What If…
Jē aiḍavaraḍasa and Śrīmatī maikaphī
Jay Edwards
and Mrs McPhee are known internationally – but what if they were not British or
American. What if they were, say,
Indian…
“Thank you,
Mami,” Zunaira said as she sat at the kitchen table, drinking the glass of
milk. It was a cool autumn afternoon in
the wealthy suburb of Mumbai, and the eight-year-old girl enjoying a day off
from school. Her long black hair fell
over the shoulders of her lilac-coloured sweatshirt, a picture of a butterfly
on the front, jeans and black flat shoes.
“You’re
welcome,” Tashi said as she looked over from the sink. Her mother was more traditionally dressed, in
a peach-coloured sari with gold embroidery on the sides and front, gold sandals
strapped onto her own feet. She turned
back and continued preparing the vegetables, before they both heard the knock
on the front door.
“Shall I go and
see who it is?”
“Please,” Tashi
said as Zunaira made her way out of the kitchen, and towards the front
door. A few minutes later, she heard the
footsteps coming back and said without turning round “who was it?”
“MHHMMHH!”
Tashi turned
round, the knife dropping from her hand onto the floor as she saw Zunaira
standing there, but there was an unfamiliar woman standing there, her gloved
hand over her daughter’s mouth. The
woman was wearing a black tunic, with black opera gloves over her hands and
lower arms, a black dupatta wrapped round her neck and the lower half of her
face. Black pants and flat shoes
completed her outfit.
Two men stood
behind her – unshaven, with thick moustaches, wearing open necked shirts and
pants, with bandanas tied over the lower half of their faces. Finally, there was a fourth man – he was
wearing a cream linen jacket nd pants with a white shirt underneath, white
gloves, and dark sunglasses.
“Who are you,”
Tashi finally said “and what are you doing with my daughter?” She then saw the guns in the gloved hands of
the other two men, as Zunaira struggle din the woman’s grip.
“Well,” the man
in the glasses said, “my name is Jē Aiḍavaraḍasa –
perhaps you have heard of me?”
Tashi’s eyes opened wide as the man smiled - Jē Aiḍavaraḍasa! She had heard of him and his gang – they took
over the homes of businessmen, forced them to rob their business while the
families were kept hostage…
“You may call me Je – the woman with your daughter is Śrīmatī maikaphī.”
“You may call me Srimati,” the masked woman said. “Stop struggling, little one – we’re not
going to hurt you, just make sure you cannot tell anyone what is going on.”
She let the girl go, Zunaira running over as her
mother embraced her, and said “Mami what’s going to happen?”
“So glad you asked,” Je said with a smile. “We’re going to make you and your mother
comfortable - and then we wait for the rest of your family, and your husband to
come home. Shall we?”
“Tashi? We are
back from the market?”
Satya looked round as her younger daughter Nisha came
in and closed the door. Her graying dark
hair was pulled back in a bun, and she was wearing a purple sati with gold trim
over a green vest. Nisha was wearing a
gold tunic with translucent sleeves and gold pants with sandals, a pink dupatta
wrapped round her neck and shoulders.
“Where are they?”
“I am not sure,” Satya said as they walked into the
front room – and stood still, their eyes widening as they saw Tashi and Zunaira
sitting on the couch. Their eyes were
open wide as well, shaking their heads as the silver tape over their mouths prevented
them from saying anything. Their hands were
behind their backs, and rope encircled their ankles.
The two masked men behind the couch looked at them, as
a male voice said, “ah good – the mother and sister are here.”
“Who…”
“Allow me,” the masked woman said, “I am Śrīmatī
maikaphī, and this is Jē Aiḍavaraḍasa.” Satya slowly turned her head to see the
grinning man, and then fell to the floor in a dead faint.
“Mhmmhhh?
Mhhmmhhh!”
Satya slowly opened her eyes, wondering what was
behind her back as she saw Nisha sitting against the wall opposite her. Her daughter had her legs bent, and as Satya
focused she saw the ropes round her ankles, and the white cloth tied tightly
round her head, covering her mouth.
