Ela helped them stand up, held both of their hands, and dragged them with her toward Hrida. Hrida stood in a trance as she saw that the little girl hadn't left her parents even though she was scared of that lady. She was amazed by her courage and compassion, which made her realize that giving up, is never an option, it is a choice that we create.
She too created the choice of giving up on hope in family relations but still, she is afraid of going back to that doll house. She feels a touch on her cheek, her thoughts break and reality sweeps in, she finds Tapish's paw placed on her cheek and he innocently staring at her face.
Hrida smiled, then turned her back opposite the building site, Ela stood with her parents a few distance away from her, waving her arms to come along with her and Hrida instantly followed her sign. She ran after them, her feet rushing with new energy, comfort magically built in her heart once again, and she felt that finally, she found a safe home for both of them for a while.
Ela and her parents ultimately stopped at a minimalistic and enough-spaced cottage, inviting them into a safe and cozy environment. Hrida observed Ela's family staring at the house with a sweet gaze as if they were looking at a paradise, which Hrida didn't know a thing about.
A sad smile clouds over her face, her heart admiring their bond and being envious of their family bond at the same time, the negative emotion resurfacing stronger in her heart, she shakes her head hard trying to throw the feelings away and her angle re-adjusts to Ela's talk, who is talking about plant with passionate eyes.
Ela turned back, rushed to Hrida's side, and grabbed her hand, dragging her to a small garden, filled with vegetable plants, flower plants, and a few other kinds of plants. Ela chimes," Didi! This is the brinjal plant, I love this vegetable, and I love the violet color of brinjal, it is a rare color, right? That plant over there is marigold, that over there is daisy, and there at the center is Hibiscus and Rose plants, and there, potato plant, after that carrot, mint, coriander, tomato, onion, and-"
Ela's mom intervenes with a playful tone," Elaaa! The sun has already set, now if we let you talk then she might need to stand till the morning rise. Your talk about plants is never-ending, I can't let her stand all night, so, let's first treat her and your wounds then we will talk. Okay, beta ( Child)?"
Ela unwillingly agreed to her mom's order and then took her inside, Hrida felt good as she put her foot inside the house, Tapish landed on the ground, roamed around the house while Hrida sadly held her shawl and traced the uneven shreds of her shawl, Ela noticed her behavior, she extends her arm in front of her, Hrida's eyebrows raised staring innocently at Ela's gesture.
Ela voices out clearly," Didi, your shawl, give it to me, Mom will take care of it and you need to treat your wounds as well, so Mom told me to tell you to clean up and then she will treat your wounds. So, hurry up, I already freshened up and Mom treated my wounds, I am feeling a little pain in my cheek and knees still I feel better than earlier. Go, Didi !"
Hrida bursts into a giggle, hearing her cute 'mother-like' tone, she imitates a kid's voice," Yes! Didi, I will listen to you since you know how to take care of others. Didi, will you bring me a beautiful flower before the sunrise? Can you do it for your little sister ?"
Ela believes her act and asks innocently," Do you really want a beautiful flower, Didi? I will bring it for you if you really want. "
Hrida confesses, " I was joking, Ela. I was just teasing, you dear. Go, befriend Tapish, you might like him."
Hrida advises Ela's parents to file a complaint against that old lady for child labor, otherwise, she will keep hurting or torturing others again and again and at some point, no one will be able to avoid or fix the situation."
Ela's parents expressed their helplessness and fear if they took action against that woman. Hrida assures them," Aunty and Uncle, If we remain silent about the wrong thing happening around us, indirectly we are encouraging it to continue. Today, Ela was in a critical zone, tomorrow someone or some other kid would be in danger, and we can't let that happen. Police are there to help you, I am sure they will teach that woman a good lesson so that she doesn't repeat that again.
Child labor is a serious crime, she forced innocent and delicate children to work when they should be studying. Not only that, she misbehaves with her workers, and tortures them, this is not acceptable. If not for anyone, think about your daughter, she was slapped hard just because she expressed her desire to study and not work, she was not letting anyone save her, what would have happened if unfortunately, no one was there to save her? Think about it !"
Ela's parents stared at their daughter with a concerned gaze, they realized that Hrida was right, if they ignored the fact now, someday it would return and at that time, it would be too late to save anything. They agreed to Hrida's suggestion with a flicker of courage in their eyes, which gave Hrida hope as well.
