-in-law decided to pay them a surprise visit? She knew what to expect. The boy would get a taste of Rajeev’s hand. Her MIL would start off counting her ‘minuses.’ Vani could not bear both. Suddenly she saw a figure in the distance coming down the road. She called out to Varun, “Look Gama is here.” Varun sprinted to the tap and started flushing down the mud from his body. Vani silently thanked Gama.

The shopping mall-

Neha was having a tough time. Little Priya had taken fancy to a doll house. But Neha could ill afford it. She tried to reason with Neha. She offered to buy her a Barbie instead. But Neha was a born fighter. She was not one to give up easily. She started to yell at the top of her voice. Heads turned. One or two tried to cajol Neha. Some passed by making a comment on the inability of young mothers to reign in their young ones. A girl offered Neha a ‘Five star’. Priya started to feel her heart sink. Neha’s health did not permit her to cry endlessly. She would start suffocating in a few minutes. Suddenly she saw of a vagabond on the road opposite the Mall. She cried out, “Look Gama is here.” The name acted like a switch. She forgot the doll house; she only wished to be in her mother’s arms. She ran to Neha, embraced her in a tight hug, eyes closed. Priya forgot the vagabond.

The slum on the outskirts of the town-

Children were playing a game of “Pittu.” Suddenly, the ball flew high hitting Akash on the head. All the children ran to him. A brawl started between the two teams. It looked as though blood would spill on the street. Suddenly from nowhere appeared a vagabond. “Look Gama is here” so saying, little Shikha ran up to him. He dug into his pockets and brought out a handful of cheap jelly sweets. The brawl broke. Hell broke loose around the vagabond. Everyone wanted to make sure they got their share of the sweet that Gama had so lovingly brought for them. They showered him with kisses. Gama smiled flashing broken teeth. His day was made.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for 
Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

This time we had to write a post in which one sentence was to be repeated at least thrice.

Thank you for walking in. By the way don’t forget to leave your footprints in the form of comments and suggestions. 

Your words mean a lot to me.

The final verdict

I sat there all alone in my favourite corner of 15 years, looking at the newly painted wall with desolate eyes.  These 15 years I had brought a smile to their lips.  But, since the past few months I was often sick. The Doctor had attended. But just two days back the final verdict was pronounced. I knew it was my last day here.

I wondered what was in store for me. Whether I would live through another or would end up as scrap. They were getting ready to throw me out and bring in a brand new Sony Bravia. 

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The above is based on a prompt on  Write Tribe’s “100 words on Saturday.”

The prompt was - “I knew it was my last day there”

The Night (mare) ………

Hectic and tiring 31^st March can be, but dangerous? Never thought of that. Well this post is especially for those working women who are forced to sit up late on this very important date  which marks the end of the financial year in almost all offices and establishments, whether it be public or private.

As usual on the 31^st of March ....………hmm, sorry don’t remember the exact year, Sitara who is a gazetted officer, left home early for office. Before leaving she informed her mother that she would be late. This was a routine year –in-year out exercise since she took up this job. Her daughter’s auto driver was assigned the job of bringing her home at night. Though she had the option of staying back at office or spending the night at a colleague’s place, Sitara preferred returning home since her daughter was very small and alone with her grand mother. Her husband was away far north.

The day was as usual a very hectic and tense one and being Office- In- Charge meant that Sitara had to wait up till the year –end work was accomplished.  Finally it was well past midnight by the time she could leave for home. Her home was around 20 kms from her office. She had barely covered 5 kms when the auto driver informed her that 4 people were following them on motorbikes. Sitara asked him to   pick up speed which he did. But, the men were not ready to give up. Both the driver and Sitara were at their wit’s end. Should they enter a nearby lane? Should they seek help from a nearby house? To add to their woes Sitara’s mobile battery too let her down. 

The bikes closed in. Suddenly Sitara, who I must say is one-up when it comes to presence of mind, got an idea. She pretended to call in the police patrol van on her mobile. She asked the auto driver for the vehicle nos. of the bikes that were following them and ‘relayed’ the same to the ‘police officers,’ loud and clear so that the men on the bikes could hear her.