“Whhphnnhhdd – HNNHHHH!”
“Calm yourself,” Je said as he stood in front of them,
“struggling will not help, and you need to stay calm.” The older woman looked down and saw the rope
round her own ankles, felt the rope round her wrists, and then realized what
was pressing on her own mouth.
“SAthhchlm,” she heard Tashi say as she saw her older
daughter and granddaughter on the couch, tape gagged and bound.
“Srimati will look after the youngsters once the other
two get here – and then we will wait for your husband. Will you remain calm for the moment?”
Satya looked at Nisha and Tashi, and then slowly
nodded as all four of them heard the door open and close again. Je put a finger to his lips as two young
women walked in – Tashi groaning as she recognized her two daughters.
Liya was 12 and was wearing a short-sleeved light blue
top with jeans. Davian was 16 and had on
a pale blue patterned sleeveless long cardigan over a blue tunic, and tan-coloured
pantaloons. They stood there, their eyes
as wide open as the others as they looked round the room, before Je said
“Welcome – Srimati, please, take them to a bedroom and make them comfortable,
then take Zunaira there as well.”
“Come with me,” the dupatta masked woman said as she
held a gun in one gloved hand, and a bag with ropes in the other.
“Ghhh,” Tashi said, their aunt and grandmother nodding
as they raised their hands in the air and then left the room with Srimati. Je sat down, and said “once we have the
children all together, then we sit, and we wait for your husband to return home
– then you may prepare the food, but not before, understand?”
Tashi slowly nodded, the four captives looking at each
other before Srimati came back in. “Up
you get,” she said as she looked at Zunaira, “and come with me.” The young girl managed to get on her feet,
and then jumped after the masked woman, following her to the stairs before she
was lifted up and carried into a bedroom.
Her sisters were lying either side of a bed, their
wrists bound together behind their backs, their ankles secured with rope, and
black tape covering their mouths as Srimata laid Zunaira on the bed between
them. “Now, just relax,” she said as the
three girls looked at each other.
“Hrruhhkshtdbhths?”
Zunaira looked at Liya, then at Davina, before she
blushed and slowly nodded.
“Hthsshmm – uknhwhllbhbhndhndghghhdlhthr?”
The other two nodded as she said “lhtsshhsbhthshm,
hlrht?”
They nodded again as one of the masked men came in and
stood guard, looking at them as they wriggled round…
“I am home,” Amar called out as he put his laptop bag
down and looked round. The grey-haired
man stretched and yawned, before he said “so, what do we have to eat” as he
walked into the front room.
“At this moment, Amar, you have your own words to
eat.”
He saw the man wearing sunglasses standing there, his
hands crossed and the pistol in one hand, and then saw his wife, sister-in-law
and mother-in-law sitting, bound and gagged.
“What the…”
“Allow me to introduce myself,” the man said as Amar
saw two more masked men, “my name is Jē Aiḍavaraḍasa. Perhaps you have heard of me?”
“Je… No,
please…”
“Oh yes,” he said with a smile as he saw the wild look
in the man’s eyes, one of the other two coming over and pulling Amar’s hands
behind his back before securing them together with rope. “Now, have a seat – your children are safe
with my friend Śrīmatī maikaphī. And they will join you for
supper. On which note – secure and gag
him, and then bring Tashi to the kitchen.
She needs to finish preparing the food…”
“I know it is not much,” Tashi said as she sat at the
table, “but I hope you all enjoy it.”
“It looks wonderful, Mami,” Liya said as the other two
girls nodded, and they started to eat, the armed man watching over them.
“So, I understand,” Amar said quietly, “after we eat,
one of these men comes back to the office with me, and they will rob the firm
there – and in the meantime, my family stay as hostages here?”
