Fifteen Lanes - S.J. Laidlaw Page 0,48

pounds in an instant. I was terrified of what I’d find. I put Shami down and took his hand. We followed the sound, running as quickly as we could. It felt as if we were moving in slow motion.

Rounding the corner of the building, we stepped into a dimly lit passageway. It was barely wide enough for the two of us to walk side by side, and it got darker with every step. Broken glass crunched under my sandals, and I almost slid on something with the distinctly foul smell of human waste. We moved cautiously, jumping at every shadow. Finally, we saw a mound on the ground that moved ever so slightly. We’d found her.

I cursed the darkness as I knelt beside her and tried to assess the damage. Curled up on her side, she raised one hand and touched my face, feeling my features like a blind person. That terrified me. Her blouse was ripped, exposing one shoulder. She had no other clothes on. I gagged at the metallic smell of blood.

“Noor.” Her voice cracked. I could hear rather than see that she was crying. I took her hand and held it.

“Paru,” I said. “Were you …?” I couldn’t finish my question. I didn’t want to hear her answer.

“Yes. It was Suresh,” she said. “And he wasn’t alone.”

“We need to get you to a doctor.”

“No.”

For just a moment I felt a searing flash of anger toward Lali. If I hadn’t been delayed by her escape, I would have been on time to meet Parvati and this wouldn’t have happened. Deepa-Auntie and now Parvati; how many more victims would Lali claim with her selfish flight? I immediately felt guilty. Lali couldn’t have lasted much longer. But what could I do now for Parvati?

I pulled Parvati’s head and shoulders onto my lap and scanned the dark alley for her clothes. I could see a pile of something some distance off.

Shami crouched beside me and touched Parvati’s face.

“Is Par-di sick?” asked Shami, his voice etched with worry.

“She’ll be fine,” I said. “Go find her clothes, Shami.”

He set off with the resolve of a three-year-old on a mission. He crouched down at the pile then straightened up and kept going. My heart stopped for a minute when he disappeared around a huge heap of refuse. Seconds later he reappeared with something in his hands and ran back to us.

“Don’t run,” I scolded. The damp, uneven ground was littered with all manner of dangerous things. I felt a surge of hatred for Parvati’s attackers, who had discarded her in a dumping ground.

Shami handed me her clothing. Her pants were ripped as well. I wasn’t sure they would cover her. For the moment I laid them on top of her. She moaned at even that light pressure. Shami crouched down beside us and patted Parvati’s hair.

“It’s okay, Par-di. Me and Noor-di are here.”

She closed her eyes and gave the smallest of smiles, wincing with the effort.

“I know, baby,” she said. “I’m okay now. Don’t worry.”

After a time her breathing became deep and regular and I realized she’d fallen asleep. Only then did Shami settle himself on the other side of me, curling against my side, with one arm draped around my waist. He too fell asleep. If I’d only had Aamaal, my world would have been complete, surrounded by the people I loved. Then I thought of Ma and felt bad because I’d so easily forgotten her. And what of Deepa-Auntie?

Though it was now the early hours of the morning, the noise from the street beyond our alley still echoed inside our narrow refuge—a refuge where my best friend had been thrown away like trash. In my head, I made a list of all the people I would take with me if I could disappear like Lali had. I’d start over someplace clean and safe, where young girls slept without fear, and children never went hungry or were wasted by sickness.

Finally the events of the night caught up with me. My determination to remain on guard faltered. I too gave in to sleep.

Not many hours later I awoke to the coldness of Parvati’s absence. She hadn’t gone far. She’d pulled on her pants and was several feet away, near the garbage where Shami had found them. She didn’t notice I was awake, too intent on what she was doing. It was seconds before I realized what that was.

I leaped to my feet, startling Shami awake, and ran down the passageway, dropping to the ground