As luck would have it, the bikes suddenly took a U- turn and sped away. Finally she reached home safe and sound, but the incident left her shaken.  Her mother came to know of the incident only the next morning. That was the last time she travelled all alone at night.

When I think of this incident now, I wish her mobile batteries were fully charged and that she had Smart Suraksha with her . The Smart Suraksha App is an Android Application that aims at making women feel safe. This App, at the press of a single button, could have sent her message of help to five pre-chosen contacts from her contact list. It would have also sent across her location. However, I've now decided to pester her to get the Smart Suraksha App immediately so that the coming March can see her more confident to take on the challenge of travelling at the odd hour.

Insight :

This is not a piece of fiction but a true story. The name of the character has been changed to protect her identity.

I am participating in the Seeking Smart Suraksha contest at BlogAdda.com 

in association with Smart Suraksha App.

Myriad shades of grey

grey skyline,cool breeze
give way to  welcome  showers
smell of  fresh  wet  earth 

Photograph courtsey C.V.Jayachandran

ah! thought the lazy dog

what lovely house let it burn;

my bed of ashes.

slogging up steep hill

heavy bags of sand on back

tired yet donkey strength

grey mood, eyes brimming  

knuckles cracking, tense she stood

 waiting for her loved.

grey hair , moustache thick

piercing eyes with wisdom bright

ah! einstein for sure.

Vector- courtsey Anicka Galo

grey receding line,

dimpled face wrinkled but fair

wise man wisdom shared

just one look at him

oh! emotionless, she thought

wrong she proved to be

grey represents dirt

and intelligent and worth

befuddled people

steering, sleek grey car  
eyes popping in  amazement  
connoisseur  of  all 

meeting done, he said

formal meetings folders grey

next time better see 

The Haiku are based on a prompt at http://haiku-heights.blogspot.in/ . 

The prompt was “Grey.”

Inviting you to also visit my blog at  : http://geetaavij.wordpress.com

Thank you for walking in. By the way don’t forget to leave your footprints in the form of comments and suggestions. Your words mean a lot to me.

Smart Suraksha Tips

Change is inevitable. But what if the change is for the worse?

Well, just when I was sitting down to pen this post I remembered life till the mid- eighties in Kerala. It was so simple and safe more so my native town i.e. Manjeri. Now before I go further let me explain the scenario then and that now. Till the mid- eighties this small town in Malappuram District of Kerala had large ancestral houses in big plots. The houses were set quite apart. Yet, people knew each other. Apart from the normal roads there were plenty of narrow roads and by- lanes. Ladies and gents alike took bath either in the private pools attached to the houses or the common pool attached to the temples. Of course, there were separate Ghats for the two.   Doors were never locked not even at night. In fact keeping the door locked especially at dusk when the evening lamps were lit, was frowned upon. Girls were not scared to walk alone even at noon when the roads and narrow lanes were deserted. You could see women flaunt their gold ornaments without fear.  Eve- teasing was unheard of.  There were very few banks and the takers for banking services were minimal. People preferred keeping their cash and valuables at home. But with the mass advent of television in the homes, the craving for luxuries increased. Adding to this was the disintegration of the Joint family system.

With the disintegration of the Joint family set-up, the land holdings have gone down. Earlier where there was only a single big house, we now have at least six to ten houses. Homes are near but hearts are mile apart. People barely recognize each other. The exception of course being the older generation whose numbers is dwindling fast. The number of unknown faces by far exceeds the number of known faces. Theft and chain- snatching is on the rise. People fear to talk to strangers, least they harm them. Outsiders are looked upon with suspicion.  Now what would one do in such a situation? Let me on my part try and suggest some tips to ensure a smooth and safe living in my town.