Hrida asks for a phone, Ela's father gives her a small 3G Keypad model phone, her fingers wanting to press the number of keypads but her hands only hover over the keypad. After a pause, she dials the city's police helpline number, the phone rings for a few seconds and then the call is received, she forwards the phone to Ela's mother, shakes her head nervously, then forwards the phone in the direction of Ela's father, he too denies, while the receiver is continuously saying 'Hello'.
Hrida cleared her throat and changed her voice into a deep tone imitating the voice of an elder serious man," Sir, I am a laborer, who works under an old lady in charge who has been treating us poorly, she makes us work overtime without paying extra wage and sometimes even cuts our daily wage.
But sir, this is not the end, she has been treating us like dirt and she also forces us to make our kids labor and today, she even dared to slap a thirteen-year-old teen so hard that she almost slipped off the building edge and rest details will be given when you come quickly with your team at the scene. You need to reach an under-construction building site situated between the railway station and the city. Please come soon. And-"
The receiver mumbles, " Woah, Mister, you talked so fast, I only got a rough idea and that is, we need to hurry to your mentioned address. Mister Civilian, I understand the emergency, but couldn't you be a little clear and slow?
I mean,….. Dhansi sir, I am not clueless, the man is too fast a talker. But I heard the main matter, so let's go.
And Mister Civilian, do you talk with everyone like this? How do they understand you? And why your voice is so weird as if you are imitating.?"
Hrida imitates an annoyed male tone," The kids these days, I am older than you, can't you be a little understanding towards your elder? Aughh..please hurry, young man. And, yes, my voice isn't weird, rather, I think your voice sounds weird."
The receiver defends," Excuse me, mister civilian. How can-" Hrida cuts the call, as soon she ends the call, Ela cackles in laughter, Ela's parents join her laughter while Hrida pouts like a small kid, and makes weird faces, their laughter echoes in their house, it sounds good to her ears, she smiled fully, which invoked a smile on their faces.
Hrida then asks them," Aunty and Uncle, I might be asking a lot but would it be okay if I could stay with you for a while? Don't worry, I will soon go away from your house as soon as I find a place for me and Tapish. We won't be in trouble until we stay, we promise that. So ?"
Ela's father gives her a kind smile," Beta ( Child), You can stay as much you want, we don't mind. You did save our dear Ela and indirectly saved our lives. Our hearts are alive only due to her existence, we can't even imagine what would happen if you hadn't interrupted the motive of that cruel lady. Thank you! Beta, we didn't even thank you for saving our lives. And, one more thing, a kind girl like you can't be a trouble to anybody."
Hrida prays in her head in a desperate tone," Uncle I hope, you are right. Until now, wherever I go, I brought trouble but I wish that no trouble comes to you and that 'Thing' doesn't find me. I will not stay long, I will retire as soon I find another spot for me and Tapish. God, till then I hope everything remains normal. I hope that police officers find that-…Waittt….."
Hrida gasps when she realizes that she forgot to tell them the most important thing, she requests them with a convincing tone," I have one more important request, please do not talk/ mention/ speak about my existence to the police officers, pretend that I am invisible. Please, I kindly request you. I am asking you for this because I have a phobia that activates in hyper mode whenever I see a police officer. Suppose, you mentioned my name by mistake they will ask you to bring me forward, and then I have to confront them, which will be bad for my health. Please, understand my condition."
Ela's parents were confused as they had never heard of anyone having phobia disease, so Ela made them understand what is phobia and how it affects the human body system, their reactions were a mixture of confusion, sympathy, compassion, and understanding. Ela and her family promised that they wouldn't reveal her identity, and she thanked them for that.
At the police station ;
The phone call was received by Kritak, he found the voice funny and weird and when suddenly the call was cut, he laughed light-heartedly after such a long time, Dhansi ji watched him laughing again like old times.
Dhansi ji asked the reason behind his laughter, Kritak narrated the whole incident," Dhansi sir, I received a call from a civilian who needs urgent help, which is serious but the funny thing is that the caller sounded unreal, weird, and funny, I mean the voice didn't sound like a man rather imitation of a man. So, the situation is urgent but the caller was funny. "
Dhansi ji chuckles, then reminds himself that Kritak said the situation is urgent," Jokes aside, Kritak, what is the emergency, and where do we need to head off? Say, quick."
