PROJECT TITLE: "BORN LOSER: LOSING TO WIN" - CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER 2

The old crone waited until she watched the behind of her mistress disappear across the street. She then went into the house to find the baby wailing piteously at being separated from its mother. She knew that she had to silence the baby if she were to start her treasure hunt immediately. She had seen the mistress buy ten kilogrammes of fine quality rice and five kilogrammes of wheat along with other consumables for the kitchen only last evening. She would neatly lift a quarter of all the raw food stuff and then focus on the durables. She also knew that the Man of the house had left a few currency notes and coins inside his wooden bureau which he considered locked but the old crone had a way with locks that would put any burglar to shame and she planned to dip her fingers into this stash today. 

However, she had to shut the baby first and she wondered what to do? A fibre of tobacco that she had been chewing upon had lodged between her teeth and caught her attention. It was then that a brilliant flash of an idea exploded in her mind. She poured out half a bottle of milk into a glass and fed the baby the remaining milk in the bottle. The baby’s wail subsided. The woman then took out a small pellet of the chewed tobacco from her mouth and put it under the lower lip tissue of the baby. The child not knowing the toxic nature of the small bit of tobacco gently sucked on it only to find a bitter taste in its mouth. The child gagged on the tobacco but continued to suck on it. The child wanted water but the old crone made no move to give it water. In minutes the child’s movements subsided. The gentle wail was replaced by a sleepy countenance and the child began to feel as if it was on a wild roller coaster roundabout or a giant Ferris wheel though it had never had a ride on any of them before.

The infant then drifted off into a deep sleep like it never had before. The child slowly started dreaming. In its dreams it saw its parents fondling it and kissing it with love. The parents did not leave the baby alone and kept taking care of its needs with love and devotion.

The old woman realised that the child had drifted off into deep slumber. She stopped rocking the cradle and got up to embark on her expedition of theft. The infant lay knocked out to the world, while the parents slogged their way upwards in life to give what they thought was a better life to that dear child.

The old crone looked at the clock which was well past twelve noon. She knew her mistress; the mother of the infant would return at one in the afternoon and have lunch here. She would then serve the old maid with food and then tend to the baby with the baby – food in a bowl, crooning happily all the while and playing with the child until two in the afternoon when she had to return to college.

The old crone was worried today. She had successfully foraged rations and thirty five rupees in cash and had managed to pass it on her nephew who had come promptly at eleven in the morning to collect the loot. However, what worried the old woman was the fact that the child had not woken up from its slumber in spite of her sprinkling water on the face of the child. While the pulse of the child was steady, the child continued to sleep undisturbed by its external environment.

“What would happen when the mother returned for lunch and asked her the reason for the baby sleeping continuously?” the old hag wondered. Obviously she could not tell the mistress that the child was sleeping under the effects of the tobacco that she had administered. She thought out her reply carefully. She would tell the mistress that the child had been playing until noon after which it had dozed off. The explanation seemed alright but wouldn't the mother feel curious to know why the baby still showed no inclination of getting up? The old maid decided she would join the mother in wondering about the same and act as if she couldn't fathom why.          

The mistress of the house hurried down the lane as she made her usual hurried visit to her home to check that all was well with her babe. The new academic year had just begun. She was also busy with preparing a time table for her classes at various hours of the day. She preferred her classes in the afternoon after two p.m as it would be relatively cooler at that time but since she could not accommodate all the classes within that narrow time frame she had to juggle her classes so that she was relatively free in the mornings. 

The mother had a pile of work this afternoon and was just rushing back home to have a look at the baby and check that everything was OK. Added to her normal routine was the task of inventorying the equipment at the lab and ensuring that the broken equipment were repaired or alternatively scrapping them while simultaneously ordering replacements and new equipment.

As she walked into the house the mother knew that things were not too well. The old crone greeted her mistress furtively and informed her that the baby had fallen asleep after noon.

The mother gently caressed the forehead of the baby to check if it had fever. Ascertaining that everything was alright, she tried to wake up the baby by rubbing its chest and gently tickling its sides. The baby showed no inclination of waking up, and the mother went into the dining room and served herself some lunch. She gazed pensively at her child as she chewed her food.

Why was the baby sleeping at this odd hour, she wondered. Wouldn't the baby wake up in hunger? The child had had its last feed of a bottle of milk – she didn't know it was only half a bottle – at around ten thirty in the morning. It was already more than three hours. Wouldn't the baby be hungry? On completing her lunch, she quickly prepared the baby food, boiled milk and sterilized the feeding bottle. Once both were ready; she tried one last time to wake up the baby. Finding it futile, she picked up her bag and went back to college.

The old hag heaved a sigh of relief. She left the sleeping baby alone to have her lunch and then sit outside the house and chat with the neighboring slum women.

The child woke up at three thirty in the afternoon - a good five hours after it had gone to sleep. The old maid had come into the house to get her friends and herself a cup of tea when the child showed signs of movement. The old woman rocked the cradle a bit and the movement made the child wake up.

The woman fed the baby as the baby was indeed hungry and then washed and changed the nappy and clothes of the baby.

The tired mother returned home at six thirty in the evening. The old maid handed over the baby, mumbled her good byes and left for the day. The mother was happy to see the smiling face of the baby without realizing the harm that that the old crone had subjected the baby to. Her husband would return at seven thirty or eight and she began to prepare dinner while talking to the baby who gurgled on a mat on the floor of the dining room. 

The father returned after eight at night. after which the mother fed the child and tried putting it to sleep. Meanwhile, the father who had washed and cleaned himself after his day’s labour amidst dusty files, sat down at the dining table for his supper. The mother was in a quandary for the child refused to sleep. She therefore picked up the baby from the cradle and served her husband dinner with one hand while the other clasped the child.