“They will – my men remain in touch with me by radio,
and if you do anything to stop this working as it should…”
The men stood with their hands on the shoulders of
Tashi and Nisha, Amar nodding as he said, “I will do what you ask.”
“Excellent – now eat, all of you – your father will
not leave until we have your young girls in bed and ready for sleep…”
“It’s all right Papa,” Zunaira said with a smile,
“they have not really hurt us, and we can cope.”
The four adults looked at each other with worried
expressions as Je and Srimati just smiled…
“You three come with me,” Srimati said as she picked
up a bag, one of the men following behind Zunaira, Liya and Davina. As they climbed the stairs the masked woman
said “now, go quickly into your rooms, select some pajamas, and then come back
out here.”
The three girls looked at each other and went in three
different doors, Davina noticing the cut wire for the phone next to her bed,
before they each came out with a pair of pajamas.
“Excellent – we go into this room,” Srimati said as
they were walked into a guest bedroom, with a large bed against the wall. “Now, all of you, change quickly – we do not
want to keep Je waiting.”
She watched as they each stripped off, and then pulled
on the nightclothes. Zunaira put on a
set of pale blue pajamas with orange cuffs and collar, a toy print on them,
while Liya donned a set of red pajamas – a tunic and pants, with a coloured
pattern on them.
As they changed, Davina put on a green smock top and
pair of pants, with a white floral print on them, the short sleeves blowing in
the gentle breeze. Srimati nodded before
she said “Good – Liya, Zunaira, sit on the bed and keep your hands where we can
see them. Davina, hold your hands out,
and cross your wrists.”
“You can see what is going to happen to you,” the oldest
daughter said as the man took a length of white rope, and tightly bound her
wrists together. Davina then lowered
them as Srimati took a longer length of rope, doubled it over, and passed it
round the teenager, pulling it tight under her chest and then tasking it round
her shoulders.
The younger girls watched, wide eyed as Srimati made
several more passes, and then pulled the ropes tighter as Davian felt her top
stretch, then secured the ends off.
“Good,” she said. “Sit down –
come here Liya, you are next.”
Davina sat down, Zunaira watching the man as he knelt
down and started to bind her older sister’s ankles together with more rope, and
then secured her legs below her knees. A
few minutes later, she felt the ropes forcing her own arms against her sides,
the bands rubbing on her bound wrists as Liya was secured in the same way. She
walked over and sat next to Davina on the opposite side from Liya, watching as
the mased man knelt and bound her ankles tightly together, and then her legs
below her knees – her eyes opening wide as she saw Srimati take from the bag a
long green dupatta.
“Open your mouth wide,” she said to Davina, the two younger
girls watching as she pulled the dupatta between her lips and wrapped it several
times round her head before securing the ends at the base of her neck. She then helped her to lie in the centre of
the bed, the man taking more rope and tying it between her wrists, then down to
her ankles, and finally the foot of the bed.
“Oh my – that is suhnffhhfnhls,” Liya said as a red
dupatta was used to gag her in the same way, the man then lifting her and
laying her next to Davina on the older girl’s right-hand side before he used
more rope on her.
“Is that for me,” Zunaira asked as she saw the blue
dupatta.
“Indeed – don’t struggle and you will get used to it,”
the masked woman said as she gagged the youngest sister, and then helped her to
lie to the left of Davina, the man securing her wrists to her ankles and then
the foot of the bed.
“Oh, my goodness…”
All three girls turned to see their father standing in
the hallway with Je.
“I will see you all tomorrow – stay brave,” he
whispered, all three girls nodding as Je led him to the foot of the stairs,
where the other masked man was waiting.
“You know what to do?”
He nodded and took Amar by the arm, as he looked into
the front room and said “the girls are bound and gagged, but safe. I will see
you all later.”
“Stay safe,” Tashi said, Amar nodding as he looked at
all three of them, and then was dragged out of the house. They heard the car drive away, as Srimati
came back in.
“Come with me,” she said as she looked at Sataya.
“I want to see my grandchildren,” she said as she
stood slowly up.