Kritak told the details about the call, Dhansi ji informed Soma's mother (Newly Appointed Assistant Inspector), that Lakshman came to deliver her lunch box, which she forgot to take from home, so he also came to know about the situation. Dhansi ji's expression turned more into a tired expression upon noticing Lakshman sir again involving himself with cases when clearly he isn't in the condition to work.
Soma's mom calls out for a few police officers and commands them to move in and drive them to the given address. In this ride, Dhansi ji, and Kritak joined in and Lakshman also joined after requesting Soma's mom repeatedly to let her come, she had no other choice but to accept, otherwise, they would be stuck here while the situation demanded urgency.
On the way, Lakshman prays in his head," God, I hope Hrida isn't involved in this case as well. I want to find her but not at the cost of her being in danger. I hope she is safe, God. It is already dark, I wonder how dark the situation might be. "
The police jeep stopped when they noticed a building construction site, the jeep turned in that direction and finally, they were in front of that building where something illegal was happening. The police officers scanned around the site but didn't find any worker or any old lady worker and due to darkness, it added more difficulty to their search, then Soma's mom noticed the cemented stairs, and she checked their condition.
After assurance of the condition, she stealthily walked upstairs, Kritak followed behind her, and Dhansi Ji after Kritak and Lakshman at last, they scattered and searched each floor, but they didn't find a single worker, finally they climbed the last stair leading to 7 th floor, Soma's mom heard a crispy and sore voice, so she signaled the officers behind her to shush and pointed her finger at left side, they gathered at her side and glimpse in that direction.
They witnessed an old lady who looked fierce, and intimidating and her voice sent off cold shivers to them, she was talking about the salary that workers would get and some threatening rule of hers.
The old lady declares in a threatening tone, " My slave laborers, It is good that you did what I commanded, even if you don't want to obey, you have no other choice but to succumb to my orders, otherwise, you will face the nightmare, and that is 'Me'. Tchh.. HAHA...
About today's wage, you all will get only Rs. 50 ( Indian currency) and 400 rupees have been cut because of today's incident. Why you, would ask me if you had mouths to speak before me?
Today, a small girl talked back to me, and I gave her a tight slap as a lesson but my master increased the fun by making her trip and slip off the building edge. Then, unfortunately…..a pretty doll saved her from my grasp. How unlucky a situation it turned out to be.
But what upset me more was you dared to step one foot forward to save Ela when I didn't intend to. And, your kids will have to work overtime every day and no more studies from now onwards, otherwise, I can't guarantee what will I do to your clumsy kids.
Oh and, Rs. 50 is credited for not disobeying my order after my warning glance. Enjoy! "
One of the workers knelt at her feet and begged her," Please, Don't cut our daily wage, we really need enough money to buy food for our family and if not us, at least for our kids, they need food. We will starve but we can't let our kids starve.
Please, madam, don't do this to us. We wouldn't even dare ever to think about disobeying your orders but please, exclude the punishment from kids, they don't deserve it. We-sniff, sniff, please….. I beg you…Madam. "
The old lady worker chuckles and laughs off, then announces in an egoistic tone," I like your attitude, but I can't eat my words. You all should have thought this before daring to cross me. Hmmm! Pfft...Hahahhh.. Hahaha.."
The kids also knelt at her feet and requested in a teary tone," We will listen to every command of yours but don't cut our parents' wage, we will even work overtime but don't take our money. They have always listened to you, please forgive us this time. Pleaseee! "
The kids joined their hands and begged her to give them their wage but the old lady's facial expression soured into a bitter expression, she kicked them away, and the kids scraped their knees and were injured because of her harshness.
Soma's mom intervened in her powerful confident tone," Mrs. In charge, I am afraid that you will be the one who has to face the nightmare you inflicted upon them. For forcing child labor, physical and mental abuse to your co-workers, and not paying their wages and also for attempting murder against a child, you are 'UNDER ARREST' "
The old lady bursts into a fit of laughter, sounding like a maniac, she confidently offends them, " You so-called Protectors of humans can't do anything to a powerful being like me. But, you can dream and can only dream to defeat me. You won't come in your hands. And, you are not allowed to trespass or meddle in my business; otherwise, you will come in his target angle.
