Anju's mother had arranged for her to stay with an old friend of her's. Laylan Haryana lived on an estate with her two children, Jai and Latika. Her husband had passed away recently, and with the dwindling money supply, she was now running the house without the help of maids. Anju could stay there as long as she did her part.
As for Anju's father, he had not spoken to her since she had told him of that afternoon. Dignity and pride were very big for him, and she had tainted the family name.
As the taxi pulled into the driveway, Anju looked to her mother, tears in her eyes. She knew it was going to be a long, hard road ahead and her mother wasn't going to be there to guide her. Anju wouldn't be able to call her mother, her father had forbid it. Although as far as he knew, Anju wasn't staying with Laylan. That was her mother's last gift and secret. Anju was allowed to write her mother letters, however. A privilege she was thankful for.
---
The plane ride was terribly long for Anju, who had only ever been on a plane twice in her life. As she exited the airport, she was astonished at the heat of the sun. Anju only had the address of the Haryana residence, although she knew it was in Calcutta. Her Hindi wasn't perfect and she had to ask for a cab several times before a man understood her.
The drive through Calcutta fascinated Anju. There were so many people! Each building was different from the last, one green and the next blue. It was definitely different than the way her textbooks had described India. She had come expecting shanties and beggars, but it was so full of life!
Upon arriving at the Haryana compound, the first thing Anju noticed was how large it was. 'How can one woman take care of this?!' Immediately after the car pulled up, Laylan, or so Anju guessed, ran out of the house to greet her. Anju turned to pay the cab driver when she realized she hadn't exchanged her money. "Uh..."
Laylan pulled a few coins from her sari and handed them to the man. "Dhanyavad." The man counted the coins and left. (AN: Dhanyavad means 'Thank you' in Hindi) Laylan's attention returned to Anju, who started to babble an apology about the money. "I'm sorry! I forgot to exchange my money at the airport!"
"Child it's okay! Don't worry about it." Laylan laughed and guided the girl inside.
In the distance Anju could hear a girl squeal. "Jai! That's no fair! You've won twice now!"
"Jai! Latika! Anjali is here, come say hello!" A few seconds later, Laylan's children emerged around the corner. Laylan gestured to her daughter, "This is Latika, my little princess, even though she's a young woman now!" The girl extended her arm and Anju awkwardly shook it. The mother then rolled her eyes at her son who was leaning against the wall. "Jai! Can you at least act like you're interested? Anju, that's my son, Jai." She then leaned close and whispered, "He's excited you're here, he's just not showing it to be cool."
Anju giggled and glanced at Laylan's son. She had no desire to get involved with any male, and she was happy Jai obviously had no interest in her. He scoffed and went up the stairs. Laylan only shook her head as he left. "He'll come around. Now! Latika will show you the room you'll be sharing until we finish the other one. You can rest until dinner, then we shall discuss house rules."
"Don't worry, Anju, there aren't that many!" Latika said with a smile before running up the stairs. Anju followed, laughing at the girl's abundance of energy.
The room consisted of two twin beds, each with a girly comforter, and two small dressers. "You can have the one by the window." Anju put her stuff by the bed and lied down, exhausted. Latika came over and sat on the floor, looking up at Anju. "Mother won't be too hard on you, she just wants things to go smoothly. Don't worry, though, I have your back! You can take a nap, I'm sure you need it..." With that, Latika jumped up and skipped out of the room. Anju sighed as the door clicked shut. 'What's going to happen....'
At dinner, Laylan explained what Anju was responsible for and what was appropriate. Anju was required to do all the laundry, as well as cook the meals and make sure Latika got to school on time. Laylan explained that no one was allowed to leave the house unless they had a companion. Laylan dismissed Jai and Latika from the table so that she could talk to Anju alone.
"Anju, I respect your decision to come here. I know your father can be...unreasonable. It's not going to be easy though, I think you've realized that already." The woman sighed, and for a moment Anju saw a glimpse of how tired Laylan was. It made Anju feel as though she was being a burden, which she was in a way.
"I suggested to give the baby up, I wouldn't ever abort it, but I don't feel as though I'd really care for it. Half of it is a monster and a horrible person. I don't want it, Laylan. Father wouldn't hear of it though. Him and his pride about not giving up something that had Delhi blood."
"Ahh, but the baby is also half yours, as your father sees. I can see why he thinks like that. Raping is treated differently in India. I'm not saying people aren't raped here Anju, I'm saying it's not publicized. The women who are raped remain quiet in almost all cases, as it's usually family, like a distant uncle. The police don't do anything about anyway. They are just as bad as rapists sometimes. Plus the system in the country would take years to process it. In the end it isn't worth it. If the girl becomes pregnant, she is simply cast to the street, as your father did, because that taints the honor. She wouldn't rat out family."
Anju listened to Laylan's words carefully. She understood
some of the logic, as she had thought that way as well. Anju also realized another thing; Laylan wasn't what she expected. She had thought the woman would be very soft spoken, and reserved. However, Laylan had her own opinions and voiced them, obviously very outspoken for a woman of India.
"Anju, it's your decision. I feel that your mother would understand if you gave up the baby, but it'd be hard to explain to your father if you ever went home to visit or something. However, I think it's time you went to bed. It's been a long day."
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I don't remember how I got the idea for this story, but I think it's an important one to get out. I've written (or attempted) stories on sites such as fictionpress, but I haven't ever finished them I guess because my views change or I get tired of the characters, as they relate so much to real life. However, I feel like I NEED to write this story. I don't know why though haha. I guess that's how I get so much done so fast.
This makes me sad I do not have Skype 
