getting away

Getting Away

The woman was well into her seventies, agitated, depressed belligerent. Her daughter had brought her to the clinic.

“I don’t know what to do doctor, I go to work. She doesn’t sleep and she talks to herself night and day. I can’t manage. She doesn’t let me sleep either.”

What is the matter?” I asked the old woman.

“ I finally killed my husband . No one knows, but if I close my eyes  I see him coming for me.”

“I don’t think you killed him,” I said “he must have died of old age.”

“Oh no” she said “I ground 50 of these and put them in his night drink of Horlicks. He never  woke up.”

She showed  me  a strip of 10 tablets of alprazolam a sedative.

“Where did you get these? And why?”

Her husband  had retired from government service. He lived in his own house, received  a tidy pension and had salted away a large  sum of money in the bank. He had earned most of this money as bribes. He was in charge of disbursing pension to widows. He consistently gave them only 75% and kept 25%. This he put in fixed deposits.

Their only son was also working for the government. One day the son came home with a lady in tow.

“I have married her in Tirupathi” he said, ”she  works in my office.

Everything about the daughter in law was wrong. She was a non vegetarian, they were strict vegetarians. She treated the house like a hotel, eating breakfast, packing part of it for her lunch and turning up in time for dinner.

The old woman confided in a neighbor.

“What am I supposed to do? She doesn’t do any work.”

“Does she wash her clothes?”

The old woman snorted, “she does that on Sundays.”

“Don’t cook” the neighbor advised, “then see what she does.”

The daughter in law turned up in the kitchen , saw there was no food, picked up her tiffin and left. As she reached the door, the mother in law said “there is no food.”

“I don’t care “ said the daughter in law,” I am going to buy breakfast and lunch. I will eat dinner and come.”

“What about us?”

“I already told you I don’t care.”

The old lady’s blood boiled but she could do nothing. She sidled up to her son.

“Did you hear the way she spoke to  me?”

“Look said the son, “ if you don’t like it you can always go and live somewhere else.”

Aghast the old woman said,” It is my house.”

The old man came out of the room at that point. He waved his cane threateningly and advanced on the daughter in law.

The son hit him.

He fell to the ground and had a stroke. The right side of his body was paralyzed. The son and daughter in law left leaving him on the floor. The neighbours came and they managed to get him on the bed. She was too frightened to say anything.

The son and daughter in law went to Kolkotta for three months training. She did not know how to use the ATM and the money and provisions soon ran out.  The old man was unreasonable, angry and shouting day and night. He did not sleep at all. He became violently angry if she slept.

Unable to bear this any more and hungry to boot she went to the neighbour’s house and asked them to arrange a taxi to take her to her daughter’s house.

They had been there only for a couple of days when the daughter said“ I have to work and appa rants and raves all night. Let us ask a doctor for sleeping tablets.”

They did not even have to go a doctor. For a few extra rupees, a friendly neighbourhood pharmacist did the honours.

She managed to hoard enough tablets to knock him off. (She gave him a 100.)

“Well” I  said “let us be reasonable.  He probably would have died anyway. Besides people don’t return from the dead to torment you. Why don’t you watch movies and serials on television?”

I did not know what else to do. File an FIR?

“That’s where I got the idea in the first place. The TV. You are right. I am just going to enjoy my life. My daughter looks after me well, and I have enough money for my needs.”

“Just remember the good times----“

“Good times?” She retorted, “He was a bastard. Beat me up regularly and had a mistress---then became ill and tormented me----“

That is when I started questioning all the widows,--“so how did your husband die?”

I received all kinds of answers,” We were crossing the railway tracks. Then I saw the train approaching. I pulled my husband but he  fell.” She smiled, “The train ran over him”.

“My husband was choking in the night. I held his head back and poured water into his throat.”

The best one?

“I accidentally put Tik20 in his fish curry---“