The Intruder ~Zenana Tales 6~

It might have been because I was tired from staying up late into the night studying, or maybe because it felt cozy under my sheets, I was in deep sleep. I am sure I had crossed the 2nd stage and moved into the 3rd of non-REM sleep because I felt nothing at all. My heartbeat and breathing might have been at their lowest levels and my muscles, so relaxed and it would have been difficult to wake me up. Or had I slipped into the REM stage?...because I could hear a girl in my dreams. She was crying out loud, and her crying then turned into screaming and it just got louder and louder.

It was a shrill sort of screeching noise, Aaaaaahhhh!! AAAaaaahhhhh!! I realized it was not a dream, as the noise woke me up and I could still hear it. It was Roshna from the other side of the room. I was grumpy on suddenly being woken up like this, and was about to pull down the sheet from my face, and shout at her, "Enthuva ithu? Onnu mindathe kidakkuvo?" (What is this? Can you just lie down and be quiet?), but her screaming continued. "Aaaaahhh!! Krupa, Krupa!!". I grabbed my sheet from over my head and began pulling it down, all ready to give her a piece of my mind, when I heard Roshna continue, "Oru manushyan, oru manushyan" (A man!! A man!!). I, instantaneously, pulled the sheet back up my face, holding on to it with all my life. There was a man in the room??!! Somebody else was shouting now and they were urging Krupa to turn the lights on, "Krupa, light idu, light idu". 

Everyone was awake by now, the lights were on, and they were all shouting and screaming, "Krishnan chetta.....Krishnan chetta..."

Another voice went, "Krupa, go call the other chechis". In a matter of seconds, our room was full of other inmates from Blandford, everybody together shouting out for Krishnan chettan. 

Preetha chechi (remember her from the 'Tharjima' episode?) came in too. The shouting and screaming had come down as Krishnan chettan had reached Blandford by then. 

"Entha mole pattiye?" (What happened, my child?), he enquired. 

"Roomil oru kallan keri. Roshna ya kande" (A thief entered our room, Roshna saw him), Krupa explained.

"Ayaal backilotta oadiye" (He ran to the back side), Roshna told Krishnan chettan, who then bolted out the door with some other chechis behind him. 

The girls started asking Roshna the details and she went on to explain, "Njan nalla urakkam ayirunnu. Idakku kannu thurannapo ente mukhathottu oraal nokki kuninju nikkunnathu kandu. Randu valiya kannukal. Njan pedichu alachu, ayaal oadi" (I was fast asleep. Sometime in between I opened my eyes and saw a man's face right above mine, looking at me with his big eyes. I got scared and I screamed. He ran outside.)

By this time Krishnan chettan and the older chechis came back to our room. "Ayal oadi rakshapettu, makkale...pedikkenda. Chettan ivide veliyil thanne nikkam, ketto? Enthenkilum edutho ayaal?" (He escaped, children...don't be scared. I will be outside Blandford itself. Did he take anything?), he tried to console us.

Before anybody could check their belongings or even answer, Preetha chechi snapped, "Aara kathaku thurannitte? Adachittu kidakkanam ennariyille?" (Who left the door open? Don't you know that you should close the door before sleeping?) 

Krupa remembered that she and I were studying outside. "Njangal purathu padichondirikkuvayirunnu. Pakshe...." (We were studying outside...but...), I think she rememebred that I was the one who still stayed out when she came in to sleep.

"Ithreyum ellam ivide nadannittum oraal sukhamayittu puthachu moodi kidakkunnathu kandille!!" (In spite of so much chaos here, look at this person so comfortably tucked in!), Preetha chechi said with so much scorn and anger.

I was still covered and holding on to my sheet since the time Roshna said "oru manushyan"(a man). Everything that happened in those few minutes after the intruder ran out, I heard from under my sheets. "Njan uranguvalla, enikku pedi aayitta" (I'm not asleep, it is because I'm scared), I almost cried.

"Ayyo mole..." Preetha chechi said in the sweetest voice and walked to my bed. She sat on the side and urged me to remove the sheets from my face. "Chechi ivide undu, mol sheet mattikke..." (I am here beside you, please remove the sheet from your face), she said so lovingly. I started crying. 