1. Avail the services of Banks and ATMs. Keep minimum cash at home. Life is precious. More precious than the ornaments we wear. So let us adorn minimum jewellery. Extra jewellery if any can be deposited in Bank lockers.
2. Get to know all the people (both young and old) in the locality. Look out for unknown faces. Be alert and watch their mannerisms. Anything unusual should ring an alarm bell in you. Do not divulge details of yourself, your family, neighbours and relatives to strangers. 
3. Avoid walking alone in deserted lanes and bye lanes at odd- hours. If it is inevitable that you walk through them, then make sure not to wear any ornaments nor carry large amounts of money.Walk on the right side of the road/ lane. Chain- snatchers find it difficult to break and get away with your chain when you walk on the right side.
4.  Ladies would do well not to spend the night alone at home. Call over a relative, friend or neighbor to spend the night at your place or alternatively spend the night at their place. Keep your cell phone by your side at all times. In case you hear anything unusual at night, put on all the lights and make a call to your neighbours. They in turn can also put on all their lights as a warning to the intruder. 
5. Keep all outer doors locked/ latched 24 hours a day. In most cases, the intruders find access through the kitchen door which is generally left open during the day time. Do not open your door to strangers. Make enquiries from the window. In case you are suspicious about their antecedent, make a call to your neighbor making yourself clearly audible to them or else pretend to call someone in the house. It often works.
6. Store important mobile numbers like that of Police control room, Police patrol party, neighbours and close relatives on speed dial. Numbers of close relatives/ friends to be contacted first in case of an emergency can be saved as ‘ICE1’, ‘ICE2’, ‘ICE3’ and so on. Here ICE stands for  ‘In case of an emergency.’ It makes things easier.
7. Go  in for the ‘Smart Suraksha App.’  The Smart Suraksha App is an Android Application that aims at making women feel safe. This App, at the press of a single button, sends your message of help to five pre-chosen contacts from your contact list. An additional feature of this app is that along with your message for help, it also sends across your location even if the GPS on your cell phone is switched off. Thus, one can be reassured that there is help available at all times.
8. Ensure that things like knives, iron pipes, pick- axe, thick wooden sticks , etc that could possibly be used as a weapon to attack/ overpower you are not left lying around outside/ in the home. Ensure that they are kept in a safe and secure place known only to you and your family members. It has come to light that in most cases of theft and murder, the intruders have had access to weapons onsite itself.
9. While travelling alone in a taxi/ auto be alert and take in your surroundings. Inform a friend/ relative of your whereabouts and the number of the auto/ taxi. See to it that the driver hears your conversation. In case you feel something amiss, call in police control room or else at least pretend to alert the police. This may save the situation.
10. Ladies may consider keeping a safety pin or small scissors handy while travelling in a public utility vehicle to keep eve- teasers at bay. Your footwear too can be the silent weapon. In case someone tries to misbehave with you just press down on his feet with your footwear and act as though you are unaware of the pain you are causing him. He will be forced to keep silent and bear the pain lest he be caught. This will also serve as a lesson to him and at the same time you will be taking your sweet revenge.  Also beware of pick-pockets. Do not keep your entire money in one place. You can keep carry them in various places like your shirt/ kurta pocket, jeans/ pant pockets and also keep them in various pouches in your hand bag/ bag. Take note of people who try to pick up a fight unnecessarily / jostle people and crowd you.                                                                                                                                                       

There are many more things that we can do to ensure our safety but what matters most is our presence of mind.

Before I sign out let me share two things though seemingly trivial are in fact great moral boosters (a) Insure your house and valuables. This imparts a sense of security. (b) This one is a joke in our family yet a very practical one. Ensure that minimum number of ladies footwear and maximum number of gents’ footwear are kept out in clear view of others. Ladies are soft targets. So it is better not to advertise the number of ladies at home, whereas by increasing the visibility of gents’ footwear one can misguide the anti- social elements into believing that there are a number of men at home.

I am sharing my Smart Suraksha Tips at  BlogAdda.com   in association with 

Smart Suraksha App. 

If only……..

