Bound to leave

Chapter 17: Slumdog Mystery

Anisha waved goodbye for the last time before entering Dharavi's alleyway. Anu used her phone to navigate through the tiny lanes since Dharam's hideout was a few blocks away from the alleyway she had used.

She noticed a few people stare at her suspiciously causing her to constantly check if anyone was following her.

Anisha hugged her purse, recollecting where she had hidden the pepper spray. She finally reached the block mentioned in the address but couldn't find the shanty listed.

She approached a woman sitting outside her jhopri combing a young girl's hair.

"Didi, 416 basti kaha hoga?", asking her in Hindi where the shanty on the address was located.

"Kya chahiye?", she barked not pleased by the interruption.

"Hum naye hai, please bata dijiye, kaha hoga basti", she pleaded with the lady to help her out, disclosing that she was new around there.

"Police ke saath ho?"

"No, I mean Nahi", she declined that she was with the police.

"Rokda lagega", Anisha nodded, pulling out a crisp note of 500 Rupees. The lady grabbed it, placing the note in her blouse.

"Ja bachi, le ja didi ko", she elbowed the young girl to guide her to the room.

Anisha was nervous to follow her as this could have been a trap but these ladies were her only hope.

The way the men shamelessly gawked at Anisha, she didn't want to approach any of them.

She marched behind the girl through some shady pathways which led to another alleyway.

It felt like she had walked in the complete opposite direction to where the location was pointed on Google Maps.

"Ek min. Yeh kaha hai hum. Idar nai jana", Anisha paused, telling the girl it wasn't where she wanted to go.

"Chalo jaldi!", the little girl's nostrils flared in irritation as Anisha was delaying her. She was asking Anu to hasten.

She looked around, some of the ladies gathered outside their jhopris were watching her very closely.

They climbed a wobbly makeshift stairway and later walked down a dimly lit corridor which had N number of doors. Most of them appeared to be locked but some were open.

Anu peered into a few and noticed women busy cooking food on kerosene stoves. She passed a door that was shut but the moment she passed the adjoining window, she heard someone call out her name. Freaky.

The little girl was still marching ahead of her.

"Madam!", Anu came to a complete halt when she heard a voice behind her.

The voice sounded harrowed but familiar. She slowly turned around to find the source of the sound. Dharam!

He grabbed her arm, pulling her into the room swiftly. The room was so tiny, she was surprised to find a minuscule cot on one side and a kitchen on the other.

"What are you doing here!?", the elderly man gasped.

It was strange seeing Dharam in that state, it almost felt like he had aged considerably since the last time she had seen him.

"I am here to look for you. I am here for answers!"

"Madam, you can't be here. They must be following you", he scanned the area through the tinted windows.

"Who is following me?", he was still looking outside, choosing to ignore her.

"Dharam, what the hell is going on? Who are you running from?"