Another Heaven. Annu Subramanian

Mark Stevens called yesterday. He said he wouldn’t be able to pick you up at Pennoor junction. What’s happening? And where are you? Theo and I have been so worried.”

      “Oh, Aunt Rita, I’m fine. Please tell Uncle Theo that I’m all right. I’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday. I was stuck in a small town called Seloor, an hour or so from Pennoor and,” Tina narrated all about her misadventure—all but the incident involving the fugitive. She did not wish to add to her aunt’s existing worries. “By the way, Aunt Rita, I did reach Mark Stevens this morning. He is going to meet me at Palace hotel, which is where I’ll be staying.”

      “Good. I’m glad you got hold of him. Theo and I tried to contact you so many times last night, but the only message we got was that the number was not in service. We thought that you lost your phone. Well, what matters is that you’re okay. You know, Sylvia would have gladly helped you last night. She lives in Seloor. Remember, you have her information? Too bad she is out of town right now. She would’ve taken care of you.”

      “I know. I almost called her number and then realized that she wouldn’t be home.”

      “When are you returning? Next week?”

      “Yes. I’ll call you tonight.”

      “Tina,” Rita said hurriedly, “you’re calling Peter and Gia everyday, I hope? Sorry to be nagging, dear. But your parents worry about you, your father more than your mother.”

      “Yes, of course. Don’t worry. Please give Uncle Theo my love.” Tina replaced the phone inside her backpack and stole a glance at the man sitting next to her.

      “It must’ve been quite an experience. You’ll have something to talk about when you return home.” He was silent for a moment. “Tina…” his voice lingered. “Is it short for?”

      “Christina. But it’s always been Tina.”

      “And I’ve always been Shaker. No Dr. Shaker, please. I’m glad last night is over.”

      “Last night might be over, but it’ll never be over for me.”

      “Why?” asked Shaker, concerned at the concern in her voice.

      “Actually it was very early this morning. It was around four when I heard a woman’s voice outside my room. She was knocking on the door, trying to wake me up. I opened the door. I shouldn’t have, probably, I don’t know. Anyway, I saw a young woman, perhaps twenty-something, begging me to let her into my room. She said that she was being abused. Shaker, she looked horribly thin. She was running away from a group of people. Before I could say anything, a few men ran towards my room. That was the end of it. They took her away.”

      “Did the men ask you anything? Did they say something? This is so strange.”

      “Yes. One of the men seemed to be angry that she had come to my door. I felt so bad for her. I told him that she said nothing. He said that the woman was mentally disabled, and they were taking her to an asylum.” Tina took a deep breath, as though glad to get the strange incident off her chest.

      By then, they reached a railway crossing and were forced to stop at the red light.

      “This can take a while,” sighed Shaker, noticing the long line of compartments linked to the slowly moving train. “A mentally disabled woman knocked on your door? Did she tell you her name?”

      “I don’t know her name. There was no time to find out.”

      “Did she say anything about who she was?”

      “No. Yes. Yes, she did. She left a crumpled piece of paper with me. I’m sure she did that on purpose. I mean, it seems as though she expected someone to read it.”

      Tina bent down to retrieve the paper from her backpack. As she raised her head, she looked behind the car at the approaching sounds and noticed a blue van slowing down to a stop just a few feet behind their hired car. A burly, bald man got out of the van and walked to Shaker’s side.

      “What do you want?” Shaker’s voice barely concealed his irritation.

      “Sir, sorry to bother you. I just wanted to know if you’ve seen anybody suspicious in this area—a young woman?” He took out a photograph from his shirt pocket and brandished it in front of their faces. “This was taken, well, maybe a year ago.” As Shaker and Tina stared at the photo, he continued, “Take a good look. She’s dangerous.”

      Tina recognized the face in the photograph; the fugitive from that morning.

      “Dangerous? Why?” she asked the stranger, wondering if he would repeat what she had heard earlier.

      “Because, Madam, she is mentally disabled. She escaped from an asylum. We found her, but…”

      “If you already found her, why are you talking about her now? What do you want?” asked Shaker.

      “She stole some valuables from the asylum before she escaped, the asylum where she was placed until last week,” he replied, rather monotonously, wiping the sweat off his flabby cheeks with a crumpled handkerchief. “We don’t know if she had an accomplice. We’re wondering if she contacted anybody or left anything behind.”

      “No, we’ve never heard of this woman until now,” Tina replied while keeping her eyes focused on the rearview mirror. She saw another man getting out of the blue van. She recognized him. He was the man who had ordered her to stay inside her room earlier that morning while a group of people surrounded the fugitive. Tina promptly pushed the paper into her backpack and looked again at the mirror. The mustached man was walking towards their car, tentatively touching his scar.

      “I’ve seen him before, at the hostel, just this morning,” Tina whispered.

      “Madam,” continued the bald man.

      “We’re in a hurry. We’ve to go,” said Shaker.

      The man with the scar came to the car and looked alternately at Shaker and Tina. “Oh, I remember seeing you earlier at the…shelter, Madam,” the man said politely.

      “Is the young lady all right?” asked Tina, swallowing nervously.

      “Of course, she is in a safe place. We were stranded at Seloor junction, and we decided to stay overnight at the facility where you stayed because there are no hotels in this town. We are on our way home now. You see, we are worried that she tried to escape. One of the most painful aspects of her ailment is...she is very good at inflicting wounds on her body. You might have noticed it. This can be very harmful. We want to be sure that such things don’t happen in the future. That’s why she needs to be placed in the hands of good doctors in a proper hospital.” The man looked intently at Tina for a couple of moments and asked, “Madam, did she leave anything with you? We believe she stole something earlier from the other asylum, and we would like to do the right thing, of course, and return it to the right place. Did she?”

      “She left nothing,” replied Tina, avoiding his eyes.

      The light switched to green and the gate opened slowly. By now a few cars had lined up behind the blue van. When the drivers started to honk impatiently, the bald man shouted obscenities while showing an angry fist at the annoyed drivers.

      “Madam, we’re her family, and we want to make sure she is safe in the future. When I asked you earlier at the shelter, you told me that she said nothing to you. Are you sure she didn’t say anything?” asked the man, absentmindedly touching his scar.

      Tina looked at his intense expression. Had he overheard what the fugitive had told her, at least part of it? “I was shocked and naturally confused when you asked me the same question earlier at the shelter. I’m sorry. I think she said that she was being abused by someone and she was trying to escape. That’s all.”

      The man smiled. “Typical. That’s her standard line, unfortunately. It scares people, you know. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.”

      “What’s her name?” asked Tina, a little surprised at her