As Prerna stepped out of the door of the jail building, a thought occurred to her about her parole. She turned around to see whether Officer Khan was still there and she was not surprised to see that he was there.
"Kuch problem hein, Mrs. Bajaj?" Officer Khan asked.
"Uh, its not that mein grateful nahi hoon lekein I was wondering why I was let go? Mera meaning, Indian government does not exactly let prisoners out in parole because I have been good and not caused any trouble. I mean I have applied every year for five years and been rejected, why India's love with me now?"
"Well, yeh kya hein ki, Indian government ko ek anonymous person nein aapki lein ek lawyer hire karaya. Then what he did was argue when your parole was rejected this year, after you had left, he argued about the lack of proof except the gun which was no proofs of sort so you are being let out on bail till the trial to gather whether you were innocent or not."
Prerna knew that tears were gathering in her eyes, which was so unlike her, but lately she had been crying a lot lately. "I don't know what to say, but thank you. By any chance, did you know who the person that hired a lawyer for me was?"
"Well, I can tell you that he came to the trial, but apparently he wants to be unknown to you," Khan answered with a twinkle in his eyes.
Prerna did not know why the man had a look like he was going to wink at her, but she did not dare ask. Prerna said, "Well, I can say nothing, but thank him. Should you ever meet him, would you tell him my thanks? By the way, are there any one waiting for me out there?"
"I don't know, m'am, but hope you enjoy yourself. I have to go now."
"Well, thank you for everything, Officer."
As Prerna made her way out of the building for the second time, a very bad feeling came to her stomach. Do not worry; she told herself, just because there were no visitations during the time that you were in jail is not a bad sign. Maybe, they did not want to see you in that condition knowing that they could do nothing about it.
Reality check, another voice told her, just because they could do nothing about it; does not mean that they could not have bothered to see how she was doing. She could see why Mr. Bajaj had not wanted to come see her because he had turned away from her the last minute, but at least Sneha could have come. No, Prerna amended; she should have come to see me. After all, I was the one that took her blame. Should she not at least be a little grateful?
What are you saying? Prerna thought. You did what you had to because you were a mother and you loved your daughter. That does not mean that your daughter owes you her life.
Be that as it maybe, should see not at least come visit you once in a while just for the sake of keeping you company? The thought persisted. Admit it Prerna, no one cares about you as much as you care about your family and friends.
When Prerna finally jarred from her thoughts, she realized that she was out of the building and was standing in the middle of the parking lot. She quickly stood in the sidewalk to see if anyone had come to welcome her, but after five minutes of looking around, she finally concluded that it was just as she had thought would happen. Maybe they had not known that she was let out, Prerna considered. She latched on that thought so that she would not start crying in self-pity again. Prerna decided that she would walk to her home so that she could surprise the family and get a bit of fresh air. Well, she thought with a smile, as much fresh air as one could get in Mumbai.
Prerna had thought that she was a very decisive woman that after she made a decision she would not deter from it. Half way through the journey in the humid weather with her sari plastered to her back, she contemplated stopping and calling someone in the family to pick her up. The look in her family members when they saw her was the only thing that kept her from calling on of them. With that thought in her mind, Prerna picked up her lagging footsteps.
Her prep talk kept her strong till she got to the house, but her spirits plummeted when the gate seemed locked. Even thought the locked gates, one could see the miserable condition the house was in. There were no blooming flowers; in fact, there were no flowers. Weeds were growing everywhere.
Prerna did not know how long she had stood looking dismayed at the house, when a guard walked by.
"Where are the inhabitants of the house?" Prerna asked.
"What are you talking about? The house has been a government property for four years." The guards replied.
Prerna thought the ground had been take away from her, so great was her shock.
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