“Of course – but some with me please,” Srimati said in
a firm voice.
“Go – I will see them later,” Tashi said as she held
Nisha’s hand, Sataya nodding as she went with Srimata to the upper floor. She looked in on the girls, their eyes
already closing as the cloths kept their lips apart, and nodded before she
headed to her bedroom, Srimati following her in.
When she came back into the front room, she was
wearing a floor length grey and white patterned night dress – but her hands
were behind her back, and her daughter saw the bands of rope that sat above and
below her chest, as well as to the sides, holding her arms against her sides.
“Mami…”
“It is – necessary,” their mother said as she sat
down, Srimati taking Nisha by the arm and taking her out of the room.
“The girls?”
“Asleep,” Sataya said as she tried to move her
arms. “I think they are exhausted – this
feels so different.”
“Can you move?”
“Not really and yet it feels – comfortable, nice
almost,” Sataya said as she looked at her daughter. “Does that sound wrong?”
“Strangely, no,” Tashi said quietly as she
blushed. “I have also found it –
different today. Perhaps that is the
secret – we can do nothing, so do nothing.”
Sataya nodded as Je came in, looking at the man as he said,
“check the girls – your husband is a sensible man, Tashi.”
“He loves us.”
“So, he is being sensible,” he said as Nisha came back
in. She was wearing a pale pink floor
length gown with capped sleeves but the bands of rope round her arms were tight
and held them firmly in place.
“Come,” Srimata said to Tashi, and as she stood Je said,
“make sure she stays in her room – the other two will come up in a moment.”
“Of course,” the masked woman said as she led Tashi to
the master bedroom and said “change – it is time to secure you.”
“Of course,” the woman said as she stripped, and then
put on a floor length nightgown made from yellow linen with an orange design
printed on the material. It had
mid-length sleeves, but she felt the rope on her bare wrists as Srimata took
her hands behind her back and began to secure them.
“Comfortable?”
Tashi nodded as she then felt the rope around her
body, and then gasped as it was pulled tight, going round her stomach and her
upper arms as the two bands framed her chest.
It was then taken under one arm, up and around the back of her neck, and
under her other arm before Srimata secured the ends at her back.
“Sit down please.”
Tashi sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Srimata
knelt and bound her ankles tightly together, and then secured her legs together
below her knees, the band of rope gathering the skirt of her nightdress round
her legs as she did so.
“I am going nowhere,” Tashi said as she stood up.
“Exactly – and you won’t be able to talk either,”
Srimata said as she held a yellow sponge ball in her hand, “open wide.” Tashi felt the sponge expand in her mouth as
she closed her lips over it, before Srimata tore the backing paper off a long
strip of white tape and smoothed it down over her mouth, the tape forming to
the contours of her chin as she did so.
“Lie down.”
Tashi nodded as she lay on her side, and saw her
mother and sister walk past, white tape now covering their mouths as well. They nodded to each other as she felt her ankles
being pulled back, and then the tension as they were secured to her chest rope.
“Check her every fifteen minutes,” she said to the
masked man as she left, Tashi settling down as she listened to the sound of the
insects outside, wondering how long she would stay awake…
“Mhmmhe?”
Tashi opened her eyes wide as she saw the early
morning sunlight come through the curtains – and realized she was not on her
bed. She was still hogtied – but she
could see Zunaira looking at her from the bed, and she realized she was in the
same room as the girls.
And her sister and mother – she looked across to see
Nisha and Sataya both lying on the floor, their eyes closed as they slept in
their own hogties.
“Hrruhhllrht,” she mumbled – and then she heard the
crash of a door open, footsteps running up the stairs – and a Police Captain
come in, his cap on and his swagger stick in his hand as he pushed the cap
back.
“Get people up here,” he said as he knelt and peeled
the tape away from Tashi’s mouth, and then pulled the soaked sponge ball out.
“Water – and help us,” she croaked as more police
officers rushed in…
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