Sophia's Freedom

Chapter 15: Journal: Selection

After our ordeal at Mrs. Das's residence, we dropped Master da and Miss Sengupta at their respective home and left for the hospital.

As I reached there, I found the whole family assembled outside Sophia's cabin. I went and tried to start a conversation with Aamaya.

"How have you been doing? With all the things happening, I know it must be very tough for all of you?"

Before Aamaya could reply, Darika shouted impatiently, "what do you think Joe dada... everything is visible in front of your eyes..." she paused and continued "With Sophia being in the hospital, Mom has to stay with her the whole day and Dad is replacing her in the night."

"I don't understand, it appeared normal to me," I replied.

She countered “The only reason dad lives in Kolkata is to provide us a better life. He has a business there, and ever since this mishap, there has been no one to take care of the business. Even Mom works for a bank, and she has to be on leave till Sophia recovers."

"Sometimes I get the feeling that Geeta has entered our lives just to make it miserable."

I was stunned to hear it from her. How can a 7-year-old have such a stone-cold heart? She is in COMA for heaven's sake.

I asked her, “Wouldn’t your parents do the same if it would have been you or any one of your sisters lying on the bed instead of her?" pointing my fingers towards Sophia’s room.

I was not expecting the response I received from her. Her cruel words made me wonder if the other members of the family would also spew venom just like her. I was slowly beginning to reconsider if Aamaya was also like Darika and she was indeed worthy to be my best friend. She has been awfully quiet the whole time.

Darika replied "We are family and it is their duty to take care of us. Sophia is not one of ours. Why should we suffer because of her." she paused for a moment and then continued "Why won't she just die... at least our misery will be over..."

I took a deep breath to stop myself from retaliating and thought that changing the topic would calm me down. My doubts were cleared. They don't care about her at all. At least I was happy that Master da will be there to look after Geeta once she is awake.

At that moment Aamaya finally retaliated "DARIKA ENOUGH!!! DON'T FORGET... HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR SOPHIA YOU WOULD STILL BE USING THE KNEE CRUTCHES FOR WALKING..." it felt like Aamaya was really angry at Darika and she continued through her rant "How can you forget how she helped you get back on your feet after you had that lame accident because of your own foolishness..."

Before matters could escalate, I decided to stop Aamaya from ranting further and said "it's ok Aamaya, I can understand her feeling... she might be worried..." and before Darika or Aamaya could say a word, I touched Aamaya's left hand and began to drag her towards the entrance of the hospital. I continued, "Forget about Sophia for now. Remember, you made me a promise before you left for Kolkata that you are going to spend some quality time with me.” I stopped for a while and continued “But, I guess, with these unexpected turns of events some quality time with you is out of the question. However, there is something I wanted to show you..."

"What?" she asked.

"It's a surprise..." I replied playfully and then I began to pull her towards the gate.

A few moments later we reached the water fountain located close to the entrance of the hospital. I said "do you see the lotus flower there..."

"yes..."

"Isn't it beautiful" 

"Yes, it is..."

"Well the thing is... my dad once told me that every year during the summer months, the lotus flower withers and dies, and the moment the summer month ends the lotus flower blooms again and spread smiles to everyone..." Aamaya got so engrossed looking at the beautiful plant that I doubt she even heard what I said and then I continued "I don't know much about Sophia, but I can definitely tell you that she is also like the lotus flower, Imagine her to be the lotus flower, and it is the summer month for her..."

At that moment something strange happened. She turned towards me and placed her arms around my neck and then said "Sophia is really special... the day you will get to know her, you are definitely going to like the person she is..." her voice felt as if she was probable said and continued "I just wish she gets well soon... I really miss her..." 

"Trust me... Sophia will get well very soon..." I decided to change the topic once again and continued "You know what, because of this issue with Sophia, we are unable to spend a lot of time together... I promise you, during my next vacation in January, I promise to dedicate a whole week with you."

She let go of me and looked at me, smiled, and asked softly, “Really, you mean it?"

I reciprocated to assure her, "Of course, after all, you are my best friend and I don't want to miss out on the opportunity of spending time with one of the most beautiful girls I have ever met.”

“You know if any of my friends saw me in your company, they would throw a jealous fit. You know how friends presume about others' beautiful girlfriends... I mean a friend in a true sense, not a lover. I don't want to offend you by my choice of words and apologize if I said something inappropriate."

