One day with me......by 20C 0J6JJ4 A ten rupee note EPISODE IX

The woman stood in front of the well fit police officer and other 2 women. He gave her a tight slap. She almost fell to the ground but the woman wearing chudidhar stopped her. She took the baby from her hand and started crying loudly. She kissed all over the baby’s face.
The other stout woman and the beggar were pushed into the back seat of the police Van, while the woman in chudidhar took the middle seat of the van. I thought to myself, that the child was hers and wished them to stay happy together.
In the meantime, a small wind blew me away from the bike and I flew along with the sand. I thought I’ll fly like this and get drowned in some sewage canal and my life is gone but I was stopped by a hard force, something, like a be a stick which, almost pushed me in to the sand.
Slowly and steadily two fingers relieved me from the stick. It was an old man who was completely white. White pajama, white kurta, white mustache, white hairs, white teeth and a white color framed glass. He turned me front and back, gave me a gentle blow. Holding me and his stick on one hand, he corrected his glass and took me near his eyes.
“Its 10……hmmmm, it’ll rain today. It seems I am lucky after such a long time” he said and folded me and pushed me inside his pajama. I rested there for sometime after such a long day, I wanted some sleep but the old man kept on putting his hands inside his pocket to check if I was still there.
Where the hell would I run? Even if I run I would be in some other person’s hand and my travel will still go on.
There was a round object near me in his pocket; it always was making a sound “tick….tick…tick”. I wanted to give a punch to that noisy guy but didn’t have enough courage. I saw there was something circling within itself and whenever there is a “tick” the tiny lean stick inside that object moved one step forward. There two other guys, who didn’t seem to move. I was able to see numbers till 12 on their circumference. The short guy, among the two was near five and the long guy was trying to catch it and he was near 4. Again the old guy touched me.
Suddenly I was able to hear sounds of small children around me. Mixed voices came up,
“ Haiya thaaatha, chocolate”
“Hey no, lets play first granna”
“No first let him take rest”
“Hmmm yes yes, let me sit children, give some space” it was the old man’s voice saying that, he touched me again. “So, how are you all” he asked “Bindaaaaaaaaaas” a chorus reply came.
“Nana nana…..hmm…why didn’t you come for oneeeeeeeeeeeeeee week?” I heard a small girl’s voice.
“I am sorry kids, actually…..” taking time for each word he replied “I was busy at home…..your nani……she gave me a bigggggggg trouble that’s why” It was time for him to touch me, be he didn’t.
“What trouble? Where is nani?” it was boy now.
Coughing twice “She won’t come with me now. She has gone far away” he said.
"Where nana? Where did she go???? And why alone? My mother scolds me if I come alone even to this park”
“Where is nani, Where is nani, Where is nani, Where is nani,????” the children shouted together again.
“Okay Okay….I will tell you…..me and your nani had a race. We wanted to know who will meet god first. She always used to tell me that she was going to the first and she ran faster than me. I said I will never leave her to be number1 but….……………She has won the race now……… she is with god” Oh no!!! I thought to myself.
“Oh when will she come back?” asked another “ She won’t come back kids, I have to go there…….I will soon have to go there…..soon….soon” when he said I realized how much he missed her.
“Who will say story for us then?” in an angry voice, another kid shouted. “I will say beta, till the time I am here I will say don’t worry” saying that he pushed his hands into his pocket, I thought he was trying to touch me again but he pulled that round object with “tick tick” sound and said “It is time for us to go now It is getting darker and before we go………………..” he said and pulled me out of his pocket.
“We all with have toffees…..” and before he completed “heeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy” cheered the crowd.
He handed me over to the tallest kid in the crowd and that kid walked as fast as he could towards the park’s gate. I was handed over to a road side shop keeper and the kid took had full of toffees from him. It was getting dark and from the holes of the fence, I was able to see the kids jumping over one another to grab the toffees………………………To be continued