My Sister's Ghost

 

While the city slept Tina was conducting business half way across the globe and hoping that soon she would be able to catch up with much needed sleep. Digital connectivity played haywire with the traditional clock and business hours.  A familiar ring tone pierced the long awaited silence.

 Tina picked up the call, “Dolly, I’m packing up for the day. Can this wait until I come home or better still tomorrow?”

Tina was too tired but she noticed that Dolly hadn’t prolonged the conversation with her usual gripes or request for help. The proverbial tomorrow might prove to be a new dawn.

Dina and their mother were primed for her arrival with a hot cup of tea and a fixed smile. This would have to be some not recently asked favor. 

 “Please note I’m not asking for money. It is to let you know that next week I have this fabulous offer to audition.”

“How does that concern me?  Is this urgent?”

Dolly rattled off,” My luck is finally turning. I have a chance to audition with one of the better known studios. Also there is a big event where I will be one of the lead dancers.”

“What is holding you back since you don’t need money and neither have you ever needed my permission?”

Dolly hesitated and then went full steam, “I had signed a contract with Shomik that I would work with him until the end of the season. He won’t release me until the final staging of the play.”

“How do I figure in all this? I don’t run an agent’s office? And did he give you a loan?”

“He wants me to find a substitute.”

“You have been in this business for years and you recommended me? I am the drone who pays the bills.”

“I was surprised when Shomik mentioned that he knew from earlier experience that you could deliver at short notice and it isn’t a big role.”

Bubbles of frustration and anger were exploding in Tina’s head but she had learnt to hold her tongue. Dolly was the older sister, the one who was expected to keep an eye on her.  It hadn’t worked out that way. Tina was always either rescuing or being responsible for whatever went wrong in Dolly’s life.  Ruchi had been young when she had lost her husband and had barely scraped enough to keep the household running. Whether it was her father’s absence or the lack of money but Dolly managed to grab Ruchi’s attention.

As Dolly grew up she sulked or threw tantrums for whatever were her momentary desires. Their mother Ruchi would find the lamest of excuses to give in to Dolly’s whims and fancies. Tina was asked to make way for Dolly by taking second place in music and dance recitals. Yet Dolly didn’t excel or earn much in no matter what she did.  Neither Ruchi nor Dolly stopped to consider Tina’s needs for them as she was their instant cash supplier.

The two of them were relieved as Tina was silent and looked out of the window. Dolly forever in a hurry said, “It’s all decided. Right. Tomorrow I leave and you go and meet Shomik. Everything will work out.”

Tina kept staring out and then spoke quietly but firmly, “I’ve handed in my papers at work and will quit working in a month’s time.”

Ruchi was trying to make sense of Tina’s words but it had the opposite impact on Dolly. “The timing couldn’t be better as my departure gives you an opening. Now you can meet Shomik and I won’t be there to rob the limelight.”

Dolly prattled on, Tina gazed out and Ruchi tried desperately not to have a breakdown. Bills had to be paid and without Tina’s earnings it was an almost impossible situation. Ruchi found it daunting to imagine the depths that the household would reach if Tina took off. It would be wiser to wait until Dolly left home before she could broach the topic.

Ruchi attempted to break the silence around Tina’s decision. “You aren’t really considering giving up your job. Dolly goes from one job to the other and continues to be unpredictable.”

“Ma, I haven’t had a break, got a chance to follow my dreams. I will leave next month but I will send you a monthly allowance for as long as I can.  How you use the money is your business? ”

This was not Tina, the obedient and quiet daughter and Ruchi burst in to tears. “How can you be so cruel? You won’t know even if I die.”

“Don’t be so dramatic Ma. Anyway Dolly is your favorite and will be by your side. It took me years to muster courage to give myself a chance.”

Neither tears nor accusations moved Tina and she left. Ruchi realized that she was now responsible for Dolly and herself. Tina sent the money but left no address. Ruchi tried all possible ways and means, calling colleagues, friends and acquaintances but Tina remained untraceable.

Dolly swung from high to low, more often slipping in to oblivion but forever believing that the next opportunity would bring her fame. As time went by it became more the routine to return and seek refuge in her mother’s approval.   

Tina’s only connection to the family was the monthly allowance. It didn’t bother either Ruchi or Dolly that they took Tina’s existence for granted. Ruchi was taken aback when Tina’s money stopped coming. She assumed that Tina who had remained dutiful was probably no longer alive. Their attempts to find her proved futile and they let the matter rest. It was as if Tina had become a stranger and was no longer a member of the family.   

It was a winter evening when the grey sooty fingers of smog were gradually enveloping the neighborhood. In a few minutes the streetlights would wink through the haze and mothers would call out for the children to come indoors. Girls were winding up their skipping ropes; boys were fighting over scores and toddlers waiting to be dragged home  by their older siblings.

A neatly dressed woman walked through the almost empty lanes, peering at houses, stopping to examine the signboards of the small shops that crowded the lane leading to the main road. Neglect and poverty had stripped the buildings and not much remained of the genteel respectability they had once possessed. The lady lingered, taking in the scene, watching one or two  youngsters hanging around the tree shaded corner, an open window where a woman was on the lookout or a man filling a bucket from the common tap.

A thin sliver of the new moon shone faintly on the dilapidated buildings, the paint long bleached from the walls, the brickwork peeping out in lopsided grins from the walls and a desolate air around the place. The lady appeared familiar with the layout and found the stairs to one of the houses. 

There was a glimmer of light coming from under the door. She rang the doorbell but there was no response. It was probably out of order and so she knocked quite loudly. The door opened slightly and there was a loud scream from inside before it was slammed shut.  The sound of muffled voices could be heard but the door remained closed.

 Holding on to a gift wrapped box she stood hesitantly in front of the closed door.  There was a slight movement behind her and she saw an elderly woman looking curiously at her.

 The woman looked like the domestic help and spoke knowingly, “The bell hasn’t been working for a long time. Did you bang on the door?”

“I did but I can’t wait any longer. Can you give them this box?”

“If you wait a few more seconds then you can meet them”

The visitor replied, “I don’t have the time.”

The door was opened a bit cautiously and it was the older lady who spoke, “Was there anybody in front of the door? Did she speak to you? What did she look like?”

“I don’t have time to while away. It always takes you hours to open the door and she couldn’t wait. “

Dolly grabbed the box and screamed, “Ma I was right it was Tina. She remembered my birthday and came with my favorite sweets.”

 Tina’s long absence had led her to believe that her daughter was dead. Ruchi was terrified and she snatched the box from Dolly’s hands, “It’s not Tina but an evil spirit.  Why would Tina come and leave without meeting us.”

“How are you sure that Tina is dead? We closed the door on her face. Ma let me have at least one sweet.”

Dolly wanted to disbelieve her mother and prove her wrong.  Night had closed in and had cast strange shadows on the walls. The lane below was dark and silent. Nothing met her eyes except for an empty box that lay on the ground below.