Mother.

She turned her belongings inside out, rummaged the entire kitchen, but in vain. She had been instructed about the importance of her passport. She knew that without it she could not go back home. How could she have misplaced it? Why did such a thing happen now, when it was time for her to go home?

With tears trickling down her face, she finally approached her mistress. It took some time for the mistress to understand her through her sobs. However, when the old lady gradually understood the predicament the little girl was in, she only had kind words to offer.

“Do not cry, dear. We shall look for it again when my son is gone. You must have kept it in a ‘safe’ place and forgotten all about it. It happens to me all the time. In time, you will remember where you have hidden it. Do not worry now.”

“No Ma’am. I know I am never going to see it again. I am never going to go back home.” she cried out with the conviction of one who has lost everything.

“Tut…Tut … I will not have you talking yourself silly like that. If we do not find it, we will apply for a new one. It will only take a few months. That’s all there is to it. Come now, you have worked hard for me for an entire year. I will increase your salary and also write to your father and explain. Cheer up now and get back to work.”

Words of consolation were not enough, and her heart was still heavy with grief. She put up a brave front during the day, but at night she cried herself to sleep, her arms thrown around the soft white fur of old Crone.

The night’s rest and the arrival the much awaited young man the next day, helped clear the gloom. She almost forgot her worries when the young man opened his suitcase to reveal a number of nicely wrapped gifts for his beloved mother. She peeped in from behind the curtains at the door, as the young man took out one gift after another and excitedly showed them to his mother. He had even brought a sleeping basket for the cat.

“I am glad old Crone is still around to keep you company, mother”, he said with a smile, as he picked Crone up and laid her in the new basket. The cat wriggled out of the basket mewling in defiance.

“Old Crone – ungrateful as ever”, she thought with a smile. At least he had remembered to get a gift for the cat. There was nothing for her though. No gifts to make her happy. She suddenly felt very lonely in this foreign land. Tears again welled up in her eyes. Lost in self pity, she did not realize that the cat had snuggled up next to her feet, and both mother and son were now looking in her direction.

“Who is she”, the young man’s voice broke through her train of thoughts. She blushed, wiped away her tears, picked up the cat and left the room with her head lowered.

However she could not keep away for long. On her return, she realized that she was the topic of the discussion between mother and son. Curious, she unintentionally eavesdropped.

The mother was speaking –“… and that is her story. She has this annoying habit of stealing things, but she is very hard working. Of course, I pay her a lot too, and she has managed to save a huge amount in just a year’s time.”

At this point the voice dropped to a near inaudible level and she had to lean forward to catch the next words.

“I know she is determined to go home and get married to some village guy her father selects, but I have her passport with me. I have locked it away in the old iron safe in your bedroom. Until I get someone to replace her, I will have to cajole her into staying here. I have offered her extra money…”

She did not wish to hear any more. Her head was spinning and she thought she would faint. This was treachery on the part of her mistress. Without the passport she was a virtual prisoner in the foreign land. She went back to the kitchen and sat down in a corner and let the tears roll silently until they dried up.

To be concluded in part 3 …