“All right, here we are. Now, be a good boy and stay put inside the car. Mommy’s got work to do, sweetheart, so sorry to make you wait. Oh, and keep an eye on your sister – don’t you let her blow the horn or kick up a ruckus, now.” Kissing the pair of them hurriedly without actually touching her lips, she walked briskly away from the car with her back towards it, turning round momentarily at the door to pass her right hand significantly across her throat and simultaneously click her tongue to convey the exact repercussions of not following her injunctions to the full.
He was a seven year old boy with a scar just above his right eyebrow from a fall he’d suffered two years ago trying to mount the neighbours’ fence with the sole motive of pilfering apples from their tree. Had his chin been a touch stronger or his eyes narrower, he’d have paid dearly half the times he was condoned for some mischief he caused. She was just four-and-a-half and had the appearance of a moist beetroot with a jetpack. Together, they were the greatest inspiration behind the drive in the field of natural science to come up with more effective contraceptives.
As soon as she was out of sight, he started banging his head on the dashboard in mock chagrin. Discovering on the seventh strike that it actually hurt, he abruptly ceased doing it and diverted his attention towards his sister. She was sitting on the back seat dribbling from the corner of her mouth, her forefinger stuck up her nose and her eyes reflecting the fleecy clouds above.
“Cut it out”, he said as he roughly yanked her hand away from her nose. She stared at him vacantly and open mouthed for some time, her brow creased, but then turned her head and once more her finger embarked on the treasure hunt up her olfactory tract. “Stop that! You’re freaking me out.” This time he gave her such a violent jerk that she damn near fell off her seat. The quivering pout and glistening eyes made him realize the gravity of his sin and he hurriedly clambered up the back of the seat to effectively gag her sister with his palm before the impending wail.
“Don’t cry, Gaby,” he said to her, somewhat nervously as he looked around to look for a diversion. “Ah, what luck! Mum forgot the key inside the car. Cheer up, kiddo. This is our lucky break.” Checking for any signs of being observed and finding none, he picked up the key and placing it within the lock, turned it. A mechanical click followed. He tried the handle and to his great delight, the door swung open.
“We’re free, Gaby, free!” He hauled his bewildered sister up the back of the seat and the pair of them set foot upon the brave, new world outside. And lo! The sky turned bluer and the buildings shot up higher right before their very eyes! There were a lot of people on the sidewalk at that time of the day; like so many ants – moving linearly and without apparent motive. Twice they had to scamper out of the way to avoid being trampled upon.
Right across the street was a gigantic toy store. He pointed it out to her. It got her, it did. She smiled, and her entire face lit up. She looked so much better when she did that, he thought. “I want a pony,” she said simply. “We’ll get whatever you want, but hurry up. We must return before mum gets back,” he said as he took her by the hand and the two of them rushed across the street.
The moment they entered, it felt like the other side of the looking glass. He’d never seen anything like this. Tyrannosauruses in smocks belted out classic Christmas tunes to the entire Bear family from Goldilocks. A choo-choo train chugged around doomed for all eternity to the life of a circular track. A skeleton nodded its head significantly at anyone who dared to touch it. Rocking horses rocked invitingly from their pedestals. He-man brandished his sword menacingly at Catwoman who threatened to cut him short with her razor-sharp claws. Time itself seemed to stop as he watched from a dream. He turned his head so much that his neck hurt. Towards the left was a wooden staircase leading to the upstairs section that promised toys for the ‘older’ boys. He climbed it like a zombie.