My flirtatious words made her blush and she hugged me again. It felt awkward with all the things happening around. I whispered in her ear "Sweety, people are looking at us."

She would not let me go off easily but thankfully I heard auntie’s voice from a distance, reminding Aamaya that it was time to go.

Once they left it was me and uncle all alone once again.

Uncle asked, "Son, I am going for dinner, will you mind sitting with my Sophia for the time being?"

"Sure, sir. Not an issue. You go ahead and have your dinner. I will be here with Sophia", I replied.

I continued reading the journal where I left it last.

                                                                          23rd May 1992

Today is Saturday. We were informed earlier that there would be a party in school to honor the players who bought glory to the school by becoming one of the top 3 teams from Kolkata. We were told to be in school by 5:00 p.m. in the evening. Aamaya di helped me choose the right clothes for the party.

The school auditorium was decorated beautifully. A makeshift stage has been raised in one of the corners and a banner hanging on it reads, “Rising Phoenix". Once we arrived, the principal made an announcement to encourage us, the participants of the tournament. He said that during the last month, our team has proved their skill and endurance to everybody by their achievement on the basketball court. He is proud of the team and especially of Sunaina who has been awarded a full scholarship by SAI to study and get training in basketball. Principal sir presented her with a medal and then the party started.

I was waiting in a corner when Aarohi came and informed me that Monika was searching for me. As I approached, I could see Monika looking stunning in a Sky-blue tutu dress. She was looking gorgeous as a young princess from a cartoon movie. All this while that I have known her, I presumed her to be the tomboyish girl in school but today she proved me wrong. I asked her if she wants to dance with me and she agreed. She wanted to dance the waltz with me but I admitted that I didn't know anything about it.

We finally decided to master the dance form with a challenge to outdo one another on the floor in near future. We ended up dancing to our own styles and found the whole school joining us in the enjoyment.

***Abhinu, you better learn from a good teacher how to dance, coz Monika has been trained in 3 different dance forms and I can bet my basketball career, that there is no better dancer in the whole school than her. ***

                                                          24th May 1992

I was very tired after yesterday's party and woke up late. Aunty enquired if I am alright because it was not like me to wake up late. I told her that my body was aching because of dancing in school.

Aarohi was excited about yesterday's chain of events. She told everyone in the house about my invitation to Monika for the dance yesterday. She also added that I screwed up the situation for my inability to join her response due to ignorance. Garima and Darika started making fun of me however thanks to uncle they all kept quiet.

Aamaya didi told me that she will teach me how to ask a girl out for a dance. Later in the evening we called up dad and narrated to him about yesterday's dance party. Uncle had a word with dad over the phone after which he informed me that a dance teacher will be arranged immediately. The teacher will come to our house every evening to teach me and Aarohi to dance the Waltz. I thanked uncle for it and then all of us went to the court to practice for the coming matches.

                                                          25th May 1992

Today was a big day for Monika. We had our inter-school Karate championship. What Aarohi told me the other day was right, I knew that Soham is all set to get a good beating from Monika. I went to talk to Soham and wished him good luck.

Even though I am not a fighter, but I still could provide him some helpful tips to at least keep his head high. I suggested to him that the only way he could win against Monika was by being careful of her punches and if possible trying to aim the upper area with his kicks which will help him score the necessary point to establish a lead.

Soham told me that it was all because of me that he had to fight with Monika. He promised me that he is going to make my life miserable whenever he gets the chance. I guess some people never change and there is no helping them.

Monika got mad at me when she heard that I went and tried helping Soham with some pointers. I apologized to her and requested her not to be mad since he was also a friend. Monika forgave me and told me that since Soham shouted at me she will give him a match he will remember for the rest of his life. Guys like Soham can never make true friends because of their arrogant nature and it was futile of me to try and change him with my helpfulness.

When the match started, I was amazed at the fighting skills of Monika, she had to fight 4 different matches before she got to fight with Soham. Of the 5 matches she played, 3 of her opponents were boys and 2 of them were from the 8th and 9th standard and she won the fights without losing a sweat. But when it was time for her to fight with Soham, she started to play with him just like a wolf on a hunt who lets her opponent keep running till they tire out.