She looked out of the window. The sight of the young couple on the platform brought a smile to her lips. "Aha! Newly married," she said to herself. Prashanth’s smiling face came to mind. Prasanth was her fiancé. The engagement had taken place just a fortnight ago. Prasanth and his parents had wanted to have the marriage solemnized in a month’s time but had reluctantly given in to her pleadings. It was finally decided to solemnize the wedding after a year. Prasanth knew he could easily get another bride. Yet, it was Divya’s simplicity, her love for her family that attracted him. At their first meeting itself he knew that she was the perfect match for him and so did his parents.    

Divya’s childhood had not been a bed of roses. Having lost her father at a very early age, her mother had to struggle to make both ends meet. She had brought up both Divya and Sai, doing odd jobs in the neighbouring houses. Now that Divya was employed, she had taken up the responsibility of educating Sai. Sai was in his final year at the local polytechnic and Divya was bent on seeing him settled in a good job. Prasanth understood Divya’s constraint and had agreed to wait for one more year.

So lost was Divya in her thoughts that she did not notice the compartment emptying. Sitting there all alone in the Ladies Compartment, she dreamt of a happy life with Prasanth. Yes, she would leave her job at the Supermarket in Kochi and would take up a job at Palakkad where Prasanth was working and settled. The daily travel from Shornur to Kochi was tiring. Her mother was there to take care of the house. But, after marriage Prasanth and his parents would be her responsibility. She would not be able to do justice to them if she had to commute daily from Palakkad to Kochi. No, she must call up Prasanth today itself and request him to start looking out for a suitable job for her.  

The train started to move. The ‘bang’ of the closing door jolted her to the present. She looked around and suddenly realized that she was all alone. The train had left Trissur and was gathering speed. “I must get down and go to the general compartment at the next stop,” she thought.

She once again started gazing out of the window taking in the beauty of the passing greenery.  A bunch of children by the railway track waved at the passing train. Divya could not hold back the urge to wave back. Seeing them, Divya remembered her childhood and the pranks she and Sai played. Even now, though grown –up, both never missed an opportunity to play a trick on the other. “Ah! I must call up Sai and tell him that the train has left Trissur station,” she thought. It was a regular feature. Sai insisted that Divya call him up in between her journey and keep him posted about her whereabouts. The very thought of him made her eyes moist. Sai, her loving brother was always there for her. She knew that even though there was still about half-an-hour for the train to reach Shornur, Sai must have already reached the station. She must buy him a second – hand bike next month, she thought.

A pull at her handbag suddenly jolted Divya from her dreams. Before she could realize what was happening, she felt her bag slid out of her hand. Suddenly, realization dawned on her. She was being robbed. She sprang up to her feet and ran behind the one- legged man. She managed to catch up with him and what ensued was a tussle between the two. Divya managed to get a hold on her bag. She pulled. But what was this, she was high in the air and before she could understand what was happening she was out of the door. She fell among the wayside shrubs, thorns tearing into her skin, her bag still clutched in her hand. Her head throbbed. She tried to get up but could not. The one- legged robber was on her. What followed was the worst that could have happened to any girl.

Alerted by a fellow passenger in the neighbouring compartment, the Guard stopped the train but not before it had traversed 2 kms. People started to search for Divya. The failing light added to their woes. Finally it was more than an hour before they could locate her. She was there before them lying dazed, in a pool of blood.

Divya battled for her life for six long days but in the end death got the better of her and with her died her dreams…. The doctors believed that Divya could have been saved had help reached her within half – an- hour of the accident.

I wish she had a Smart Suraksha with her. Who knows, the app could have helped her contact a friend or acquaintance in one of the neighbouring coaches or even Sai at the click of a button? Maybe they would have got the train to stop immediately thus foiling the fall. Who knows, even if she fell off the train, the app could have helped Sai or someone known to her to locate her position swiftly and ensure that help reached her within those critical few minutes? Who knows….

*****

Lead- up:-

This story I dedicate to Ms. Soumya a 23 year old young lady who met with a similar fate on the Ernakulam- Shornur Passenger train in the first week of February 2011.