Be careful, Soma's mom, Dhansi, Kritak, and Lakshman, you should be more careful because he has been spying on your every move. And he is after his precious future bearer; Hrida. Hrida will soon be on our team. You wouldn't be able to do anything but watch. Hehe. Hehhh.Hehhaha…Hahahhh"
They were speechless as she mentioned their names and watched them with a familiar creepy gaze, Lakshman felt the same experience whenever he witnessed any criminal.
Dhansi ji commands her, " Mrs.Whomseover, what you are doing is not right and after doing this, you are threatening us. And how do you know our names especially Soma's mom, when she joined our station recently? How do you know? Wait... You said master, who is your Master? Tell us. Nevertheless, you are going to face the nightmare, so better tell us the truth and if not, then you will face the worst consequences."
Kritak too advises her in a rigid tone, which surprises his co-officers," Mrs., you better follow our order and if not, then prepare yourself for the worst. Step forward and surrender, because you have no other choice. Before that, speak, about who is the mastermind behind you. Tell us now!"
The old lady laughs it off and displays the creepiest smirk they have ever seen and hisses in a ghostly tone," Would your weak heart be able to handle just hearing his name, I bet you can't without shivering for a second. And I would love to suffer but without ' My Master' order, I won't tell you his name. Sorry but not sorry, You won't be able to get anything from me. Goodbye, see you never."
Before they could process her motive, she jumped off the building with a satisfactory smirk, all of them were in shock, they couldn't catch her because they didn't know she would do such an unpredictable act that shocked everyone's core.
The kids were rushing to the edge but the police officer blocked them and ordered them to stay there until they took care of all this. Two officers stayed on the floor looking after the civilians, while the rest of them cautiously stepped downstairs and rushed to the old lady, the soil gathered blood particles beneath her, and she stared lifelessly with a creepy smile, which scared them more.
The old lady had willingly fallen to her death, they called for an ambulance, the ambulance took care of her body and then the workers and kids were allowed to come down, they asked whether she was alive or not, they informed them with a pitiful tone that she has fallen to death unfortunately. All of them felt pity for that old lady who didn't even give herself a chance for redemption.
Lakshman asks with a gentle tone," Could you tell us who called at the police station? Who among you informed us about the circumstance here?" There was a long pause of silence when they refused that none of them called them here, the police officers were confused and curious about the anonymous caller, and then it hit Lakshman that it was similar to that anonymous messenger who had reported to us about the criminal's site.
Lakshman ponders," What if it is again, Hrida, who informed them? That means she was here at this site. Oh god, looks like Hrida was in danger. But thankfully, she escaped. Wait... Ela..Maybe Ela's family might know something about this."
Before Lakshman could suggest, Soma's mom suggests," Why don't we look for Ela and her family? She was the victim of this lady, who survived; they might give us important clues about this case. Could anyone tell me where Ela and her family live?"
They shake their heads 'No', but then a voice declares," I know. I am Ela's father. I came to check in here because the call was from my house. You might have questions regarding this case, so I invite you to my decent home to answer your questions. Please, come, My home is not far from here."
They followed him to his house, which was partially in good condition, they sighted a thirteen-year-old girl named Ela, The Survivor. Ela's parents provided them with water and arranged a mat for them to sit on, they all sat down.
Kritak then questions in a curious tone," Who was on the phone at that time because it was none of you who sounded like a weird man's voice? Who was the caller? We just wanted to thank him/her for giving such valuable information in correct timing."
Ela immediately replies with a sweet tone, " Police bhaiya, she was a girl, not any man, she was trying to mimic an elderly man-like voice but I guess, she sounded more like a comedian. Hehehe...But bhaiya, that Didi is daringly courageous; she saved from falling to death. She was heavily injured because of me, I feel sad about that. She is a really pretty Didi, who had a black cat named Tapish and-"
Her rambles blur when Lakshman recognized the name ' Tapish', the same cat who had visited them at Shashi's house. He mumbles under his breath," Now, I know the savior and informer were both Hrida. Hrida, you are really brave but still the danger lurking around is much more horror than you think, beta( child)."
Kritak asks Ela with an inquisitive tone," What is her name though? And where she is now? Hmmm? And why did she talk in such a way, she could have normally informed us."