Cloaked Intentions

Chapter 7

Swara wrung her hands as she sat on her bed. She had been feeling unsettled since her visit, with Laksh, to that old age home. There were a lot of thoughts flowing through her mind wrecking havoc.

Hearing the name Philomena D'Costa had caused her to catch her breath. She had wondered if that was the same Philomena that she knew as a child. The one who was her nanny. While Laksh had been away with the lady, she had remembered her nanny. Her nanny had been warm, but always a bit strict with Swara. Sanskar on the other hand held a soft spot with the lady. He would be the one pulling the pranks and Swara was the one left getting reprimanded for it. She was always a bit upset with her nanny because of that and Sanskar for his part had always loved to tease her and rub it in.

When Laksh had come back after spending time with the lady, a part of her was interested in knowing if she was indeed the same Philomena. The words, that Laksh had said, the lady uttered confirmed it beyond doubt for her. But they had also brought an uneasiness with them, especially when Laksh had uttered that sentence. Swara couldn't put her finger on it, but for some reason her mind kept going back to the maid at Sanskar's house, Kamala bai.

Kamala bai had been a big gossip monger. Both, Sanskar and she, had hated Kamala to the core, for informing all the adults about what they were always up to. They had even trapped her and gotten her in trouble once, out of spite. But beyond the gossip mongering, she wasn't entirely sure right then as to what had brought Kamala bai to the forefront in her thoughts, may be it was just that Philomena nanny had said it and she was drawing some connections, which quite possible didn't even exist. It had after all been 14 years since Philomena had been associated with her family, she must have had other jobs after this. Besides wasn't gossiping common among many maids, not just Kamala bai? But try as she may, she couldn't shake the thought.

She wasn't sure what made her take the next bold step, but she decided to go to the Kumartulee slum where she knew Kamala stayed. Swara had been good at remembering such things. Sanskar catalogued everything in physical format while she had a map ready in her mind. Today, she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one. Laksh and her father had been off to a meeting with some bank officials. She knew that both wouldn't have been okay with her venturing out like this on whim, but they wouldn't understand her restlessness as well.

Swara made her way into Kumartulee slum half an hour later. She wasn't even sure if Kamala still stayed there, but she had to try. She made some enquires with the local shopkeepers and was surprised to find out that Kamala did still reside in Kumartulee. She got the directions to the place and made her way through the labyrinth of shops and small houses within Kumartulee. An inquiry with another neighbor a few houses way, helped her pinpoint the house she was looking for.

As she was walking towards it, a hand closed her mouth and an arm wrapped around her waist pulling her in one swift motion into a dark house. The house seemed to be lit only by the small amount of sunlight that was trickling in through a small parting in the curtains along the window and through a glass tile on the roof of the house. She struggled against the strong grip of her capturer even as she tried to adjust her sight to the lowered light surrounding her.

The person turned her around and pressed her into a corner, still covering her mouth, pressing himself against her to avoid her from leaving. In the small light from the window, his face shone through. It was Laksh. Her eyes widened, confused to find him here and worse almost assaulting her. "Shh" he said asking her to be quiet, even though she couldn't have made any noise, with his hand still on her mouth. Despite the weird situation, she did calm down a bit. He seemed to be listening to something outside, but her heart had been thudding in her chest by now so that she really couldn't have heard what he was trying to listen to.