Ms. Soumya was all alone in the ladies compartment of the train when she was accosted by Govindaswamy alias Charlie a handicapped drug addict and psychopath who tried to rob her and molest her on the train. Soumya fell out of the train. She was not only raped but was attacked with intent to murder. She received severe injuries on her head. She later succumbed to her injuries. Govindaswamy was sentenced to death in Nov. 2011 by a Fast Track Court.  

This is not a lone case. Day-in-day-out we come across such incidents and it is then we wish we had something that empowers us, something that helps us get help when it matters most. Maybe the Smart Suraksha is one of the answers to the growing concern of ladies around the world. I wish Soumya and many others like her who have fallen victims to robbers, rapists, eve-teasers and other anti-social elements had the Smart Suraksha  with them.

As the saying goes, “A stitch in time saves nine.”  So too would I say, “ Smart Suraksha saves precious time and life.”

I am participating in the Seeking Smart Suraksha contest at BlogAdda.com in association with Smart Suraksha App.

Tomorrow it may be me ………

There is a saying in Malayalam, “Pazhathila vizhumbol pacchilla chirrikum” literally meaning that when a ripe leaf falls, the raw leaf laughs. Take this in the context of us uman beings human beings. When we are young and agile, we make fun of the aged and infirm little realizing that one day we too will reach the same spot. 

Today we have a world that is aging fast, a world where the number of aged is increasing sharply in contrast to the number of young, thanks to the medical world. This I believe is a thing to rejoice. However, when we see the number of instances where the rights of the aged are violated, their suffering, the humiliation they have to face day in and day out, we are forced   to wonder whether the medical world has done a service or disservice.

Just today, I came across an incident in the news paper. A woman in her 80s was murdered at night for half- a- sovereign of gold.  This mother of two grown –up children, a son and a daughter was staying all alone in her house after the death of her husband. Her son saw to it that she did not starve. Her meals were supplied from his house. But my question here is, “Is it enough that the children provide their old and infirm parents just two square meals a day? Don’t they have a responsibility to ensure their safety?”

We care for our children, we cuddle them, fret for them, fear to leave them alone in the house for even an hour  yet, when it comes to our old parents and grandparents we forget that they too are as vulnerable as  a small child of six. When it comes to our children we provide them the best in terms of value, in terms of nutrition, yet when it comes to the aged we often put these things on the shelf. We forget that we are able to provide our children the very best thanks to the care and love we received from them- our elders.

In earlier days many an Indian household followed the Joint family system where the aged were the most respected, the ones who were most cared for, the ones who were first served a meal. But with the disintegration of the system and with the concept of the nuclear family system, we have lost our sense of magnanimity. We have become more selfish. After all what use is an old hag in comparison to young blood? But here, we sadly forget that tomorrow we too will be in that old hag’s shoes.

I have come across many a family where the old are left to fend for themselves inspite of having children who can very well take care of them.   There are instances where the children leave the country with their family minus their aged parents for greener pastures.  Well, this is fine till such time that the parents are healthy, they are together. But once they become infirm or when one of them leaves the other alone and moves on to the other world, what happens? It is not that the children cannot build up their career here? No, many of the so called children are well educated, well experienced and can easily land a good job back home. In fact many of them are working for companies that have base in India too, meaning that they can easily shift base here if they are truly concerned about their parents, yet they hesitate. For them their personal conveniences matter more than the helpless situation of their aged and infirm parents.

There are also instances where the children cleverly get their old parents to give away all they have to them and then dump them by the wayside or in an old age home. Recently there have been instances where the children discard their old immobile parents in a cow – shed or on the verandah of their home while leaving on a long trip. The situation of such people is often pathetic. They are lucky if a good - hearted person/s finds them. It is high time the Voluntary Organizations, NGOs and the Government take note of the plight of the old. Though many of the Voluntary Organizations and NGOs are already active and doing their bit to make the life of the aged comfortable, they can further gear up their efforts and involve the entire society by creating awareness in them regarding the Human Rights of the aged. The Government on its part needs to make a proper legislation making it mandatory for children not only to keep their parents with them but also provide for them and take good care of them. The action of the government should not merely stop with making a legislation but should also include means of monitoring the plight of these ‘gems’ of society who have given their best to their children and society at large, in their hey-days. Non- compliance of the provisions of the legislation should be dealt with expeditiously and severely. Setting up of special courts to handle such cases will go long way in providing justice to the victims.