Upstairs, the first thing he saw was the greatest collection of balls in the universe. There were baseballs, tennis balls, footballs, golf balls, bowling balls, and multicoloured, multipurpose balls of gigantic proportions. Then there were the roller skates – quads, inlines, skateboards, scooters – you name it! And bicycles – mouthwateringly red. He approached one and tried the handle. “This would make a swell thing to go around on, eh Gaby?” No answer. He turned around; no Gaby in sight. He turned right, then left, and then swiveled round in 360 degrees. Still no Gaby! The wonders that surrounded him only a moment ago suddenly turned to ashes. He called out to her. He let go of the bike and dashed down the staircase. Skeleton, tyrannosaurus, rocking horse – balls, skates, bicycles; back to rocking horse, tyrannosaurus, skeleton. He ran up and down the wooden staircase around four or five times. At last he dropped down on his kness from sheer exhaustion. Then the realization that he’d truly lost Gaby hit him, right in the pit of the stomach. He drew his breath in sharply. What was he to do now? He closed his eyes and let his head rest on his knee in sheer despair. He raised his head again to come face to face with the skeleton grinning fiercely from its corner. It brought back thoughts of his mother. He’d be slaughtered. She’d especially mentioned that he had to look after his sister while she was away. And now he’d lost her!
“Get a grip on yourself,” he told himself. “Panicking will get you nowhere.” He must think – use his head. “I bet she is within this store somewhere”, he thought, for any other possibility was simply too scary to imagine. He looked around. There were tons of stuff in there making for a million odd hiding places. So, he must be methodical. Gaby, he said, was even smaller than the retriever next door. So she’d probably fit within an amazingly small volume. He resolved then and there that he’d leave no stone unturned, even turn the store inside out if necessary.
Start from the door, he told himself. And he did. He looked everywhere – behind the bears, under the rocking horse, on the shelves, in the trash can, beneath Catwoman’s cape, under He-man’s legs, and even lifted up a corner of the carpet to peer underneath. But Gaby remained as elusive as before. “Mustn’t-lose-hope,” he cried, mouthing each word painfully as he clawed his face in desperation. His eyes itched so hard from the dust he’d encountered that he wanted to gouge them out. Well, if she ain’t downstairs, it figures she’s somewhere upstairs, he thought. So he once again mounted the stairs. Upstairs, it was pretty much the same story. Once again, he did all he could – looked under the balls, above the balls, behind the bicycles, beneath the skateboards, and behind the curtains. Still no sign of Gaby! He felt goosebumps all over. Maybe aliens came in and abducted her! But, knowing Gaby, they’d probably have returned her by now. No, she must be in the toy store. But, the problem was that the toy store consisted only of upstairs and downstairs, and she was to be found in neither, unless of course – the stairs! That must be it! He jumped up and dashed down the stairs. There, in a dark, putrid corner under the staircase was her own little Gaby, smiling and sucking her thumb with great satisfaction. Being inclined to discipline her at the slightest occasion, he would have given her a smacking for sucking her thumb (even though he himself was not above it when greatly agitated), but not this time! Instead, all he did was pick her up and kiss her about a billion times all over her happy face, startling her considerably. But his happiness was short-lived, for with a start he realized that by now his mother was probably all over the street looking for them, in hysterics.
“Wait here,” he told her. “I’ll go outside and check first if mum’s there.” He pushed open the swing doors and peered outside. Then he saw her. She saw him, too. She looked like Godzilla on an adrenaline over-secretion. She dragged some subliminal thing behind her.
“There you are, you little rascal. I hope you’ve had your fun at last, young man,” she said between clenched teeth. It was hard work talking to that marvelous chin in that tone, but she was determined to see it through to the end this time. “Never once did you think about me, not even your little sister. The poor thing got so scared on being left alone that she ran back straight to my office, crying so hard that nothing would induce her to stop. ” He did not understand. He looked down and to his utter amazement realized that the ‘subliminal thing’ was actually Gaby herself, very much alive and well, except for a bit of red about the eyes. He whirled around, and sure enough, standing behind him was Gaby, too. As his mother approached him, she too came creeping up from behind until she was standing at his side. It was then his mother saw her. “What on earth –” was all she managed to say before almost biting her tongue in half and passing out on the hot sidewalk. The two Gabys simultaneously let out an earth-shattering wail. He made no attempt to shut his ears to the sound.
He had searched well – very well, in fact, perhaps only too well, so well that he’d found her even when she wasn’t there!
Yours sincerely
Jude
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