Granddaughter

“What is your name, my child?”, Sheela asked the 4-year-old sitting in front of her in the police station. “My name is Piu, Grandma”, the child replied in a sweet voice. Sheela’s husband, Ramesh bent down to speak to the child, “You know who we are?”, he asked the girl. Piu replied, “Yes Grandpa, my Ma used to tell me every day about both of you”, she said, “You both are very loving; you both loved my mom a lot and now you both will love me too”. Sheela began to cry with a heavy heart. Ramesh gathered the courage to ask the most puzzling question to Piu, “Where is your Ma, my dear?”

The police officer in charge of the case stood up to interrupt their conversation, “Ramesh Ji, Sheela Ji, I know this is a big shock for you. Believe me, it was for us as well. For six long years, I and my team have worked relentlessly on the case of your missing daughter. Sir, Ma’am, we took your case very seriously for the only reason that your daughter ‘Suman’ was just sixteen, a minor. We suspected it was a kidnapping and we spoke to many petty criminals around the area; we searched the hospitals and morgues; we sent her photo to all nearby villages as well, in the hope of some input. Our main concern was the safety and the safe return of your daughter. But two days back, we found this girl early in the morning at our police station’s doorsteps. She was cold and shivering. She had been dropped off by some truck driver as she says, whom she does not know. But this is the letter we found tucked in her frock’s pocket. We have verified the handwriting from her previous writings- and her old schoolbooks; it is definitively from your daughter ‘Suman’!

Ramesh held the letter in his hand to read it and Sheela bent forward too. They both instantly recognized the handwriting, without any verification required. Suman wrote, “Dear Papa and Mummy, I know you have been waiting to hear from me for a long time. It has been six years since I last saw both of you. I can barely imagine how worried you both must have been for me and my well-being. Papa, Mummy; my partner also told me that there have been policemen all over the village searching for me. Yes, you read it right, ‘My Partner’. You remember the wedding that took place in our village some days before I disappeared; I met ‘Gagan’ there. He told me he stays in Delhi in a nice lavish house, runs a business, and earns a fortune. I fell madly in love with him and decided to leave with him immediately. I did not want to take any of my belongings, as it would have made both of you suspicious. We met at the railway station ‘that’ night and I left everything behind to live with him in our new world in the beautiful house that he promised, in the city of Delhi. After I came here, I realized the horrible conditions he and his vast family had been living in. Everything he told me was a lie. I was not at all welcome in their household for being a ‘runaway’ girl. I was humiliated, insulted, and tortured by his family. To top it up, Gagan had no intention of marrying me. He just wanted me to stay with him and fulfill his manly needs. This miserable status of mine perpetually made me a domestic help in their household. I was watched all along, with no freedom of mine, no money, no amenities, slogging day and night as per the wish of my so-called ‘in-laws’ and satisfying the man I had desperately dreamt of marrying some days back. My dreams of my fantasy wedding with him and a blissful married life were shattered into pieces. Two years later, I got pregnant. There was a temporary period of joy in the household, anticipating the arrival of a ‘son’ from my womb. But unfortunately, my daughter Piu was born. I remember I was kicked by my mother-in-law in my stomach right after my delivery. They were about to throw the infant away and get me back to resume my chores. But I fought and fought with them to save my child. I got pregnant three times more in the upcoming years, but they decided to abort the fetus instantly, just to uninterruptedly have my services as a servant and ***-slave. My daughter, Piu, has been suffering from malnutrition over the years. I stole food to feed her and have myself survived on the leftovers in the bin.

Papa, Mummy, all these years I missed you both so much. Every night I used to see your faces in my dreams and wondered how much pain you both must be in. I made a grave mistake by leaving our house and running away with a stranger. I was a naïve and stupid 16-year-old. I miss our home, your love, and your warmth. I always wished to return to both of you, but now I have no hope.

Papa, Mummy, I am sending my daughter Piu to you. Gagan’s family is convinced of this and anyways did not want to keep Piu in their house. I have told her every smallest of detail about both of you. She has come to you with the hope that you would forgive her mother and accept your granddaughter with kind open arms. She hopes that you both will nurture her with lots of love and do everything for her that you did to raise me, to give me a comfortable life like a ‘princess’ in your warm hearts and house.

Piu is your granddaughter. Please accept her and please forgive me for my sins.

Your stupid daughter,

Suman.

Ramesh and Sheela were horrified to read about the ordeal that their beloved daughter had gone through for all these years. Sheela took Piu in her arms and hugged her, reminiscing about her daughter. They both kissed Piu and exclaimed how much she resembles their Suman. But the main question was still awaiting to be answered, ‘Will the police be able to catch hold of Suman’s captors and get her back safe?’.

Ramesh questioned the officer whether he knew who exactly dropped Piu at the police station, or if Piu knew anything about the address of where Suman lives in Delhi.

The officer sighed and said ‘No’. He replied, “We tried to get the details, but the girl is very small and has hardly stepped out of the house. She is not even literate to know much about the places there. We are trying to track down Gagan with the help of our allies there. But there is something that we know which you both should too. Please turn the letter and read it for yourself”.

Ramesh and Sheela turned to the last page of the letter. It was Suman writing again, “I thought of concealing this news from you at first, but now I realize, your search to find me will go on and on if I don’t reveal the truth now. I am suffering from some major disease that has damaged my uterus. It seems it is the result of all the abuse and abortions. By the time Piu and this secret letter reach you both, I will be dead. This is the only condition this family has put on me as my last wish. They will release Piu only when I die. If you are reading this, I assume I am gone far-far away. Love you both and Piu always.

Ramesh and Sheela were speechless. Their search had indeed come to a tragic end today. The hardworking officer working on Suman’s case all the way long tried to calm them down. He promised that his team would catch hold of Gagan. But an exhausted and disheartened father ‘Ramesh’ and an emotionally drained mother ‘Sheela’ had had enough. Finally, they got closure. The couple clutched Piu close to them and told the officer to close their daughter’s six-year-long missing person case.

After a few formalities and paperwork, the office saw the two old grandparents leave the police station with a new hope, a new reason to live for. They held their ‘Granddaughter’ Piu’s hands as they walked away with a smile.