CHAPTER SIX
Try, Try Again
So, much to the chagrin of the Professor after his failed attempt at killing her, healthy and hardy, Bala grew in the Sharma household in Indranagar. She was such a beautiful child. She had a very expressive mouth, and when she smiled, which was often, everyone smiled back. Her large brown eyes were wonderfully eloquent and seemed fathomless, but it was her personality, which won everyone’s heart. Sometimes, if she appeared to be a bit naughty, it was only because she simply had to explore everything. It was her compassion, however, which really got her into trouble.
Bossy old Granny and her brother Ajay were her usual companions, as both parents were so busy. Many times, however, Syamala took her to the orphanage to play with the other children
while she worked in the office, and they continued to have the monthly picnics for the tiny tots in the garden.
When Bala was three years old, a small Ganapathi temple was built in the vacant lot on the other side of the alley. Bala watched the construction of the temple with great interest, and when the small stone statue of Ganesh was placed in the niche above the temple doors, she was beside herself with happiness.
“Brover, brover, here’s your Bala up here in the window.”
She lisped as she looked down happily. All the visitors to the house had to led by the finger to the windows and introduced to her ‘brover’, who was actually a member of her heavenly family.
The Professor was a different matter altogether. She never looked at or spoke to him. When he came to tutor Ajay, she often looked down at her lap, muttering, “Bad man, bad man,” before running out of the room.
“Ajay, do you think the Professor is rally bad?” asked his father.
Ajay looked a little embarrassed.
“What, Ajay? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Oh, it’s nothing really, Papa, only sometimes he wants to ‘surf the net’, you know, and look at things I don’t want to see.”
“Do you mean pornography, Ajay?”
“Sometimes.”
“You didn’t tell me…”
“I knew you’d tell him not to come anymore, Papa, and he’s got such a quick mind. I’m learning so much. Remember, you yourself said that he was brilliant.”
“Granny never heard from those schools in Shimla. You know, Ajay, You’re computer literate now and we could enroll you in that computer school for shut-ins.”
“But, I’m not a ‘shut-in’, Papa, and, besides, he’s letting me learn as fast as I can absorb the material. It’s as if I’ve discovered a new world in which I’m in control for a change! I’m whizzing along!”
“All right, son, I’ll respect your judgment, but, frankly, I’m a little surprised at your response. I had thought about getting you the computer a long time before I brought it home, for exactly that reason. I didn’t want that garbage to be accessible. It isn’t like you to keep secrets, either.”
“Papa, please! You know what I think about sleaze, that’s not a secret. I said I would not watch that stuff and that was the end of it. It’s only for morons, as far as I can see, so I don’t understand the Professor at all.”
One night, Syamala couldn’t seem to fall asleep. The house was full of creaks and groans, like any house seems to be at night. Listening carefully, she could hear murmuring and it seemed to be coming from the baby’s room. She got up to investigate.
