For My Sister by Puja Shah

Author:Puja Shah
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Koehler Books
Published: 2022-08-19T14:15:14+00:00

CHAPTER 32

There was a commotion after the raid. The others were excited, talking over each other about what they had seen and heard. I was stunned into silence. The absence of my sister felt like a hole in my chest. Was she safe? Would I find out if she was dead?

Madame disappeared into her room where we heard her talking to her brother on the phone. The four of us, Janaki, myself, Sajana, and Bhima, could not hear anything they said. The sounds of the evening outside took over. These were the sounds I had become used to. They were part of my rhythm during my loud, wakeful nights and unnatural sleepy days.

But tonight was different. The brothel was closed, and we were all ordered to sleep. Unable to glean much from Madame’s muffled voice, we retreated to our mattresses as ordered. Since we slept during the day, my body was not used to sleeping at night, and I just stared at the ceiling, wide awake. All I could think about was Amla.

I must have dozed off because suddenly I was startled awake by the sound of Madame slamming down the phone with a curse. I heard her pacing. I heard Janaki asking questions and Madame answering, her voice tense and twisted with anger. When Janaki came back to our room, I was too curious to feign disinterest. I whispered her name.

“Janaki, what is going on?”

I half expected Janaki to tell me it was none of my business and to go back to sleep. But she didn’t. Instead she looked at me with an expression of true worry.

She said that Madame’s brother had to report the incident to his business partner, the don, after the police came, and now the don was getting on a flight. He would be here before dawn. Madame’s brother was angry with her. This was the first time anyone had ever escaped during a raid.

“What do you think the don will do?” I asked.

Janaki shook her head. “Whatever it is, it won’t be good,” she replied.

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