In the end I would just like to add;

Let us all remember, “Today it is my elderly, tomorrow it is me….”

 1)    You may also like to read “The Rights of the Aged” @ http://www.hrea.org

2)   You may also like to view the video “Age demands action” @ 

      http://www.helpage.org/get-involved/campaigns/age-demands-action

Linking this post to Writ Tribe’s Blog Action Day link up. Together we can!

Tick, Tick, Tick

The room was silent except for the droning sound of the fan overhead. It’s time it was retired, Deepa thought. Suddenly she felt her body go rigid. What was that? Turning around to Varun she asked, “Did you hear that?”

“What?”

“That sound that I hear?”

“Which sound? The cry of that child in the next room?”

“No, it’s’ something else. Something I can’t explain. Something sinister.”

Varun felt the medicines were to blame. He said,“Go to sleep. You are just imagining things. Maybe you are tired out.”

Deepa thought, “Yes maybe I am imagining things.” The day had been an eventful one. She had just stepped out of her house when a speeding bike had almost collided with her. “Vroooooom…” the bike had sped past her at top speed. “Thud,” she was there on the pavement. Before she could collect her wits, a crowd had gathered around her. She could not make out what was happening. The chatter of a hundred voices was adding to her confusion. “Acchoo.” The intensity of that sneeze suddenly jolted her to reality. She realized that she was lying there on the pavement with blood splattered all around. Her head was bleeding profusely. Seeing the blood made her dizzy. Yet, she was not one to give up so easily. She tried to get up, embarrassed at being the topic of attention.  But before she realized it she let out a cry. “Aahh,” the pain was intense. She could not stand. Never before had she felt so helpless.

“Tick, Tick, Tick.” What was that? Was she again imagining things? No, it could not be. She had that gut feeling of imminent disaster. No, she could not keep quiet. She had to wake up Varun. Had to get him examine from where that sound came.

She called out to him. But he did not hear. She tried again and again but to no avail. He was deep in slumber. “Bang,” went the jug as it hit the door jolting Varun out of sleep and sweet dream.

A shocked Varun cried, “Are you crazy? Why did you throw the jug?”

Desperate as she was, Deepa pleaded with him, “Varun listen, I can now hear that sound clearly. Do concentrate and try to pick it up.”

At first Varun was hesitant to listen to her. He only wished to get back to sleep and continue with the sweet dream that has so abruptly been cut short with that “bang” on the door. But then something in Deepa’s eyes forced him to listen to her. He strained his ears, keeping his mind focused. There it was. “Tick, Tick, Tick.” He felt his body going taut. What could that be?

He started to search frantically. Finally not able to find the object of his investigation, he called in the duty nurse.    

“Yes Sir, any problem?”

“Sister, what is that sound?”

“Which sound, Sir? I hear nothing unusual.”

“ Sister, that tick, tick sound.”

“Oh! That is just that clock on the wall.

Deepa could no longer remain a mute spectator. She said, “Are you sure, Sister? But I did not hear the sound till say half- an- hour back.”

Putting on her best smile the Duty Nurse explained, “You see Madam. You did not hear it because till half- an- hour back the hospital was filled with various sounds. Now that most of the patients are fast asleep and a blanket of silence has fallen on the entire premises, the sound of the clock is loud and audible.”

Varun: “Ooh! Thank God.”

Deepa : “My, I am so relieved.”

The sign of relief on the face of the two brought a smile on the lips of the Duty Nurse. Looking at them she said, “So what did you expect- a bomb?”

Both Varun and Deepa looked at her sheepishly just wishing she’d leave.

Once at the doorstep, she looked back and said, “Don’t worry, you are in safe hands. Have a wonderful sleep.”

The door closed and they both burst into laughter.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda