Ch-10
Amna was walking very slowly and i was instantly reminded of a bunch of cotton. More than walking, i found her floating with the wind. She might have been 35 or 36 kg. Nothing more, nothing less. She was stooping over with age but she was what she was. During the olden times, her mom used to work as a maid for my mom's family. She used to help out with the daily chores and used to get paid with food. Now, maybe, times have changed for us in the cities. But in the villages it's the same old tradition. She is still a slave, a position inherited from her mom, a position which her kids, both having good jobs in the cities, refused to inherit. She was rather warmly compassionate towards me and i really liked her for that. But my aunt had warned me against her, telling me that she is low-caste, et cetera, et cetera, and all that filth. How much i hate her for that!! Anyway, i moved towards Amna and she almost missed me and strode past me. Oh! Well, not only has her age contributed to her stoop but it has reduced her vision too. Okay. Fine with me. How irritating!!! I almost jogged back to keep up with her. I called out her name..... "Amna!!!". How disgusting that i didn't use 'auntie' or 'ji'!!! She had heard me and had stopped. She turned around and kept staring at me, possibly trying to place me. After what seemed like ages, she blurted out...."Bhecky". And I couldn't at all blame her for that.