"Karayenda, saramilla. Ayaal poyi. Ini pedikkenda. Sheet pathukke mattu"(Dont cry, it is ok. He has gone. You don't have to be scared anymore. Remove the sheet), she gently urged me. I was literally petrified, but she slowly assisted me to remove the sheets, making sure it was at my pace. Once the sheets were off my face, she gently made me sit up and hugged me so tight. I started sobbing, but she held me closer to her and kept patting me gently on my back. "Pedikkenda, ketto" (Don't be scared, ok?)

Preetha chechi then gave me some water and wiped my tears with her hands. I was also afraid she would shout at me for having left the door open, but she didnt. She continued to console me till I was ok. The other chechis had left by then.

I remembered how in extreme desperation, I had pulled in the doors shut and only put the cross bar, which was in itself a huge engineering blunder. First of all it was a swing OUT door and the bar was on the inside. Even so, if there were a pair of U-studs on the door, this bar could have held the door shut, instead there were only two wall studs on the door frame. This logic never occurred to me at that time, and the intruder's entry was purely my fault. 

I could hear someone outside the door say that the thief escaped by removing the asbestos roofing near the bathroom area. I almost died!! I was there maybe an hour ago, he must have been just above the roof at that time, or maybe already inside!! 

"Ok, ok...Ellarum kidakkan nokku" (Ok now, everybody go back to bed), Preetha chechi ordered...and then again comes my 'moment of truth'. I wanted to use the toilet. Preetha chechi seemed to understand, "Njan koode varam" (I'll come with you), she assured. 

"Ente bag thurannu nilathu kidakkunnu. Ayaal ente full paisa eduthu" (my bag is lying on the floor fully opened. He took all my money), Roshna was telling the others. They didn't seem to have lost anything, but the books on out table were not how we left them. Krupa's pencil case was all open too. And then I saw it...my black purse. I always slept with my purse under my pillow (I don't know why), but that night I counted how much money I had left, for the month (I had exactly 250 Rs and some loose change), and left my purse on the table. It was open too. I was too scared to touch it. The thought that this man stood so close to me that night while taking money out of my purse was more than I could contain. My eyes started filling up. "Kaashu poyo? Athinaano karyunne?" (Did you lose money? Is that why you are crying?), Preetha chechi asked. I told her the real reason. I decided to never touch that purse again. It was too traumatizing for me. "Saramilla, athu vidu. Va, toilet il pokam" (It's ok..leave it. Come now, let's go to the toilet), she said and walked with me to the back. 

It was not quiet and unoccupied this time. Some other girls were awake and still standing in the courtyard that time. Preetha chechi ushered me into the toilet and said, "Poyittu va" (go and come), and she turned to the girls, "Aarkkum kidakkaraayille? Entha ivide?" (Isn't it time yet for you to go to bed? What are you doing here?), to which somebody replied, "Dhe kando, ayalude kaalpaadu undu bhithiyil" (Look, his footprint is on the wall). Im sure Preetha chechi gestured to them to keep quiet, because nobody said anything in continuation. "Poyi kidannu urangu ellarum!" (All of you go to bed), she ordered and walked back with me, now out of the toilet, to my room. I didn't look up to the wall though I knew what I would see there. All the way, I walked with my head down, tightly holding on to Preetha chechi's hand. 

She walked to to my room and to my bed. Before wishing me good night, she seemed to have quickly thought of something. I could see it on her face. "Chechi innu molde koode kidakkam, ok? Otta minute, njan ente roomil poyi vellam eduthondu varatte" (I will sleep near you tonight, ok? Just give me a minute, I'll go get my water and come), she said and left for the shortest 2 minutes of my life. She promptly came back and lied down next to me. My room mates were already in bed, but not asleep. Krupa felt sorry for me as the whole incident shook me up so badly. 

Preetha chechi put her arm around me, and I automatically snuggled up closer to her. "Ayyo mole, ippozhum vishamam aano? Saramilla, urangikko" (Oh my dear, are you still upset? Don't worry, sleep tight), and she held me even tighter as we both drifted into peaceful slumber.

Office building of Zenana Hostel

~priya~