Sophia's Freedom

Chapter 6 : The Conversation

After the basketball match, I decided not to stay any longer. I told Vikas and his friend to leave the place in case Aunty reverses her consent and asks Vikas to delete the video recording of her daughters' performance. 

Vikas exited the grounds and headed home. I went to talk to Aunty Banerjee and told her that since it was getting late, we needed to leave.

I wanted to talk to Aamaya, to console her after losing the match. I looked around and found her sitting on the ground with her head tucked between her knees. She looked dismal. I sat down next to her and gently tapped her shoulder, she raised her head and looked at me, and said: "What are you still doing here?"

I replied, "I just came to talk to my angel in case she needed cheering up." She took my hand, looked at me, and said: "What do you want to talk about?"

"Well actually I don't know how to express this, but I really like you. You are very sweet and graceful" I felt a faint variation in her facial expression.

"Do you really mean that?" she asked and my confirmatory node made her smile.

I told her "Please do not keep torturing yourself thinking about the match. Being a good sportsman, you should know that outcomes do not matter..."

She looked at me and said "I know but it's just hard to believe that we were not able to seize the ball in the second half. As a captain, I feel really pathetic."

I assured her and said, "Don't worry, I will teach you basketball and next time when you play against anyone, you will be able to form a solid defense, the same way we did today." 

"It's fine Joe... I know my sisters... they like to show off to everyone that they know basketball, but I guess you might have understood the truth by now." she paused and then turned to look towards Sophia who was currently talking to my sister and Vikash, and continued "but, I was surprised at Sophia, she has not touched the ball for almost 7 years but still, her skills with the ball are impeccable... "

"7 years!!!" I replied with a surprised expression on my face and asked "then why did she stop playing then?"

"Well..." she made a strange face. It felt as if she didn't want to answer the question and replied "One day when the time is right... your Sister or Sophia will tell you about it..." and then she stood up and extended her right hand, I held my hand towards her and she pulled me up with all her might.

The moment I stood up she said, "It is getting late. I think you should go. Goodnight." and saying this she started walking towards her sisters. 

I looked around for Monica and was unable to find her. Guessing she might be inside the house with Sophia, I called out her name. A few seconds later she rushed out of the house, holding the top she gave to  Sophia before the match. Once she was out, we left for our home.

By the time we reached home, it was around 6:30 PM. We were very much exhausted. I went to the washroom to freshen myself up. 

After half an hour I came out into the hall. I saw my little sister talking to daddy excitedly and showing him something from a magazine. Mom was in the kitchen getting our dinner ready.

As I was about to sit on the sofa, daddy said, "I heard about the basketball match from Monica, I am proud of you son. You led your team to a perfect victory. Good leadership. You guys must be tired. Why don't you both go to your rooms and get some rest? I will call you when dinner is ready."

I went to my room and minutes later Monica was knocking at my door, "Can I come in Bhaiya?" 

I was on my bed but turned towards the door to face her and replied, "Yeah sure."

She came and sat next to me and started, "I can never thank you for what you have done today, I hope I am capable enough to return this favor to you someday." 

I knew something was definitely off with Monica today, but I decided not to probe any further.

"You don't have to thank me for anything dear and never talk such nonsense about favors and all. You know very well that I can do anything for you. I will go to any extent to protect you from the world." I replied.

Monika smiled at my words and teased "Ok... my Superman"

I looked at her and asked, "Monica, if you don't mind, I want to know something."

"Anything bro," she replied. 

So, I asked, "Can you tell me more about the Banerjee family?"

Monica asked, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything" I replied.

To create a conducive space Monika got on the bed, pulled the pillow and placed it on her lap, and continued, "The family came here 6 years back. I came to know from Aamaya didi that, they were previously located in Jadavpur. However there occurred a tragedy in the family, so they decided to leave everything behind and move here. Uncle still lives there alone to run the family business and often visits here to spend time with the family."

"Sophia keeps telling me that uncle is a good man. From how Sophia talks about uncle, it feels like he loves her more than his own children."

I responded, "Hmm, and what about  Sophia? What do you know about her? Do you know anything about her parents?"

She replied "She is my best friend in the family. She is a great girl, a noble soul, very soft-spoken, and very helpful. But she is not their own child, she belongs to a different lineage, I have no idea about her parents. Whenever I try to ask her, she becomes very emotional. Probably they are no more." She paused a while and then said “you know bro, sometimes I feel that her family always tries to take advantage of her good nature.”

I replied "Oh... I am sorry!!!"

Monika further added "You know bro,  Sophia is also lucky to be home-schooled. She doesn't go to school like us. Aunty has hired a tutor who comes around 12 noon and teaches her till 5 PM every day." The home-schooling part surprised me.

"Do they try to hurt her sometimes. I have seen her sisters being rude to her today.".

Monika replied "Darika doesn't like  Sophia very much. She feels that because of her, their father needs to stay away from them. Any opportunity she gets, she tries to bully  Sophia and hurt her self-esteem. Nobody ever stands up for Sophia. Well except Aamaya didi sometimes..."

As I was about to react to that, I heard mom calling us for dinner.

Mom had cooked Monica's favorite chicken curry with coconut milk. She looked really excited at the sight of her favorite dish and without waiting for anyone, she started savoring the food. Dad was about to reprimand her but changed his mind. He felt Monica was very tired and let it go.

I was not able to take my mind off the sequence of events today. Something didn't feel right. I decided to seek my parents' advice on my dilemma.

"Dad what do you think I should do, if I see that someone is not being treated well, someone is being bullied mentally."  

He looked at me and said, "If you are aware of any such thing, you should definitely be raising your voice against it. It's your responsibility as a human being to try and protect that person, and if you consider him/her as your friend, then you should 'Think with your heart and feel with your soul"

I was not sure what Daddy implied by this statement since we normally feel with our hearts and always think with our minds. However, I felt I got the answer that I was hoping for.

After dinner, we retreated to our rooms to get ready for the night. A few minutes later, Mom and Dad came to my room and sat next to me. 

I was a bit startled to see them in my room, so I got off the bed and asked, "Is everything all right Mom? You could have just called me."

Dad replied "Son, we wanted to discuss something important. I know whom you were trying to reach with your question during dinner. Monika has already talked to us about this, but it felt like she was exaggerating certain details. If you are considering protecting the Banerjee girl, then I would suggest you take caution before you plan on doing anything hasty. Always think about your sister and us."

I told dad, "Trust me, dad. I will not let any harm come to any of you."

Dad replied "I know son, but your sister has been taking some risks, she has been constantly going over and spending most of her time with them. She thinks, by doing that she is helping the girl, but at times I feel worried that her efforts will only lead to more problems for herself and the girl. I don't trust that family at all. But being next-door neighbors, we need to proceed with caution."

I replied, "Dad, from what I have observed so far, Monika is a very perceptive and mature girl. At times, I have seen a sense of protectiveness and responsibility in her, towards her loved ones which make me feel very proud. I am very sure she has thought about all the pros and cons of her actions, both for her family and the one she is trying to protect. I can assure you our Monika will never disappoint you."

It felt like dad was re-assured at my words, and then handed me a sealed envelope, which was addressed from CB-163, Sector-III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata. I took the envelope and placed it in my drawer just like all the other envelopes I keep receiving from that very address.

                                                                    TO BE CONTINUED…

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