Greed

It wasn’t easy for me to write or express my feelings by jotting them down on paper. I would had continued with my thoughts until that day which changed my life and also my perspective towards different issues in life.

My parents were very energetic and loving. They were famous for great get together and entertaining each and every guest with full enthusiasm. Nobody had ever seen them frowning or playing back flip. My father was a Chemistry teacher in a private school in our town and my mother ran her salon. I was the only child of my parents.

My father was a dedicated teacher and mentor. He also had a small laboratory in which he used to perform practical beforehand. He always believed that teacher should always be ready to face all sort of challenges. He hated to go to his classes without preparation. On weekends one can always found him in his laboratory .

As I mentioned my mother had a salon. Like my father she was also fond of discovering and inventing something new for her clients. She used to search lots of books based on beauty and skin care. I had always seen her making new lotions , serums and scrubs . She had huge number of clients which were fan of her homemade products.

Being only child , I was as lucky as any princess. I never had to wish for anything because I didn’t need to. My wardrobe was always full with latest stuff in fashion. As a working pair  my parents time was crucial so they  knew how to manage time, kitchen and home so I had always seen our cabinets and racks overflowing with grocery. We had a small basement too. My mother used to store water bottles, fruit juices, dried fruits , wheat , rice , coal, oil  and other grains there. But all items were consumed before start of the next month. And every new month fresh items were restored.

My parents encouraged me to read books or anything I like. According to my father – the person who reads extensively, rules the world without wearing a crown. I was never willing to agree with my father but I couldn’t dare to speak. My first love was my toys, my dolls and their dresses. I still remember how I used to set up their homes, changing their clothes, washing their hair with my mother’s homemade shampoo, and dying their hair with hydrogen peroxide stolen from my father’s lab.

As a child I was way different from other girls. My whole world revolved around my dolls and parents. Nobody had ever seen me using mobile or any other gadget. My parents were satisfied as they didn’t have to waste their energies on screaming .

It was summer of 2010. The weather was pleasant and fresh breeze was blowing. All of us were busy with our tasks. All of a sudden I felt need of having an apple juice so I decided to go to the basement and grab a juice bottle from the crate. I went running and just as I picked up the bottle I heard a loud bang. Nothing else just a loud noise , like something was blasted.

My heart beater so fast I ran quickly upstairs there I saw one of my uncle holding a bag. He was sweating and looked awkward but when he saw me he composed himself and rushed towards me. Before I asked anything he told the police has raided and my parents have been arrested. This news was like a bomb on my head , I was speechless . He further added I should hide somewhere because police will arrest you too. I was too young to understand so I followed whatever he told me to do.

He sent me to the basement and asked me to wait for sometime. He locked the door and went. I could hear his footsteps for a while . I was terrified. I couldn’t dare to move then I realized my throat is dry and I am hungry too. I yelled for my parents but no response. It was getting dark too. I looked for the switch board but in panic my fingers were unable to locate it. Somehow I managed to find the switch board and in the next moment room was all bright. All of a sudden I tripped over something and my head hit a wall. I wanted to scream with pain but some power stopped me. I saw apple juice bottle lying next to me. I quickly unscrew it and gulped it all at once. Few moments later I heard like somebody is using hammer. I followed the voice , it was coming from the washroom attached with the basement. Nothing was there  , I heard same noise again but coming from different direction . I felt I would go insane.  I leaned against the wall and stared at the door with hope. I noticed I couldn’t see under the door, my senses told me I have been put in captivity on purpose. The door of basement was bit higher and now it has been sealed.

The voices that I heard was actually someone sealing washrooms window and basements door. The purpose was to kill me. In my heart I knew my parents are no more . And the killer wanted me to die with pain. I didn’t know what the time was, but I knew it’s almost midnight and it’s useless to tell for help. I cried and cried for hours and I didn’t know when I was in sleep. When I woke up I found myself lying on the floor. I thought I am dreaming but it was a real life.