She let Soham aim a few punches and kicks at her which she avoided easily. In one instance she even taunted Soham by using her left hand to cover her eyes and gesturing him to land her a punch. When Soham tried to kick her instead, Monika landed a Jordan-uke and knocked him out cold. Monika was declared a winner for the 3rd consecutive time in a row.

*** Wow, that was fun. She was playing with him. It was a good show indeed, and landing a straight kick blindsided is really something. I should take a lesson and be careful the next time I quarrel with her.

I continued reading the entries and in one of the entries, it was mentioned that the state basketball committee requested all participating teams for the next round to name their respective team. Principal sir decided to name our school team "Rising Phoenix".  The next match was starting on 1st June 1992. ***

                                                                  1st June 1992

Generally, we were not scared of playing any match, but today for some reason, there was a general fear and tension in our minds. It was not just me, but Monika also told me that she was feeling this constant panic.

Monika is not the type of girl to be afraid of anything. We were all feeling tensed maybe because, this is the first time we will be playing a district-level basketball match, and we were opening the tournament.

Our PTI decided to take a picture of us, to commemorate the team that was going to make him famous as one of the best coaches in Kolkata. We were wearing our sports uniform, Monika, Aarohi, and Me, we stood together, and we wrapped our arms on each other's soldiers before taking the picture. The match started. It was against Malda. It was a good match and we won. Sunaina was declared the best player that day.

***Abhinu kept describing the matches they played in the tournament and winning all of them with ease. He wrote that the winning streak stretched to 15 matches. They played against Alipurdwar, West Vardaman, Birbhum, Hooghly, and Howrah. They were excited to find the most amazing thing that happened to them. One of the 3 musketeers were spotted by SAI for their training program***

                                                            12th July 1992

Today's match was between East Medinipur and Kolkata. This has been our 17th Match that we were able to win in a streak. We didn't lose a single match. PTI sir told us today that this match was going to be difficult for us. This team has won the last 5 matches without letting the opponent score a single point. Sir told us that it doesn't matter whether we win or lose, we should continue to play our natural game. What we have achieved in the past 3 months, was probably one of the most difficult things to accomplish.

We came to know that out of the 3 teams, selected for the district level playoff from Calcutta, Our Lady Queen of the Mission school was eliminated the day before yesterday when they played against Kalimpong. It was a sad moment for us, however, we were happy that we were still eligible for the playoffs along with St Thomas School

The match started and we realized very fast why the East Medinipur team was able to win the last 5 matches in a row. We were happy today because Aamaya didi, uncle, Aunty, and the sisters have visited the playground to watch us play. The first half was really tough for us, and the opponent team was leading with 10 to none at the break. With all hopes of winning the game gone, Aamaya didi approached us during halftime and encouraged us by reminding us what we learned in Purulia.

Basketball is a game of speed and skill, we were reminded. That day our opponents were twice our size and we got inspired by those words of Amaya didi. We played the second half giving all we had and proved to the crowd our ability to do something and excelled with our movement and teamwork. We won the match with a lead of 15 points.

                                                        13th July 1992

It was an uneventful day, today. Since it was a Saturday, we spent most of our time studying. We were lagging far behind in our studies, mostly due to the matches or because of our hectic practice schedule. Principal sir had announced that all the players will be allowed to appear in a separate exam and we just needed to score the qualifying marks to get promoted to the next class.

A sudden phone call received by Uncle in the afternoon broke the monotonous atmosphere of the house. After attending the call, he started shouting at everyone in excitement and asked all of us to assemble at the hall that very moment. When all of us reached the hall uncle announced that one of his children had made him the proudest father today. Aunty asked him to speak clearly about why he is so excited.

He stepped forward and picked up Aarohi in his arms and announced that the call is from SAI. A sports agent from the esteemed body called to inform that Aarohi has been selected to represent the state for the national. I cannot explain my happiness when I heard the news. All of us praised Aarohi in our own way, for her achievement. We called Monika and gave her the good news.

*** Wow... Aarohi is good. I can feel it, I am starting to feel that Aarohi is none other than our Geeta. The way she scored those 3 pointers I knew it. Only a S.A.I. trained athlete could perform that feat. But then why did she stop playing and why did the family start treating her so badly. Isn’t she, their own daughter? She could have brought a lot of glory to this family. But the way she is being treated, this family doesn’t deserve a girl like her. ***

                                                                 TO BE CONTINUED…