Ajay woke up with a start.
Sia was sleeping next to him, with visible shadows under her eyes. The clock next to their bed displayed that it was half past noon.
They had only been asleep for a couple of hours. Considering the stress and trauma they had undergone over the past few hours, he should have also been fast asleep. Yet, he felt extremely alert. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt a great sense of uneasiness.
Gently, removing the hand curled around his chest, he slipped out of the bed. He watched Sia’s face as he threw on his clothes. When he was sure that her breathing remained even, he walked out from their room and went towards the media room.
He turned on the television, and kept switching the channel, until he found the one he was looking for. Varun hadn’t wasted any time. Last night’s live video was already on the news.
“—people are in utter shock,” said the newsreader. “Last night there was an exclusive event held inside the Citizen Hotel where various influential members of the society were present.”
Images flashed on the screen. Images of a large group of well dressed men with masks on. Adding contrast to them, within the opulent surroundings were skinny and barely clothed children. Most of the children were on the masked men’s laps looking lethargic and drugged.
“In a shocking sting operation conducted by a secretive social service group, several children were rescued. Not only were those children being abused, but they were also planned on being trafficked to other locations soon. Police were able to retrieve the passports and visas of several other countries as proof.
Ajay kept waiting for some indication of the identity of the people involved to be revealed but it didn’t happen. Only a vague statement of several arrests having been made was read out loud.
Disgusted, Ajay turned off the television and dialed a number on his phone.
It was answered immediately.”Jay. I’ve been trying to reach you. How is Sia doing?”
“Did you see the news?” Ajay asked.
“Yes.”
“No indication whatsoever.”
“I know. Jagadish Naidu has been arrested along with the others. Including judge Sundaram.”
“You know that won’t matter soon.” Ajay’s hand clenched as he tried to control the turmoil inside him.
There was a long pause on the line. And then, “Yes,” came in a quiet reply. “But please Jay. Don’t do anything rash,” Harsha warned him. “At least not yet. Until we try for some more time.”
Ajay took a deep breath and let it out, relaxing a little. He was glad he had someone like Harsha as his best friend and brother. Harsha was the only one who would ground him when the irrational thoughts took over.
“How is Sia?” Harsha asked.
“Sleeping right now.”
“How is she coping after last night?” Harsha probed for a better answer.
“Not good. And that is after knowing that the person who hurt her is behind the bars. You can only imagine what would happen later.”
“Jay, let’s try to stop it from happening. We can still speak with—”
“You know I already tried as much as I could, Harsha. And I will continue trying. But it’s not going to help. Not until...” He let his sentence drift off.
There was a deep exhale. “You are right,” said Harsha.
“And knowing Sia, she will not let it go. Not that I expect her to. But I need to keep her from spinning out of control,” Ajay stated.
“I understand.”
“Find out as much as you can and keep me updated.”
“I will.”
“How is Anika doing?” Ajay asked.
“She’s doing well. Jo and her family are always with her, taking really good care of her.”
Ajay felt the familiar tightness in his chest and throat whenever he saw or heard about his daughter. “Double up the security around Jo’s place,” he advised.
There was a long pause, as though it was now sinking into Harsha’s brain that there were several others who could be possibly impacted. “I will, Jay,” he replied.
“Thank you, Harsha. I’ll get in touch with you tomorrow,” he said, before ending the call.
He went down towards the kitchen. On his way, he turned on an app on his phone. It was of a security camera. He felt grateful towards Jo for agreeing to place the camera pointed at his daughter as much as possible.
Anika was placed on a thick blanket on a plush green lawn under a shade. He could hear Jo’s family chatting and laughing around her.
Ajay’s heart clenched with longing to hold his daughter in his arms.
It has been close to four weeks since he last held her.
He hovered at the entrance of the kitchen, continuing to watch Anika’s antics as she tried to lift her head towards the people calling out her name.
“Soon, my love,” Ajay promised his daughter. “Daddy and mummy will get you back soon,” he said softly, before turning off the camera footage.
He went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He put some food onto a plate. Then grabbing some ice, he wrapped it in a towel, before heading up towards the bedroom.
Sia was stirring lightly when he sat next to her on the bed.
The area under one of her eyes was swollen and blackened. Gently, he touched the ice to her skin and she flinched.
“Sorry,” he said softly when she opened her eyes to him. “There’s a lot of swelling,” he explained.
She nodded and remained quiet as he continued with his ministrations. The previous night he had insisted on taking her to the hospital or having a doctor check her in the police station while she was being interrogated. Sia had brushed it away, insisting that she was fine.
Ajay watched her as she closed her eyes, allowing him to take care of her.
After a few minutes of silence, tears began to leak out of her eyes.
“Sia...” he said, simply calling out her name.
She didn’t open her eyes. But spoke to him softly. “Why does it feel so incomplete?” she asked. “He’s locked away. Where he can’t possibly hurt any other children. But somehow I feel so... incomplete.”
Ajay didn’t reply. Couldn’t reply.
He put the icepack away and lay next to her. Holding her close, he waited until she calmed down.