I headed towards washroom to freshen myself. I could see a ray of sunlight coming from a tiny opening. I was hopeful that somebody would come and release me. My stomach was rumbling. I was hungry, so I opened a pack of dry fruits. Take handful of cashew nuts and raisins . Mixed both of them and ate like gluttons. I was bit energised so I bang the door as loud as I can. Even shouted so loudly that my own ear began to hurt. Still no response! I prayed to my lord. I asked Him why I am alive. I found an old rug and few sheets from a carton. I swept the floor with a help of a broom and spread the rug and sheets on the floor. Instead of pillow I put my old stuffed toys and lie down.

Something inside was telling that I will be in captivity for long. All i had was few juice bottles, water bottles and dry fruits to survive.  I even forgot the date. Perhaps it was 20^th of June or 21^st. My brain was drained . While opening pack of dry fruits some of the coal also fell down from its sack. I started to draw random pictures on the floor. Suddenly an idea came into my mind. I started to mark tally to keep a continuous count of my days in captivity. Each day I got up , I only have few things to do. Yelling for help, crying like crazies, nibbling dry fruits and marking tallies. 10 days had passed and I felt my nervous would breakdown. I felt so weak and low.

Perhaps I was sleeping , I heard a strange noise like something had been dragging along the floor. I wasn’t fully conscious. When I got up I realized I was dreaming. I went to wash my face and I felt some movement outside. I quickly return to the room and saw the floor was blank where I used to mark tallies. It was like an explosion. My heart pounded so bad. Marks were no more. I composed my self and found that some of the sacks are also missing .

Was someone here? Many questions arose into my mind. Why and how someone can remove the marks? I heard some footsteps but this time I stayed quiet. I decided to not to crush or shout for any assistance. While I was thinking my eyes saw a piece of golden metal lying half under my rug. I took it out and to my surprise it was key to the basements door. My joy knew no bounds. All I want was to get out of here and approach my parents as soon as possible.

I swiftly unlocked the door . To my surprise everything was at its place. I was about to call my parents loudly. Then I heard few people talking. I followed the direction of voices and on reaching I was shocked to hear that my parents had been kidnapped and murdered by my own uncle. They wanted to kill me too but in a different way so that no one can trace them.

I was wet with sweat I could not dare to stand there so I tried to escape from there. I was successful in unlocking the backdoor and ran as fast as I could. I wanted to meet our gardener. I knew he is the only one who can help me in finding the truth. When I approached near his home I was trembling with fear. I had many doubts in my mind. What if he was also involved or may be he was murdered too. My luck was with me i saw him sitting alone in his front yard.

He started to sob when he saw me. I felt like I have seen my father in me. He asked his wife to bring tea as soon as possible and took me inside. What he told next was bitter than any poison. He was there when he saw my uncle and his family came to meet my parents. They dint notice the gardener and went inside without ringing door bell. The gardener found that behaviour quite strange so he peeped inside from the kitchens door. He told they tied my parents with ropes and forced them to drink a solution which was taken from my father’s lab.

They threatened my parents if they don’t drink k the solution, they would kill me in front of my parents eyes. Everything happened so quickly! Somebody dragged my parents bodies and took them to our back garden. A hole was dug under the oak tree and their bodies were thrown inside. The gardener told he his there for few hours. He also saw my uncle packing monies , jewels and important documents in a bag. After that he didn’t knew what happened next.

I asked him why he didn’t inform police. He was ashamed. He said he was totally in shock and couldn’t get out of the bed since that day. I called one of my friend . Her father was in police department. She was so upset to hear me. She and her parents quickly reached my  gardeners home and took me to their home. Her father called the officers and whole incident was quoted.

The inquiry team was made and it was discovered that my uncle wanted to own my parents property. And because of his greed he murdered my parents. He knew that I am in the basement . But he dint know I am alive. The day when I found tally marks had been rubbed, my uncle sent someone to take out my dead body. On opening the door they found me alive. He dint knew about the food that had been stored in the basement. I was sleeping soundly so I couldn’t heard any noise.

Instead of taking me out or killing me at the spot they decide to remove the food from there. And while dragging sacks coal marks were removed. Long story short my uncle and family were put into life sentence. I was a minor so government took custody of my parents property and I was sent to girls hostel.

Many years have passed but I still remember every bit of my past life. My parents are not with me . This loss is irreversible. I have money and I am working in a reputable company but there is some kind of emptiness inside my heart. I cannot trust people so easily. I hope one day I will be relieved.