Fifteen Lanes - S.J. Laidlaw Page 0,96

forever, Aamaal. Just until I came for you.”

“That’s not what she said.”

“I peed,” said Shami in a tiny voice.

“It’s okay, Shami-baby, we’ll get you cleaned up. But you must come out now.”

“Not till Ma comes,” said Aamaal.

“She’s not coming back, Aamaal,” I said, with a mixture of guilt and exasperation.

“Where’s Ma?” asked Shami, his voice trembling. He’d been holding back tears a long time.

I did the only thing I could. I slid under the bed and lay next to them, pulling them into my arms. Shami was sandwiched between us. I rubbed Aamaal’s back. Her body shook as she finally let herself cry. Shami put his thumb in his mouth and burrowed into me. I felt his chest rise and fall against my own. I wished we could have stayed like that forever, but I could hear the officers banging around downstairs, their shouts filling the air. This wasn’t our home anymore. We had to leave.

“Come on,” I said. Wiggling backwards, I dragged them with me, stood up and helped them both to their feet. “It’s time to go.”

We walked cautiously to the ladder, listening for sounds before we wordlessly descended. I took a final look around, knowing I would never see this place again. I waited for the relief to wash over me but all I felt was sad. Whatever else it was, it was my childhood home. I could hear voices from the direction of the lounge—stern, joyless voices. I took each of my siblings by the hand and we walked in the opposite direction, past the washroom, the kitchen, to the small room at the end of the hall.

I had to see it one last time, commit it to memory as one might revisit the scene of a murder. It was the site of so much sadness. Shami and Aamaal didn’t question where we were going. Their steps didn’t falter as we entered the outer room. My brave little siblings stood with me in front of the box.

The noise was nearly imperceptible, yet unmistakable. All three of us held our breath as we strained to listen. It came again. The wooden crate, little more than a coffin, was not empty.

It didn’t make sense. The door was closed but it wasn’t locked. Why would anyone choose to be inside? The light was off. Even with the morning sun filtering into the outer room, it would be pitch-black in there. Could a rat have got in? It wasn’t impossible. They got in everywhere else.

I let go of my siblings’ hands, hopped up on the stool and opened the door. I jumped back quickly. If it was a rat, it would scurry away. I didn’t want to be in its path.

We waited.

Nothing.

The noise had stopped. Yet I knew there was something in there. The hair rose on the back of my neck. The presence inside the box waited just as we did. My siblings’ hands found their way back into my own.

“Hello,” I said.

Silence.

“Is someone there?”

Suddenly I remembered that I hadn’t seen Pran or Binti-Ma’am outside. Was it possible they were hiding in the box? It made sense. The police wouldn’t think to look there. It was the perfect hiding place. Only someone very familiar with our home would think of it. I was ablaze with outrage that Pran or Binti-Ma’am would be saved from arrest by the very thing they’d used to destroy the souls of others. I let go of my siblings, got back up on the stool, switched on the light and climbed inside.

I wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted me.

Lali-didi sat on the filthy mattress, leaning back against the blood-spattered wall.

“What are you doing in here?” I asked. There was something beyond the fact of finding her in such a strange place that made me uneasy.

“Just resting.”

“In here?” I couldn’t keep the astonishment out of my voice.

She smiled weakly.

“I’ve brought the police, Lali-didi. Everyone has been arrested, but you don’t need to worry. You’re a minor. You’ll get sent to a rescue home.”

“Good for you. I knew you would save us.”

“So you’ll come out now,” I said.

“Not yet.”

“But you’re free, Lali-didi. You don’t ever have to be in a place like this again. You’re free.”

“Not yet.”

I didn’t know what to say. Lali-didi had often been a mystery to me but I was more perplexed than usual. My disquiet grew.

“You’re going to have a wonderful life. Everything’s going to be okay now.”

“Do you know how many times I’ve been raped, Noor?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

“Ha! Neither